Erasing Faith(34)

“Sorry I’m late, Red.”

I stilled completely, my eyes frozen on the waiter’s face. The young man flushed under my gaze, nodded politely in my direction, and hurried away from the table so fast he made Harry Potter’s apparition skills look sluggish. Damn — I really could’ve used his help. I needed someone to pinch me, hard, because I must’ve been dreaming.

There was no possible way that Wes Adams was sitting at the table across from me. It was simply inconceivable that he’d been the one to arrange all of this.

“Red?”

He was using that soft tone again — the one that made my insides melt — and I couldn’t resist anymore.

Eyes wide, heart in my throat, I turned my head in his direction. And there he was.

For no reason at all, I found myself blinking back tears.

“You did all of this?” I asked, my voice breaking a little.

He nodded.

“Why?”

“Figured it was time I took you out on a real date,” he said, shrugging casually, as though there was nothing special about the evening he’d planned.

Thoughts tumbled unchecked through my head as I tried to process that this was actually happening. My mind was spinning. My chest was so full, it ached. My heart beat so fast, I worried it was about to explode into a million tiny pieces. Staring at Wes, all I could think was how handsome he looked, sitting there with the candlelight illuminating his angular features, dressed in a crisp white button down. No tie, but that was no surprise — he didn’t strike me as the tie-wearing type.

“I thought I’d never see you again,” I finally whispered, when I’d regained a little of my composure.

“I told you — I don’t leave things up to fate.” His eyes locked on mine. “I make my own.”

My head shook in disbelief. “I can’t believe you did this.”

“I can’t believe how gorgeous you look in that dress.” His eyes dropped to my neckline, lingering for a long moment. My breath caught as I saw how his jaw clenched, how the muscles there jumped and tightened. Abruptly, he stood and offered me his hand.

I stared up at him, confused.

“Show me,” he said, his voice low.

I cast an embarrassed glance around the restaurant. “Now?”

He nodded. “I want to see you, Red.”

My stomach flipped at his words and heat began to simmer in my veins.

Slipping my hand into his, I allowed him to pull me to my feet. For almost a full minute, I endured his intent perusal, trying not to shiver as his gaze caressed my body from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. I shivered when his eyes finally returned to mine and I saw the unmistakable lust swirling in their depths. My mouth went dry as he tugged me closer.

Was he finally going to kiss me?

A surprised, involuntary laugh slipped from my lips when Wes lifted one arm over my head and spun me in a complete circle. His wolfish whistle injected some levity into the otherwise intense moment and caused several people at surrounding tables to stare disapprovingly in our direction. I didn’t spare them a thought — all my concentration was used up by Wes, who was twirling me closer and closer with each turn. When I pirouetted to a dizzy stop, I found myself wrapped tightly in the circle of his arms.

“Very smooth,” I said breathlessly, still giggling.

“You’re beautiful, you know that?” Wes whispered, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

“This outfit is beautiful,” I corrected. “I have helmet hair and would sincerely benefit from a long shower.”

He smiled that crooked smile. “You need to learn to accept a compliment.”

“There are a few other things I’d like to learn first, mister.” My tone was playfully stern as I forced myself to step out of his arms. Untangling my limbs, I took a steadying breath as I sat back down in my chair. He settled in across from me with an amused, expectant look on his face.

“Such as?”

“Such as…. How did you manage all of this? This dress fits like it was made for me — so do the shoes! Konrad was somehow in on the entire plan. Even honorable Hugo was totally down with your scheming.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Do you have a super power I don’t know about?”

“That depends — do you consider being unbelievably attractive a super power?”

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t like you.”

“Yes, you do.” He laughed boyishly. “Red, Konrad is a teenage boy — he’d have done anything I asked for twenty bucks, a Red Sox cap, and a free case of beer. Hugo was a little harder — a few more bills and a bottle of scotch. And, let’s just say, men aren’t the only ones who can be bought. Your roommate Margot was quite helpful when it came to dress and shoe size.”

My jaw dropped.

“Don’t look so surprised.” He grinned. “You’ll wound my ego.”

“As if that’s possible.” I huffed.

His grin widened.

“You could’ve just asked me out, you know,” I pointed out. “You didn’t have to do all of this.”

“Yeah, I did,” he said, the joking light fading from his eyes.

I looked down at the linen tablecloth. It probably had a higher thread count than the sheets on my bed. “But I’m not worth the effort,” I mumbled quietly.