a show for the paparazzi; otherwise, there would be no date. I turn
my head to look out the window, needing to hide whatever expression is on my
face from Ace. He can read me too well. I don't need him figuring out that my
heart is breaking because I was stupid enough to fall in love with him.
When
we pull up to the restaurant, Ace comes around to my side and opens the door
for me. I take his offered hand as I get out. I smile at his gentlemanly
gesture. He's being really sweet tonight. It's kinda freaking me out. Not that
he's not normally a sweet guy, but he's going above and beyond his norm
tonight.
As
soon as I get out, cameras start flashing and people start yelling to us. Alex
has to step in front of us to push a couple of overzealous paparazzi out of the
way. Ace wraps his arm around my waist and holds me close to him as we walk
into the restaurant. Once inside, I close my eyes against the dots dancing in
front of me. Holy shit, that was intense.
"You
okay?" Ace asks quietly.
"Other
than being blind?" I grunt.
Ace
chuckles.
The
hostess seats us immediately in a secluded corner. Alex sits at a table a few
feet away to run interference with anyone looking to interrupt our dinner. Ace pulls
out my chair for me and pushes it in as I sit. I laugh to myself as I think
about how funny it would have been had he done the opposite. Ace sits adjacent
to me. Which surprises me. Usually the guy will take the seat across from their
date. He smiles at me as he scoots his chair in.
"What's
so funny?" he asks.
"Oh,
I was just thinking about how funny it would have been if you had pulled my
seat out from under me instead of pushing it in." I snicker.
Ace
barks out a laugh. "Yeah, that would have been pretty hilarious and I
would have forever been labeled as a douchebag."
I
shrug. "Yeah, probably."
The
hostess is all smiles when she hands us our menus. "Your waiter for
tonight is Joe and he will be with you shortly," she says sweetly.
Ace
and I both say thank you and open our menus as she walks away. I glance at Ace,
wanting to see if he is checking her out as she walks away because honestly, if
I were a guy, I would have. She is one of those gorgeous blonde bombshells with
the perfect body types. But when I look at Ace, he's staring at the menu. I
glance at Alex. He is practically drooling as the hostess walks by him.
"Wow,"
I mutter, shaking my head in confusion.
Ace's
eyes flip up from the menu to meet mine. "What?"
"I
just thought you would have checked out the hostess' ass as she walked
away," I say with a dismissive wave of my hand. "I mean, I think Alex
jizzed in his pants over there."
Ace
fought off a smile. "I see. But I have no need to look at her when I am
sitting with the best looking woman in here," he says with a shrug.
I
narrow my eyes at him. "Ace, you better stop with all the sweet talking
before I start to believe you," I murmur before looking down at my menu.
And I really, really want to believe him.
"Nikki,
I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it," Ace says.
I
lift my eyes from the menu to meet his. His sincerity hits me straight in the
gut. My stomach flips over and my heart starts to race. I swallow hard.
"We're
not really together, Ace, so just stop. You can't say things like that to a
woman who means nothing to you," I whisper harshly.
Ace's
eyes flash angrily. "Do you really think you mean nothing to me? You think
after almost two months of being with you that I wouldn't develop feelings for
you? Come on, Nikki, give me some credit here, I'm not a complete
asshole," he whispers fiercely in return.
I
stare at him in shock. Is he for real? Could the wild, bad boy Renegade
actually have feelings for me, the lowly dancer?
"What
are you saying?" I breathe, my heart going a mile a minute.
Ace
leans in toward me, threading his fingers into the hair at the back of my neck.
His lips
my head to look out the window, needing to hide whatever expression is on my
face from Ace. He can read me too well. I don't need him figuring out that my
heart is breaking because I was stupid enough to fall in love with him.
When
we pull up to the restaurant, Ace comes around to my side and opens the door
for me. I take his offered hand as I get out. I smile at his gentlemanly
gesture. He's being really sweet tonight. It's kinda freaking me out. Not that
he's not normally a sweet guy, but he's going above and beyond his norm
tonight.
As
soon as I get out, cameras start flashing and people start yelling to us. Alex
has to step in front of us to push a couple of overzealous paparazzi out of the
way. Ace wraps his arm around my waist and holds me close to him as we walk
into the restaurant. Once inside, I close my eyes against the dots dancing in
front of me. Holy shit, that was intense.
"You
okay?" Ace asks quietly.
"Other
than being blind?" I grunt.
Ace
chuckles.
The
hostess seats us immediately in a secluded corner. Alex sits at a table a few
feet away to run interference with anyone looking to interrupt our dinner. Ace pulls
out my chair for me and pushes it in as I sit. I laugh to myself as I think
about how funny it would have been had he done the opposite. Ace sits adjacent
to me. Which surprises me. Usually the guy will take the seat across from their
date. He smiles at me as he scoots his chair in.
"What's
so funny?" he asks.
"Oh,
I was just thinking about how funny it would have been if you had pulled my
seat out from under me instead of pushing it in." I snicker.
Ace
barks out a laugh. "Yeah, that would have been pretty hilarious and I
would have forever been labeled as a douchebag."
I
shrug. "Yeah, probably."
The
hostess is all smiles when she hands us our menus. "Your waiter for
tonight is Joe and he will be with you shortly," she says sweetly.
Ace
and I both say thank you and open our menus as she walks away. I glance at Ace,
wanting to see if he is checking her out as she walks away because honestly, if
I were a guy, I would have. She is one of those gorgeous blonde bombshells with
the perfect body types. But when I look at Ace, he's staring at the menu. I
glance at Alex. He is practically drooling as the hostess walks by him.
"Wow,"
I mutter, shaking my head in confusion.
Ace's
eyes flip up from the menu to meet mine. "What?"
"I
just thought you would have checked out the hostess' ass as she walked
away," I say with a dismissive wave of my hand. "I mean, I think Alex
jizzed in his pants over there."
Ace
fought off a smile. "I see. But I have no need to look at her when I am
sitting with the best looking woman in here," he says with a shrug.
I
narrow my eyes at him. "Ace, you better stop with all the sweet talking
before I start to believe you," I murmur before looking down at my menu.
And I really, really want to believe him.
"Nikki,
I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it," Ace says.
I
lift my eyes from the menu to meet his. His sincerity hits me straight in the
gut. My stomach flips over and my heart starts to race. I swallow hard.
"We're
not really together, Ace, so just stop. You can't say things like that to a
woman who means nothing to you," I whisper harshly.
Ace's
eyes flash angrily. "Do you really think you mean nothing to me? You think
after almost two months of being with you that I wouldn't develop feelings for
you? Come on, Nikki, give me some credit here, I'm not a complete
asshole," he whispers fiercely in return.
I
stare at him in shock. Is he for real? Could the wild, bad boy Renegade
actually have feelings for me, the lowly dancer?
"What
are you saying?" I breathe, my heart going a mile a minute.
Ace
leans in toward me, threading his fingers into the hair at the back of my neck.
His lips
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