Blissful giggles sang out of my mouth. I had completely unraveled this beautiful man, and how I enjoyed doing it. After he helped me, and then fixed himself to look presentable, he served me a plate full of food, then forced me into his lap and showed me the front cover page he was so proud of again.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” I asked, still in his lap.

“I’ll eat later.” He sounded relaxed, content.

Feeding myself didn’t go well with me, so I stabbed my fork into the seafood salad and fed it to him. With a look of surprise and a huge grin, he graciously took it. Surely, one of the ladies he had gone out with had fed him the way I did, but I didn’t know. I didn’t want to think of someone else feeding my Max. Oh God! I called him my Max. At least for now he was. But I had to agree with him. This was the best lunch I’d ever had.

Chapter 29

The rest of the week went perfectly, and that was the only lunch date we had that week. Friday night Max wanted to take me out to dinner. Since he was across town for a meeting, I told him I would meet him at the restaurant. He didn’t like the idea that he wasn’t picking me up and taking me there directly, but I told him it was ridiculous to drive all the way back to work and then back to the restaurant. Not only was it a waste of gas, it was a waste of time, though Max wouldn’t have driven…he would’ve had his driver do it. Following the address he gave me on my GPS, I got there in plenty of time. The Japanese restaurant was cozy, small, but elegant. The dim lighting gave it a romantic feel, and I had to admit, I was overflowing with happiness.

“We have a reservation under Mr. Maxwell Knight,” I said to the hostess.

She studied me for a second, then gave me a big smile.

What was that for?

The hostess told me I could wait at the bar for Max, so that was where I headed. Sitting at the bar, there were several seats taken; probably people who were waiting for their tables as well. With a quick smile to the strangers, I sat with my back to the door and admired the clock on the wall.

Just as the long hand touched the number twelve, a warm body cuddled behind me, and I knew it was Max—just in time. The scent of his expensive cologne was intoxicating. He nibbled on my ear and whispered sweet nothings to me. “Hey, beautiful. Everyone has an addiction. Mine happens to be you. You’re my only addiction, and I don’t ever want to find a cure.”

“Max,” I gushed, giggling, recalling him saying something like that to me before.

Then Max twitched from the sound of his cell phone. “Sorry…let me check,” he uttered. A frown crossed his face.

“Who is it?” I asked. I was concerned, seeing his unpleasant facial expression. Though I knew it was none of my business, and I shouldn’t have asked, I couldn’t help myself. That facial expression worried me deeply.

“Nothing, babe.” Shifting his eyes away from his phone and shoving it back into the holder on his side belt loop, he peered down at me with a smile and held my hand. “Let’s go to our table.”

Getting out of the bar area and into the dining area, I thought he was headed to our table, but instead he took me to a private room, set just for two, with a candle flickering on the center table. Helping me take my coat off, he pulled out my chair, waited for me to sit, and sat across from me. Always a gentleman.

“Do you own this restaurant?” I asked, placing my small purse behind me. The hostess hadn’t escorted us in, and I thought it was unusual to walk into a private room without her knowing.

“My parents do, so I’m not sure how to answer that question,” he chuckled lightly. “I knew they were not coming here for dinner, so…here we are.” He grinned. “How was your day without me?”

Before I could answer, the waitress walked in with two glasses of water and a glass of wine for Max. “Good evening,” she smiled warmly.

I smiled, but Max greeted her. “Hello, Ana. How have you been?”

“Good, thank you, Max.”

A strange, knotted feeling twisted inside me, and I couldn’t help but wonder if they’d had something before. I guessed that it would be natural for them to know each other, but the fact that she was pretty with a gorgeous body, she had called him by his first name, and the way he smiled at her…I had to stop thinking like that. What is the matter with me? Trust…I need to trust him. He hadn’t done anything wrong. Whatever it was, it was in the past…if there was anything there in the first place.

After placing the drinks on the table, she gave us each a menu. “I’ll be back to take your orders.” When she turned, I expected Max to turn to check her out, like most men would have, but he didn’t. He turned to me with an even bigger grin. In a silly way, that put a smile on my face.

“So, as I was asking…how was your day?” Max continued, opening my menu for me. “Pick whatever your heart desires…or I should say your stomach.”

“The same old,” I said, referring back to his question. “But…yes, I have to admit, I did miss you…a little.”

As if I had thrown a dagger into his heart, he placed his hand there with a pretend hurtful expression. “Just a little?” he frowned. “That’s okay. I’m not afraid to say I’ve missed you more.”

His words tugged at my heart. Since I wasn’t sure what to order, Max ordered lots of sushi, sashimi, and things I’d never tried before. This concerned me a little…I was never the adventurous type to try new things. I had always stuck to the same old, usual, safe stuff. But I had to admit, I was glad Max made me try them, because they were delicious.