Page 63 of Lennox Lane

He walked past her toward the kitchen. “Sit.”

“Do not order me around on a date.”

“Please sit, Lavender.”

“That’s better.”

She sat, though the look she gave him promised she would revisit his tone later. Lennox brought out the first plates himself—pan-seared salmon with crisped edges and a glossy citrus-herb glaze. Creamy parmesan risotto folded with lemon zest and fresh herbs. Broccolini roasted with garlic and charred just enough at the tips. The wine, chilled and already breathing, had been chosen to complement the salmon without overpowering it.

Lane stared at the plate, then at him. “This is my order at almost every restaurant that has decent salmon. Even risotto when I’m pretending I’m not about to judge the texture and broccolini because asparagus is too aggressive and green beans are usually depressed.”

His smile spread. “Exact quote.”

Lane sat back slowly. “You have a file on me?”

“I remember everything about you,” he flirted.

“You’re human surveillance with a handsome face.”

“I ha…you think I’m handsome?”

“Robot?”

“Hmm?”

She narrowed her eyes. “Hush.”

He poured her wine and set the glass beside her plate. “Taste.”

Lane picked up the glass, still watching him with suspicion, and took a sip. Her eyes closed as she moaned her appreciation of the wine. Lennox nearly forgot how to breathe. It wasn’t a dramatic reaction, just a small, involuntary pause. A tiny hum she probably didn’t realize had escaped her. He would have spent three hundred dollars to see her reaction again but next time in slow motion.

“Okay,” she said, opening her eyes. “The wine is excellent.”

He sat across from her even though every part of him wanted to sit beside her. He wanted to be close enough for their knees to touch. Close enough to catch the warmth of her perfume beneath the lavender and candlelight. But tonight was not about crowding her. It was about showing her he could be intentional without being invasive. He wanted he to know he was learning. They ate in comfortable silence for a few moments, the kind neither of them usually allowed. Lane took her first bite of salmon, and her eyes lifted to his.

“This is unfair,” she said, licking her lips.

“Good unfair?”

“The kind of unfair that makes me want to ask for the chef’s number.”

He laughed and took a sip of wine. Watching her eat something made specifically for her did something strange to him. It was not about impressing her, though he wanted that too. He wanted Lane impressed, smiling, and off balance in the best way. But deeper than that, he wanted her cared for in ways she didn’t have to translate into a favor owed. In this space, he wanted her to enjoy a meal she loved in a room that smelled like her name that didn’t require her guard up. meal she loved.

Lane set her fork down after a few bites and looked at him. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like you’re about to say something that might make me groan in annoyance.”

He leaned back in his chair. There were a dozen ways he could make a joke. A dozen ways to soften the moment before it became too serious. That had always been his gift and his escape route. Charm people until they forgot to look for the wound.

“I know you think I’m incapable of being a man you’d be proud to love,” he said.

The R&B continued around them. Loved By You by Mali Music singing about how good it feels to be loved by a woman. Candlelight moved across Lane’s face, catching the faint shine in her gloss and the guarded shift in her eyes, the sudden tightness around her mouth.

“Lennox,” she said quietly.

“No, let me say it.” He rested his forearms on the table with his gaze locked on hers. “I know what I’ve shown you. I know I’ve been arrogant and careless. I know I got scared and left you with the pieces of something I helped start. I know I made you feel like you were too much when the truth was I was terrified I wasn’t enough to handle what you made me feel. I need you to understand day by day how wrong you are about me being incapable. Not because I can say the right thing once over salmon and candlelight, but because I can keep showing up until you believe it.”