Page 123 of Lured By Shadows

Culver’s smooth tone stalled me for a second before I licked my lips.

“Twenty-four? Twenty-six? I feel like you’re older than you look.”

He lifted one shoulder in a loose shrug, a full smirk settling onto his face.

“You are more observant than you let on, little lamb.”

The server returned, setting down a scallop dish—or what I liked to call a sea-bite.

Steam curled faintly from the plate, carrying the buttery scent of seared seafood and garlic toward me. The scallop itself was golden on top with delicate crispness around the edges, glistening beneath the chandelier light. Underneath it sat a bed of peas.

I scrunched my nose at once.

I didn’t particularly like peas. They never tasted good and weren’t even filling.

“Oh, there are peas,” he hummed with a faint frown. “Take this back and ensure there are no peas on it for her.”

My eyes flew upward from the dish, and I quickly held my hand out to stop the waiter from taking it.

“No, it’s fine. I just won’t eat them. The scallop looks perfect, so don’t worry about it.”

The waiter paused silently, awaiting Culver’s response.

Culver stared at me with a mixture of amusement and wonder before finally nodding for the waiter to leave.

He didn’t say anything else, but the way he watched me made my stomach flutter.

My thoughts reeled, trying to figure out how he knew I didn’t like peas.

“How did you know it was the peas I didn’t like?” I questioned, lifting my utensils and cutting into the scallop. The texture melted apart beneath my fork, tender and buttery, practically dissolving on my tongue the second I tasted it.

Instead of answering right away, he picked up his champagne and took a slow sip. After setting the glass back down with a soft clink, he responded, “Did you know you start noticing every little detail about a person when you spend enough time around people who mean you harm?”

I shook my head because I genuinely hadn’t known that.

“I saw your eyes fixate on them, Ira.” Culver paused, watching me take another bite. “I noticed how your expression dimmed into disdain. The slight crinkle of your nose and curl of your lip gave you away.”

Once I swallowed the bite, I bit my lip, ready to ask another question, but he beat me to it.

“Enjoy dinner first. We have plenty of time for you to ask questions to your heart’s content.”

I wanted to push back against him, but instead I nodded and lowered my gaze to the plate again.

As we ate, small talk drifted easily between us. He asked about my plans in England and what I wanted to do. I just wanted to grow my content creation and become even better at dancing.

My goals were simplistic, but I loved dancing. It was cliché, sure, but I loved the freedom it gave me, the ability to express myself without words.

That was probably the most poetic I would ever get in my life.

Culver listened, though. And I really liked that about him.

He made me feel seen in a way I never had before.

As dinner eased toward its end, dessert arrived: some type of dense mousse they called Valrhona Chocolate Delice. The dark chocolate gleamed, topped with delicate gold leaf and deep red cherry compote that smelled sweet and tart all at once.

The first bite was velvety and rich, melting slowly across my tongue while the tartness of the cherries balanced the heaviness perfectly.

I felt ridiculously luxurious sitting there.