Page 47 of Dancing on Air

Most days, she never put on anything other than her leotards and sweats. That wasn’t an issue for her, but it did feel nice to wear normal clothes once in a while.

The restaurant was new to her, yet so classic in style it could have been any Italian restaurant, anywhere. Still, when they walked in, they were greeted warmly and shown to a table along the glass wall looking out over the street.

From there, the city looked almost romantic. It was funny, when she was on the street, the noise and the smells were overbearing. From inside the quiet and wonderful-smelling restaurant, looking at it all through glass, the mundane seemed different, almost magical.

“This is nice,” she said as she looked over the menu she was handed. Instantly, her mouth drooled at the thought of having some lasagna. She knew she’d settle for the salad, but at least she could dream.

“Wine?” Max asked her.

“Yes, whatever you choose,” she said, suddenly feeling nervous.

A large bowl of cheesy breadsticks was set in front of them.

“I remember what an active dancer’s diet is like,” Max said after he ordered a bottle of wine. “Trust me when I say, this is probably the last place you want to be, but they do have low carb, low-calorie options that are amazing.” He reached over and flipped the menu to the back page.

She was happily surprised to see more than six menu items all within her daily dietary calculations. Every single one sounded mouthwatering.

She started with a cup of Italian wedding soup and a caprese salad. For her main course, she had grilled vegetables and Saltimbocca, thin chicken cutlets wrapped in prosciutto.

She was completely stuffed. She hadn’t had better Italian food in her entire life.

Thankfully, after the wine arrived, her nerves disappeared. They talked about all the latest gossip about Jynx and Reece and Max’s parents.

“Do you think Jynx and her gang will stop hounding me now?” Cora asked as they finished eating.

“It’s a possibility. Thanks to you, she and Reece are back together,” Max said with a shake of his head.

“I can’t imagine sleeping with someone else just because you think your boyfriend is messing around.” Cora sighed. “Why not just ask?”

“Not a lot of people are truthful,” he said with a frown.

“Your dad?”

His eyes moved to hers. “Yeah. Thankfully, I have no problems with telling the truth.”

Her eyebrows rose. “I’m sure you have your own secrets.”

He glanced around and nodded. “We can walk to my place from here.” He waved to the waiter for their check.

When she tried to pay for her half of the meal, he took her hand and kissed it.

“If you pay, then this won’t be our first official date.” He smiled at her.

“Is that what it was?”

“I thought we were going to be honest with one another,” he joked, and she laughed.

“I’m happy you think of this as a date,” she whispered after he handed over his credit card.

As they left the building, Max wrapped his arm around her.

“If this was a standard date, I’d be walking you back to your place,” he said with a smile.

“It’s the modern age. Women walk men home now.”

He laughed, then stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and kissed her.

Someone yelled for them to get a room, making them laugh even more.