"Nope," he said mildly. "Should I be concerned you know where I live?" he asked as he walked me to the elevator. "And that you showed up twice?"
I grinned at him even though his hand was on the small of my back and making my thoughts feel like slush. I dropped his wallet off again last night so he could fill it up for me. "Having a huge ego must be a terrible thing," I said somberly.
"You've no idea," he said, but amusement tinged the seriousness of his tone. We walked into the elevator and as soon as the doors closed, he turned to face me. His gaze swept down slowly, all the way to my toes, and then back up.
"You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," he growled. "And that dress." He sighed and shook his head. "Incredible."
He liked my dress. He liked my dress. Color bloomed in my cheeks. "This old thing?" I said lightly. I met his emerald gaze. "You clean up well."
His lips tilted up. "Thank you." Tanner cleared his throat and looked away from me.
"So where are we going?" I asked, my fingers fidgeting with my purse.
"Just like you wanted. We're going for coffee."
"Oh," I breathed, trying not to feel disappointed. I should have known he was a man of his word. We stepped out of the rickety elevator and Tanner led me out of the building, but not before he turned back and stared inside.
"That elevator needs to be condemned. You should think about taking the stairs."
"I always take the stairs," I told him. "That thing is a death trap."
A laugh escaped him as we walked outside. There was a car parked in front of the building - an old Jaguar. Classy but comfortable. He held the door open for me and I slid into the well cared for leather seats.
Soon we were on our way.
For coffee.
We stopped at a nondescript building with a small neon sign that had seen better days. I peeked up at the sign and slid a glance over at Tanner. He didn't say anything, but a smirk tilted his mouth up at the corners. I wouldn't judge a place before I tried it, but this looked dubious at best.
Before I could open my door, Tanner was already there. He held it open and offered a hand to help me out. I took it and soon enough he'd whisked me inside.
The smells of Vietnamese cooking took me off guard. From the outside, you couldn't tell what this place was. And with a name like Spike's, I never would've guessed it was a restaurant. The interior was dim, though not dank. Several couples sat huddled together over small tables. Beautiful dishes of artfully arranged food sat in front of them. It seemed like a damn shame to mess up a dish like that by eating it.
Tanner put his palm on the small of my back as he led me to the back. We sat at a table overlooking water. Moonlight sparkled over it and cast a silver glow on our skin.
I approved.
"This is beautiful," I told him. My eyes narrowed. "But not coffee."
Tanner held up a finger. "Definitely coffee," he argued. "But more, too."
The waiter came out of nowhere, laid two menus down, and disappeared without a word.
"I recommend the spring rolls and the Pho," he said before he picked his menu up.
I freaking loved Pho, but I was wearing a dress. I glanced down at myself and back at the menu. A tiny sigh escaped me. Tanner reached into his wallet, pulled out something folded, and slid it over to me. I frowned and picked it up.
"Unfold it."
I looked at him, but his face was blank. I slowly unfolded it until it began to take shape. A laugh burst from me.
A bib. He'd brought a bib. It was weird and a little corny, and it made my heart melt.
"Don't think I won't use this," I warned him. "I love Pho just enough to embarrass myself on our first ... whatever this is."
Tanner pulled a second folded bib from his wallet. "Good."
And that's how we both ended up eating messy soup in our dress clothes. We chatted, we laughed, but most of all we had fun.
I didn't realize how much I needed it until it happened for me. When we finished our Pho, Tanner ordered us two Vietnamese coffees.
"You sly dog," I said with admiration. He leaned back in his chair, the powerful lines of his body straining against the confines of his shirt. He took my breath away, but more than that, he made me feel again.
It terrified me. Tanner didn't make me feel the same way Greg did. My ex represented security due to what he had. Tanner represented safety because of who he was. He slid his hand over to me and captured my fingers. His palm was warm and calloused - a working man's hand. I allowed it. I wanted to feel him against me. I'd never wanted a man to kiss me more than I did him in my entire life.
But Tanner, damn him, seemed to be a gentleman. He simply held my hand. When the coffee arrived, he let go and the loss of his warmth shook me to my core. For a moment, there seemed to be a connection between us - a warm golden trail of light that connected from my heart to his.
I blinked, but it was gone. That's crazy, right?
Tanner didn't notice it or, if he did, he didn't say anything. I lifted my coffee, inhaled the sweet scent, and took a sip. I'd never had it before. My days of eating out were few and far between after Greg had cut me out of his life.
"Tell me something I don't know about you," Tanner said as he sipped his coffee.
"Mmm." I thought about it. How much could I tell him without him knowing what happened to me? "I make clay figures and sell them on Etsy," I blurted.
Tanner tilted his head in curiosity. I wanted to curl up and die. But instead of laughing or making fun of me, Tanner leaned forward. "What do you make?"
"Erm. Sleeping dragons mostly."
Tanner's eyes widened comically. "No way. Show me," he demanded. He sounded oddly delighted as if I had pleased him in a way no one ever had.
"I don't carry any in my purse." I stared at him trying to figure him out. "They're breakable."
"Do you have any pictures of them?" He seemed genuinely interested, and I began to warm to the conversation. I took my phone out of my purse and showed him the one I'd made a couple of weeks prior.
It was a blue and silver dragon, curled in repose. Instead of using colored clay, I'd hand painted this one and spent some of my precious savings on iridescent micas. I slid my phone over to him and when Tanner looked at the picture, his breath caught. "This is incredible, Ella," he breathed. He enlarged the picture and peered at it with fascination. His praise made me feel accepted. Cared about. "How did you learn to do this?"
I shrugged. "I taught myself. I can't do it as much as I used to because clay is not in my budget anymore. I buy it when I can. Plus the micas and paints I like to use are more expensive than I like. I have to stretch them out. I have an entire collection of the dragons in my apartment." I dropped my eyes. "If you'd like to see them."
Tanner took my hand and reached over to tilt my chin up. "I'd love nothing more." Our gazes clashed. Something terrifying lurked in his. Love. Acceptance. Comfort.
My mouth went dry and my heart fluttered like butterfly wings. Danger, Ella. This felt like an out of control freight train, but all I wanted to do was hop on for the ride. I was divorced. Free. Not tethered to anyone or anything. But I didn't want to get into a relationship without honesty and the truth was, right now I was broke, living in a run-down apartment, and I had no idea what the future held.