Chapter 23
Blythe
I stared at Charlie in annoyance, “You’re not ready?”
He looked at me quizzically, “It just took you well over an hour to get ready, but me tying my shoes is going to be why we’re late?”
I nodded. I’m not sure why, but I was anxious.
“Does this dress look okay?” I brushed my hands over the sheer fabric covering my stomach. Rose had insisted that I buy this dress even though it was way sexier than I typically go for. It was a pale blue lace with a corset top, and it hugged every curve on the way down until it hit mid-calf.
Charlie stared back at me, mouth slightly agape, “You are the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.” He finished tying his shoe and made his way towards me. His hands snaked around my waist, “Maybe we should stay in…”
“Oh no. After the amount of work I put into looking like this,” I motioned towards my hair and makeup, “We are not going to miss our reservation.”
Getting into this dress was a workout, and I was sweaty. My hair and makeup took way longer than I had anticipated. My shoes are uncomfortable. I was glad we had decided on dinner and then coming back to the hotel. We did a ton of walking today, and it caught up to me—I was exhausted.
I finally took Charlie in. He was dressed in a navy suit that hugged his broad shoulders. He opted for a white shirt with an unbuttoned top button and no tie. I could mount him right now.
“You look very handsome.” I complimented.
“I figured my jeans and boots wouldn’t cut it at the restaurant.” His hand went up to his neck. “I forgot a tie at home. Can I go without one?”
I took three steps to him to close the gap. I never wore heels, so these five inches I had on made me almost eye-level with Charlie. “Absolutely.”
His arms wrapped around my waist, “You—just—wow.”
“Can we take a picture?”
“We should get going if we don’t want to be late. Even though I don’t want to leave this room.” His blue eyes were dark with desire.
“I will happily let you take this dress off me once we get back from dinner.” I teased.
We made our way to the elevator, where an elderly couple greeted us. We exchanged silent hellos while waiting. A minute went by, then two.
“You look like you’re heading out to a lovely dinner.” The woman observed.
“It’s our first night out in a while,” I answered honestly.
“Kids at home?” The woman directed at me.
I nodded.
“Where are you going?” The man inquired.
“We have a reservation at L’Acqua.” I beamed as I squeezed Charlie’s hand.
The man cocked his head, “L’Acqua on Historic Place?”
“That’s the one,” Charlie responded.
They looked at each other before shaking their heads.
“That place closed down three days ago.” The woman added.
“That’s impossible. I confirmed my reservation earlier this week.” Charlie’s hand let go of mine to reach for his phone.
The elevator came before he could find the email confirming the reservation. We stood in the lobby while his million emails loaded. This man has over eighteen thousand emails. I could never .
“It’s right here.” Charlie turned the phone towards me.
Sure enough, there was a confirmation email on the screen. I double-checked the date. Everything was correct.
“It’s down the street. Why don’t we just walk over there? Those people probably had the wrong place. You have the confirmation email.”
“Yeah,” he shook his head, his brows were furrowed. “You’re probably right.”
We walked hand-in-hand the two blocks to the restaurant. We were face-to-face with a brick building with the word thief spray painted across the window.
Charlie gulped, “What the fuck.”
It was more of a statement than a question.
I reached for my phone in my clutch. I typed in the restaurant, and when I clicked search, I had no idea what the results would reveal.