Bless you, Avery.
LUKE
Perfect. Pick you up at 7:30?
She texted back right away.
MARGOT
Sounds great. See you then
He knocked on her door at exactly seven thirty that night. She laughed as she opened it, her jacket in her hand.
“It’s good I know that you’re terminally punctual; otherwise, I would be alarmed that you’re already here, and I also would be at least five minutes from being ready. Luckily, I remembered.”
He smiled down at her. She was wearing a clingy emerald green cotton sundress, and her hair cascaded over her shoulders. She seemed lit from within, with the way she smiled and laughed at him.
“You look incredible,” was all he said. That didn’t feel like what he meant, but then he wasn’t exactly sure he knew how to say what he meant.
She looked suddenly almost shy. He never would have thought to describe Margot Noble as shy, but it was true.
“Thank you.” She picked up her bag and slid on sandals. “Shall we go?”
He glanced sideways at her as they walked down to the car together. She looked so elegant tonight, in just a simple sundress and jewelry. He suddenly felt too young, too unseasoned, to be walking next to Margot. He knew he was younger than her, but he wasn’t quite sure how much younger. Did she know? Did she care? If he asked her how old she was, she would think he cared about her age, which he didn’t. Well, not like that—he just wanted to make sure she didn’t care. See, this was why he couldn’t ask her, because even in his head he sounded like he cared for all the wrong reasons.
He opened the car door for her, and she smiled at him. He realized what would help him stop overthinking this.
He got in the driver’s side and unbuckled the seat belt she’d just put on.
“I meant to do this at the door,” he said, “but you in that dress got me all flustered.”
She laughed as she turned to him.
“Did I? What did you mean to do then?”
He took her face in his hands.
“This.” He leaned forward to kiss her, just as she reached for him. The kiss felt familiar now—he knew the way her lips felt against his, the way her body dipped and curved under his hands, how smooth her skin was. But it still felt so exciting, so hard-won, that he could just reach for her like this, and kiss her, and have her meet him kiss for kiss, touch for touch, with that soft sigh and gentle tug that thrilled him so much.
Finally, they pulled apart, and he touched her bottom lip with his thumb.
“Hi,” he said softly.
“Hi,” she said. They smiled at each other as she put her seat belt on again.
* * *
LUKE DIDN’T REACH FOR her hand as they got out of the car and walked inside Verdant. Margot was both disappointed and relieved about that. She didn’t—exactly—want to walk into the restaurant holding his hand. It wasn’t anything about Luke; he was great. She was actually worried that he was too great, that this whole thing was some sort of a trick, or mirage. But that wasn’t why she’d been relieved.
She was sure she’d run into someone she knew tonight—it was almost impossible not to, these days. And she was worried she’d run into someone who knew that Luke had been her employee up until yesterday. Or even someone who thought he was still her employee, currently. And that then they’d tell her brother.
She should have thought about this earlier today, when Luke had asked if she wanted to go to Verdant—one of the hot new restaurants in the valley—for dinner.
But all she’d thought when she’d gotten that text was how it had been years since someone had put thought into a date with her, planned something for her like that, and how wonderful and surprising and disconcerting it was. When she’d said “tonight” that morning to Luke, she’d just expected him to come over for sex again, maybe buy her takeout for dinner, if he really gave it some forethought. She hadn’t expected a real date.
He’d obviously gotten advice from Avery on where to take her, which was so fucking sweet it made her want to lean over and kiss him right here, in the doorway of the restaurant. She didn’t do it—she didn’t even reach for his hand—but just thinking of it made her almost not worried about whether she’d run into someone she knew.
“We have a reservation at eight—Williams, party of two,” Luke said.
The host smiled at them.
“Margot! Good to see you.”
Margot almost laughed, it happened so quickly. This host had worked at the Barrel last year for a few months.