She smiled at him, and he returned it. He placed his hand on the small of her back as he guided her inside the restaurant. The heat from his palm branded her skin, and she almost let out a squawk of pleasure.
“So, is that why many women have a problem working for you? They aren’t used to your manners?” she asked after they were seated inside. She couldn’t help but pry. Perhaps she shouldn’t, but why not? Itwasher last day.
“I keep my employees at an arm’s distance,” he admitted. “It’s second nature to me to be overly protective, and I end up being an ass, so I don’t get too close.”
She blinked in shock, not having expected him to be so open with her. “Well, I don’t mind the overprotectiveness. After my time with Zagan, I had a hard time feeling safe out in the world. It’s nice to know people are looking out for me.”
“I was thrilled when they collared the guy,” Richard muttered. “I heard all about what he did to Quinn and couldn’t wait for him to finally be captured.”
“You and me both.”
“Quinn had a hard time. He’d just lost his parents before Zagan kidnapped him.” Richard shook his head sadly.
“Yeah. But things worked out for him. He’s engaged to Erika now, and they seem so happy.”
Richard lowered his menu to gaze at Amira with knitted brows. “How long were you a prisoner?”
“Two years.”
Richard raised an eyebrow, and his gaze fixated on her, and that gave rise to the heat in her cheeks.
“Hi, my name is Lili.” A woman appeared before them, interrupting their conversation. “I’ll be your server today. Have you had a chance to look over the menu?”
“Today’s lunch is on me,” Richard said to Amira. “I won’t take no for an answer.”
She gave him a half-smile before responding, “I guess I don’t have a choice then.”
“No. You don’t.”
4
Richard smiled softly at Amira. He didn’t insist on buying the meal to prove his dominance over her or even to win the conversation they were having—which was what he normally did with his friends and colleagues. But this was different. With Amira, he merely wanted to treat her to a good time.
The past two weeks had been excruciating for him for many reasons. He’d had to tamp down every instinct he had by staying away from her. It had been for the best. Otherwise, seeing her,smelling hermade him want to do other things—starting with tasting her.
But now her short tenure as his employee was over, at least he was considering it over. She hadn’t asked to extend it, and that was fine by him. He couldn’t survive any longer with her in his office. Plus, it meant he could finally approach her like a woman, not his employee. Which was why he’d asked her to lunch.
It had been ages since he’d gone out to eat—especially with a date. And all because he was a workaholic. That was the only thing that everyone in the office understood about him. Then there was the bad reputation he’d earned after his disastrous breakup with Carol. He’d come to see and admit that some of his personal moralistic ways toward women might be outdated. Okay, perhaps chauvinistic was a better word for how he’d previously acted, but he did nothing out of malice or hate. He just wanted to protect people, and sometimes he thought that protection should extend to protecting them from themselves. He was a llama, after all, and llamas were great at being there to snuggle that security blanket around others.
“What’s good here?” Amira asked. “I normally don’t go out to eat. I cook for myself at home.”
“And prepare salads you forget to eat?” he teased.
She shrugged but offered him a smile that warmed his insides.
When the server re-appeared, Richard ordered for both of them. The server turned on her heel and exited to the kitchen. Richard turned to Amira with a smile, but her knitted brows greeted him.
“You know, I’m more than capable of ordering for myself.”
Richard put his palms out toward her in surrender.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to overstep. It’s just like I said. I was raised to treat women properly,” he said as he fisted his hands. Memories of how badly things ended with Carol flooded him. He needed to work on keeping other people’s feelings in mind so any future relationship didn’t end so messed up again. The last thing he wanted was for Amira to look at him the way Carol had. “I’m really trying to do better… to not have everyone think I’m a dick.”
Her hand went over his, and within that instant, all the tension in his shoulders released. Her touch brought with it a warmth he likened to snuggling up with a fuzzy blanket by the fireplace in the winter. The small smile she offered was like a salve on his soul.
“I can understand where you’re coming from. Growing up, every male in my family felt they knew what was best for me—the family’s little lamb. And then once I got out of Zagan’s warehouse of horrors, they all doubled down. Like they literally tried to map everything out for me. At first, I didn’t mind so much because I was working on myself and trying to find what normal was again. But with things like what I want to eat—well, I just prefer to use my own voice. Does that make sense to you?”
“It does.” He gazed into her turquoise-colored eyes, searching for a reason why things felt so different with her. Carol had held on to each resentment until it boiled over into an irreparable situation. But Amira was actually confronting things and not making him feel like an ass. She was… giving him a chance? His breath caught at the thought.
