Chapter 23

Hunter

Punching the steering wheel was no way to start a date, but that's what I wanted to do. Instead, I clenched it hard, listening to the vinyl creak as I struggled to regulate my breath, but all of that fell apart when I dared to look at Jamie.

Millie had done everything she'd promised. I'd asked her to make sure Jamie had something to wear that would work for the restaurant and ensure she was comfortable at the same time, but I had no idea it would look like that. The bust of her dress seemed to separate and prop out her breasts, as if offering them to me personally, before nipping into a waist I longed to wrap my arms around, but I wouldn't.

Not until she had the truth.

That's why I'd gone to all this effort, calling in favours to get us a booking. Maybe if I took her somewhere amazing, if she had a belly full of lovely food, she wouldn't storm off, infuriated at our deception. The only answer I got right now was a conspicuous rumble from Jamie's stomach, forcing her to slap her hand over it.

"Hungry?" Smiling made me feel a whole lot better as I gazed down at her.

"Um… yeah. This restaurant we're going to, what kind of food does it have, because I could eat the crutch out of a low-flying duck right now."

I burst out laughing, then shook my head.

"I have no freaking idea, just that it was fancy, so let's find out, shall we?"

The first indication I was out of my depth was when we arrived. A man in livery came out to the car, opening Jamie's door, then mine before holding out a hand. Did he need a tip? We didn't really do that in Australia, but maybe here… Oh shit, the keys. This was a valet service. I handed them over reluctantly, not really loving the idea of letting someone else drive my car, but I had to pretend as if this was all natural to me. When Hayden announced he was going to take her somewhere cool like axe throwing, I needed to do something to top that, and so I held out my arm and then escorted Jamie into the restaurant.

"Good evening, did you…?" The waiter at the door looked up and then grinned. David was a high-end fashion model in his spare time, but the demand for them in Australia was not great, so he worked here as his regular job. "Hunter!" He held out a hand and we performed a complex little handshake we'd come up with when bored out of our minds waiting to walk the catwalk. "How's it going, man? And is this your lovely lady?"

I wanted to say yes, that she was mine and snake my arm around her waist as I tugged her closer, especially when David seemed to look at Jamie way too long, but instead I turned towards her.

"This is David, an old modelling buddy. He helped us out tonight."

"Did I ever. I got you a private room. This influencer party pulled out at the last minute, so I managed to get you guys in. Come this way."

I needed this to be the first time of many. People turned to watch us pass as we walked through the elegant dining room, but I imagined it was Jamie that they stared at. Her hair was all twisted up and pinned behind her head, but little tendrils had escaped and my fingers longed to trace each one. The deep V of her dress gave me tantalising glimpses of her breasts, and I was willing to bet more than one guy here wanted to peel the silky fabric away and see if the skin there was softer. David came to a stop out the front of a screened off room, then slid Japanese-inspired doors before ushering us in.

"Oh wow…" Jamie gasped, then looked up at me. "Are we expecting anyone else?"

A long table was set up with glassware and gleaming cutlery.

"No, unfortunately the room was reared for the booked party," David said, "but I'll have someone remove the other place settings."

"Just us," I told her as I moved behind the chair she'd selected, her eyes going wide as I pulled it out, then pushed it under her when she sat down. I took up position on the other side of her, soaking in the view.

"So did you want to start with some drinks?" David asked. "Some wine, maybe?"

"Jamie?"

"Wine, for me?" She snorted and then cocked one eyebrow. "Remember when Millie and I got into that cask wine?"

I grimaced.

"Pretty sure we were holding back both of your hair and cleaning up all damn night," I replied. "We told you one glass each." They'd followed the letter if not the spirit of our directions, filling up these massive tumblers full of wine and sculling it. "But I'm fairly confident they don't sell Chateau de Cardboard here, so…?"

"One glass," she said to David with a shrug.

"Bring us something you'd recommend," I told him. "Red made her sick, so maybe a white. Something not too sweet."

"You've got it. A waiter will bring you your drinks, but in the meantime, here's the menu."

He handed each of us a chunky leather folio, and I opened mine up, ready to make a selection when I encountered my first problem. The menu was written in another language, and if I had to guess, it was French.

"Ahh… Hunter."

"Yep, I know, I know." I squinted my eyes, as if that would help, but it didn't. Strange spellings swam before me, not resolving into anything that resembled English at all. "So did you fail high school French as well?—?"

"I didn't even take it," she replied, a thin thread of panic in her voice. "I did Italian instead."

"Right, right, so… escargot sounds alright?"

"Isn't that snails?"

I grimaced and then looked up, seeing a similar look on her face.

Hayden threw axes at a wall. He bought her a Coke and then kissed her. Brock took her to some pizza place after work, and I had to try to top all of that. I wanted something grand, something special, and I was fucking things up at the first hurdle.

"Google translate!" she said, dragging out her phone. "We have to use it sometimes when dealing with Japanese parts distributors. It's not perfect but… Swordfish pearls balsamic?" Jamie looked up. "What the hell is that?"

I was out of my depth completely, I had to admit. Each of us struggled to decode the menu's contents and got nowhere.

"Hand lime pearls?" I said. "What the hell is a hand lime?"

"How about salmon jam?" Jamie added. "Or lamb haunch crust?"

"Don't they have a bloody steak here?" I frantically looked up the French word for steak and then scoured the menu for a sign of it.

"I'd settle for a burger right now and some chips. Hey, French fries, they'd have to have that, right?"

As she searched the door slid open and a waiter stepped in, toting a bottle of wine.

"This is a Penfolds Grange 2020," the waiter said, presenting the bottle to me. I blinked and then looked at it and nodded, because what else was I supposed to say? I drank beer most of the time. Apparently that was all that was needed because he then uncorked the bottle and poured a small amount of the wine into the glass then looked at me expectantly.

Did he want me to drink it in front of him? I grabbed the glass and tossed it back before looking back at the waiter. A tiny frown made clear that wasn't the correct response, but he moved around the table, filling my glass, then Jamie's.

"Now, is everyone ready to order?" he asked.

"Ahh…" I'd found a nice suit, talked to the guy in the shop to make sure it fitted properly, found this restaurant, but apparently this was where it all fell apart. "We're still?—"

"Trying to work out what is on the menu," Jamie told him. "We didn't realise the menu would be in French." The crease in the waiter's brows deepened, but she charged on. "Did you have steak or a burger on the menu…?"

"Perhaps a tasting menu would be the best choice," the waiter suggested smoothly. "It entails a selection of many of our most ordered dishes, perfect for someone… new to dining here."

You total bogan, that went unspoken. I clenched my jaw and then nodded.

"Sounds great."

"Perfect."

The menus were whisked away and the wine bottle left on the table, leaving me to scull a glass as soon as the doors were closed.

"Well, that went well…" I hissed to myself.

"Hey, apparently we're going to get a taste of all their wonderful dishes," Jamie said, then eyed the door forlornly. "He didn't say anything about burgers, though."

"Should we bail?" I'd walked into the axe throwing place full of confidence, but that was destroyed as soon as Hayden took Jamie in his arms. Watching my mirror image kiss the one girl I wanted had me conflicted. It was like I was kissing her too, and yet that possibility felt as remote as the sun at the same time. And twice as hot. "This was a mistake. I hoped to take you out somewhere nice, impress you, and?—"

"I put on a dress for you." My eyes met hers across the table. "You know I can count how many guys I've done that for on one hand." She looked at her palm. "Make that one finger. You look freaking hot in that suit." I stiffened, every muscle moving in a state of readiness, "And this place is beautiful." She stared at the low-hanging lights, the glossy, black-lacquered walls and the golden frames containing artworks. "As fake dates go, it's pretty incredible. I'm not sure anyone has ever gone to this kind of effort for me before."

Because men were fucking idiots, not worthy of her, I swore. I wasn't either, but I'd try. Bloody hell, I'd try.

"I really appreciate all of it, Hunter, because you really didn't have to, but…" I hung there, waiting for the end of that sentence. "You promised me answers. Brock… Hayden…" Her hand went to her lips before she snatched it back down again. "Everyone's acting really weird." She smiled, but it didn't really reach her eyes. "Including you. What's going on, Hunt?"

That shortened version of my name was all it took to destroy the illusion I was frantically trying to create. I wasn't some 007 guy that hung out places like this. I liked surfing, having a beer, being with my friends and family, and…

Jamie. Always Jamie.

I sucked in a breath, ready to confess everything when the doors opened again. We glanced over to see a fleet of waiters come to remove all the other place settings at the table. Plates were stacked, cutlery dropped into a tub and napkins whisked away until they disappeared back out the door.

"I'm gonna tell you, Jamie," I told her, starting out strong. "I've been wanting to say something for some time." My hand started to shake a little, so I tried to cover that by raking it through my hair. "It'd be a relief of sorts, to finally get this off my chest."

She leaned forward, and if we were talking about anything else, I'd have drunk in the sight of her cleavage, but not now. I stared at the curve of her cheek, the shine of her eyes, enhanced by the makeup she'd put on, not obscured. Those cute little tendrils of hair, that's what I focussed on as I sucked in a breath.

Right as the doors slid open again.

"First course," the waiter said with a polite smile, somehow ignoring the tense atmosphere in the room. "Fillet of lamb cooked with pepperleaf and saltbush leaves, served with a potato au gratin."

Massive plates with a tiny piece of lamb were set before us, the potato looking like potato bake cut out in a slender stack. I nodded to the waiter in thanks, half wanting to quiz him about the food to keep him in the room, half wanting to boot him out.

"Enjoy," the waiter said before turning to go, but I very much doubted I would.