14. Worth

When the driver dropped us off at the restaurant, I offered Laurie my arm. When he laid his fingers on my sleeve, a rush of heat ran over me. How could such a simple thing feel so erotic? I placed my hand over his, brushing my thumb against the tender skin between his thumb and index finger, smiling when he sucked in a breath.

"You're going to love this place."

"I'm sure I will."

"You can make your own choices, or I can order for us, whatever makes you happy. I've been here plenty of times, tonight is all about you."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because I want to."

"You don't have to seduce me. I mean, honestly, if you…."

"Laurie, this isn't about you owing me anything. There is no obligation for anything I do for you. I want you to be happy, that's all. If we eventually decide it's impossible to keep our hands off each other, if we decide that Beck's wrong and this is a fantastic idea for us to be together, that has nothing to do with what I'm doing for you here. I'm doing this because I can and because I want you to experience everything the island has to offer."

His smile made me absolutely certain that this man was mine. I was going to follow Miles's advice and not let him go.

A man in formal attire waited patiently to open the door for us as I let Laurie walk at his own pace. I wanted him to take in everything and feel the full weight of what I had said about the night. When he glanced up at me, I smiled. "Are you ready for dinner now?"

"Yes."

I wondered if in his mind he was answering a simple question about dinner or if there was more to it because his yes sounded very much like he was opening himself to something he'd never dreamed was possible. I hoped that was true.

We were shown to the best table in the house, where I'd eaten many times before. It was on the upper floor in its own alcove looking out over the ocean. The view was stunning, and Laurie spent a few moments staring out the windows before remembering he was being seated.

"Sorry," he said when he realized I was standing there with his chair pulled out for him.

I shook my head. "I'll wait as long as you want me to."

His eyes widened at those words, but I didn't correct any impression he might've gotten because I meant the words in every way possible.

Once we were both seated, I ordered cocktails for us to enjoy while Laurie took in the view.

When our waiter returned with the drinks, I looked Laurie. "Would you like an appetizer?"

"Yes, please."

"Tell me what you want."

I saw his eyes widen as I hoped they would when I echoed the words I'd spoken in bed. Several moments passed before he looked down at the menu. I didn't mind that he was reluctant to take his eyes off me. I could wait all night for him to make his decision.

"I'd like the crab cakes."

"Yes, sir. I'll put those in right away."

Laurie looked concerned as our server hurried off toward the kitchen. "If you wanted something else?—"

I held up my hand. "This is about you, remember? This whole evening is about what you want."

The crab cakes came out quickly. The service here was always impeccable, and I had the advantage of being a respected customer. The staff also knew how to give diners time with each course. I knew that no one would bother us until I signaled to our server.

I smiled at Laurie. "We can go as slowly as you want tonight." Was every single word out of my mouth going to be an innuendo?

"We can?" His breathless voice made my body tighten.

"We have the table for the night. We can have as many courses and as many drinks as we like, and you can spend all the time you want looking out at the beautiful water."

"Thank you. For everything."

"It's my pleasure."

He took a bite of one of the silver dollar-sized crab cakes drizzled with mango sauce. "These are incredible."

The pure joy on his face made my heart skip a beat. "I've never had anything here I didn't like, but you're right, these are delightful."

Laurie took a sip of his mai tai and glanced around the dining room, then back at me. "I'm not used to eating in a place like this. I feel like I'm going to do something wrong or say the wrong thing."

"Do whatever you want. It's fine. You're with me and no one would dare say a thing."

"I'm sure you know all the etiquette rules, so it's fine for you, but…."

I slid a hand over his. "You don't know anyone here besides me, and I'm not going to judge you. If it makes you more comfortable, just ask me if you're unsure."

"I feel so out of place."

"You belong here as much as I do. You're with me, and you don't have to worry about anything. I'll take care of it all. Remember, tonight is for you."

Laurie sipped his cocktail again, and I shifted to look out the window. I pointed to some of the yachts we could see. "I have one very similar to the second one from the right."

His eyes widened. "Wow, that one's enormous."

"She's a really good size. I'd love to take you out on her someday."

"I've never even been on a boat other than a little paddle boat at a park and one failed attempt with a canoe."

There were so many experiences I wanted to give him. "You absolutely deserve to experience real sailing."

"I would like to know what that feels like, but you don't need to go to any more trouble for me."

"It's no trouble. I love sailing. Looking out over the ocean makes me feel so free. I can easily adjust our flights home."

"What?"

"I'll get us new tickets, and we can fly to Nassau where my yacht is docked. We'll take her around for a few days, put her in at my slip in Miami, and fly home from there."

"You're absolutely serious, aren't you?"

"Of course I am."

I watched as he looked longingly at the yachts in the harbor. "I'm going make the arrangements right now, or rather I'll contact someone who will make them for me."

He ate another of the delicious crab cakes while I made a call to set the plans in motion.

Was I really taking him on my yacht, extending the trip? What would happen then? Eventually, the vacation had to end.

He would stay with me. One way or another that was going to be how this ended. There weren't any other acceptable options. Fuck, I sounded like Miles.

I helped Laurie choose an entrée. He couldn't decide between the lobster tail and the mahi-mahi. I made the decision easy by ordering both and saying we could share them.

After we'd had a chance to try everything, I asked, "If you could move anywhere you wanted to after this, where would it be?"

Laurie shrugged. "I haven't even really thought about it. All I thought about for so long was getting as far away from Tommy as I could. It didn't matter where I went. I would have gone anywhere I could find a job and support myself as long as I was safe."

"You had to know Beck was willing to help you."

He sighed. "For a long time, I refused to see how bad things really were. By then, Beck had moved to Chicago, and we grew apart. I didn't feel like I could ask him to bail me out."

"I'm glad you finally called him."

Laurie frowned. "I don't know how glad he is right now."

"If he's angry at all, it's with me, not you."

"I'm not sure about that. You honestly didn't recognize me, but I knew who you were."

That made me smile. I liked that he knew who I was, and that he'd trusted me. I especially liked how obvious it was that he wanted more. "What about New York? You could move there." I knew this was territory I shouldn't be in, but I couldn't help myself.

"I've never been there. I'd love to visit sometime, but I don't know if I'm cut out for living there."

"You could live anywhere you want to."

He looked away. "I can't live off your charity or Beck's. I won't do that. These weeks of vacation are an aberration."

"You're going to need money to get started."

He exhaled. "I'll consider a loan, but that's it."

"We'll see about it. Why don't you come to New York with me? I could show you around."

"After you take me on your yacht?"

"Yes."

Laurie shook his head. "I've got to start looking for a job."

"I'll help with that."

"I don't know how we're going to make it through our time here and not piss Beck off more, much less…."

"Don't go there, just think about whether you'd enjoy it or not."

"You know I'd enjoy it. I'd be with you."

My pulse sped up, and the room started to spin. Did he mean that? Oh fuck, I was in deep. I'd sworn this couldn't happen to me, and here I was experiencing it. No wonder my friends had all acted like they were losing their minds when they met their partners.

Laurie enjoyed the rest of the meal as much as he had the crab cakes. We finished with Irish coffee and devil's food cake flambéed in rum with vanilla ice cream on top. We were both full of good food, buzzed from the alcohol, and even more drunk on each other's company.

I loved watching Laurie's reaction to everything: the solicitousness of the staff, the care that was taken with each course that was brought to us, the perfection of the food. The longer we lingered at our table, the more we began to reach across the table to touch each other, and we stopped hiding the longing in our expressions.

I'd eaten plenty of incredible meals with people who were indifferent to the magic of the food presented to us. I'd dined with people who appreciated the food but barely noticed the setting. I'd never seen someone have an experience like this for the first time. Laurie took in the evening with all of his senses, and I was enchanted. I wanted to take him right back to the room and kiss every inch of him, but I'd promised to take him dancing, so that was where we headed next.