“Absolutely,” she said with a smile. “I’ll be right back.”
Rachel was a petite brunette with a flawless complexion and stunning makeup skills. She definitely fit the bill of the stereotypical stunning actress/waitress, if that was indeed what she was. She was also clearly used to waiting on celebrities, but even I could tell that Walker’s presence had her rattled. I had to commend her on her ability to remain professional, when I would bet a hundred bucks she’d be willing to service him under the table as well as over it. For a second I almost wished she would. At least that way I could end this charade.
“Whiskey, huh? Didn’t take you for a whiskey girl, Madison. Rough day?” His finger idly followed along the rim of his beer glass in a circular motion.
“You could say that.” I really hadn’t intended to be so cold, but I didn’t understand what he wanted with me in the first place. Sure, we shared a moment onstage, but big deal. Walker shared that kind of moment with a different girl every night. And honestly, this all felt like a colossal waste of my time.
“Are you irritated with me? Did I do something wrong? I mean, how is it possible I’ve screwed this date up already?” His head tilted and a smirk appeared.
Squeezing my eyes shut for a second, I sucked in a quick breath and decided to be brutally honest with him. “I’m sorry. I guess I just don’t understand what we’re doing here.”
Walker lifted his arm in a sweep to indicate the room. “I thought we were having dinner.”
I narrowed my gaze at him. “I know that. But why? What did I possibly do to intrigue you this much?”
“You ask a lot of questions.” He licked his lips before taking a sip of his beer. After placing it back on the table he leaned toward me, his eyes locked onto mine. “Why don’t you just try to enjoy yourself instead of trying to figure me out?”
A ragged heartbeat or two crept by before I shrugged my shoulders, clearly admitting defeat. He wasn’t going to let me out of this easily. “Fine.” My tone came out sounding bored and uninterested.
“Fine,” he mimicked with a good-natured grin as the waitress placed my drink in front of me and I hastily reached for it.
Taking a sip, I closed my eyes briefly as the liquid coated my insides in warmth. “Mmm. I needed that.”
Glancing over at Walker’s ridiculously handsome face, I placed the glass against my lips and tilted my head all the way back, draining the contents as the ice in the glass splashed against my upper lip. Grabbing the cloth napkin in my lap, I dabbed it against the wet parts of my face.
“Whoa. Slow down, Sparkles.”
“You just can’t help yourself, can you?” I shot him a look of irritation and he laughed.
“What? The nickname? I like it. Plus it’s a hell of a lot funnier when you look like molten lava could shoot from your ears at any moment. Definitely no sparkle there.”
A million comebacks fired into my brain at once, but I chose not to engage the beast and instead lifted my empty glass meaningfully toward the oncoming waitress. She nodded before turning around to return to the bar.
Not a fan of drunk driving, I immediately started second-guessing my additional drink request. Sucking my bottom lip between my teeth, I bit down nervously as I weighed my options in my head. I could always take a cab home if I needed to. It would be a colossal pain in the ass, especially since most places didn’t allow you to leave your car parked in their lot overnight, but it was a much safer option than the alternative. I’d also bet that Walker would be all too willing to give me a ride home. Biting down a bit too hard at that thought, I gasped before releasing my lip and noticed that his eyes were trained directly on my mouth.
Our waitress appeared again, breaking his laser-beam focus, and I smiled before stirring the amber-colored liquid instead of drinking it. My head already felt heavy and the last thing I needed was to start seeing two Walkers instead of one. One was already more than I could handle.
“Do you two know what you’d like to order, or do you still need a few minutes?”
I remained silent, refusing to admit that I’d studied the menu before I came, and waited for Walker to answer first.
He shook his head. “I still need a couple minutes.”
“No problem,” she said with a kind smile before heading away with an extra swish in her backside.
“Do you know what you’re getting?” he asked.
I reached for my menu, which had remained unopened since I arrived. “Uh, nope. I’d better figure it out.”
“Pretty much everything they serve here is amazing, so you can’t go wrong with whatever you order.”
“Good to know.” I pretended to study the menu, taking my time reading each item slowly in order to avoid Walker’s mesmerizing eyes. I berated myself for acting like an idiot, making this situation far more complicated than it needed to be. Slamming my menu shut, I leaned back into the booth and looked right through him. Or at least I attempted to.
“You know what you’re getting?”
“Yep,” I answered confidently. “You?”
“I always get the same thing,” he confessed with a slight shrug.
“Shut up! You do not. Then how do you know if everything’s good or not?” I teased, my head swimming from a toxic mixture of alcohol and charm.
“Everything here is good. Trust me.”
“Trust you? Not a chance.” I gaped, shocked that I’d actually voiced those thoughts out loud, and slapped a hand across my mouth after the words escaped.
Walker didn’t even flinch. Instead, he raised his eyebrows and asked sarcastically, “Let me guess? You believe everything you read in the tabloids?”
Embarrassed, I glanced around the room, determined to look everywhere except his eyes. “Do I look like someone who believes everything she reads in the tabloids?”
“Five minutes ago I wouldn’t have thought so. But now, I’m not so sure.” He took a swig of his beer and swallowed deeply.
That was a definite insult.
He just insulted me.
Jerk.
I reached for my drink, but decided not to even go there until I had some food in my stomach, and grabbed my untouched water instead. After drinking half the glass, I countered, “Well, just for the record and not that it’s any of your business, but I’m not the kind of girl who believes everything she reads. But I do tend to believe the things I see. Over and over”—I paused for effect—“and over and over and over again.” I smirked.
He leaned in so close, I could smell him. His personal scent mixed with the beer he’d been drinking, and it swirled together in a blissful union before traveling up my senses and imprinting itself on me. “You shouldn’t believe everything you see either.”
I guffawed. “Typical!”
He leaned back, his expression incredulous. “What?”
“That’s just such a typical response. God, you’re such a guy.”
His eyes twinkled as he tipped up his lips into a smirk. “Glad you noticed.”
And there was the cockiness I’d heard so much about. I’d be damned if it wasn’t a complete and utter turn-on.
Our waitress returned, our conversation pausing as she took our order. I asked for a basket of their signature homemade bread while we waited for our main course, certain I’d be more than tipsy soon if I didn’t eat something.
Tipsy led to bad choices.
Bad choices led to Walker Rhodes.
I needed bread. Stat.
Still nursing the same beer he’d had since I arrived, Walker took another small sip before wiping at his lips with the back of his hand. His flannel sleeve slid up a bit with the movement and I caught a glimpse of one of his tattoos. I wasn’t normally a big fan of tattoos, but had to admit that they suited him.
A basket of warm bread appeared in front of me and I dug into it like a starving animal, grabbing a huge chunk from the partially sliced loaf. When I looked up at Walker, he was laughing.