Nestling her hand into the crook of his arm, she allowed him to lead her back to the elevator.
Lord. The man smelled incredible. Clearly he’d pulled out all the stops.
“You mean I’ll have room in your closet?” she asked, hoping to disguise the nerves that hadn’t settled at all since he’d stepped foot out of the elevator.
“And your own drawer in my dresser,” he told her with a wide grin.
Butterflies went on the attack immediately, making her belly flutter. She was not immune to this man, no matter how much she wished she was.
They rode the elevator to the ground floor and were met by Gerard, the doorman, who greeted them both by name. Once they stepped out into the humid night air, Mercedes noticed Xander’s limo waiting for them.
Xander took her hand from his arm and held on to it while he helped her into the back of the limo while the driver stood to the side holding the door open.
“We’ll be at our destination in under fifteen minutes, Mr. Boone,” Carson, Xander’s limo driver, informed them as Xander climbed in behind her.
“Where are we going?” she asked when the door was closed, and they were alone.
Xander moved to sit beside her, not leaving an inch of space between them, his big, warm hand resting on her thigh.
“Dakota’s,” Xander replied, referring to one of his favorite restaurants, a five star steakhouse no less.
As the limo pulled away from the curb, Mercedes made a last ditch effort to calm her nerves. It wasn’t like she hadn’t shared more than her fair share of dinners with Xander. They often would go together, especially when he wanted to go to Dakota’s because he knew she liked the place.
She knew she should feel comfortable with him because they were such close friends, but this felt decidedly different. Mostly because Xander was touching her. Constantly. Oddly, she found that she didn’t mind his touch. It was intimate, yet casual, but not at all innocent which left her a little rattled. She could practically feel the tension radiating beneath his skin, and that made her own skin tingle.
Thankfully, the drive was a short one, and it wasn’t long before Xander was leading her into the restaurant. After being greeted by name, Mercedes followed the host to a table in the back while Xander remained right behind her, his hand making her skin sizzle where he kept it at the small of her back.
Xander, ever the gentleman, pulled out her chair after waving off the host’s attempt and waited until she was seated comfortably before taking the chair across from her. She would’ve been surprised by the fact that he didn’t take the seat next to her, but if you’d ever been out to dinner with Xander, you’d realize that the broad expanse of his upper body left him little room to share at a small table such as the one they were now sitting at.
So, their seating arrangement wasn’t unusual.
What was different from normal was the fact Xander took her hand from across the table and caressed the backs of her fingers with his thumbs while the host detailed for them the wine list.
As usual, Xander nodded politely but didn’t order, rather waiting patiently for their waiter to arrive.
“Good evening, Ms. Bryant. Mr. Boone,” the familiar waiter said with a face splitting grin when he approached them less than a minute later.
“Good evening, Tony,” Mercedes greeted back, smiling up at the handsome young man. It didn’t seem to matter what time of day or night that they chose to go to the renowned steakhouse, Tony was always there to serve them. She had her suspicions that Tony was called in even on his days off if “Mr. Boone” chose to make a reservation.
“Tonight I’d like as little interruption as possible,” Xander informed him in that deep, booming tone that he used when speaking business. Strangely enough, Xander kept his eyes on her, not bothering to address Tony directly.
“Of course, sir,” Tony answered, not looking at all taken aback by the request. “I’ll bring the wine momentarily.”
“Thank you,” Mercedes said as Tony turned and disappeared across the restaurant. They would not be placing an order because for the last few years, whenever she accompanied Xander, they always had the same thing. Tony would no doubt ensure they had a perfect dining experience, without interruption.
Not bothering to pull her hand out from underneath Xander’s, she stared down at their hands, wondering if he felt the way she trembled. It was an involuntary reaction, one she wasn’t at all proud of.
“Shane called,” Xander informed her, drawing her attention back to him.
She raised her eyebrow, a silent acknowledgement that she was listening.
“He’s going to meet us at Devotion later.”