He runs a hand through my hair then, gently demanding my attention. I look up at him and smile, only to find him doing the same. He traces the outline of my lips with his thumb, cleaning up the smeared lipstick before he says, “I think you should start wearing it like this more often.”
Chapter Twenty Two
Kolter
Ikeep my hand on Naomi’s lower back as we step into the restaurant. The gentle sound of smooth jazz plays all around us; there are low, soft-lit chandeliers decorating every inch of the ceiling; and waiters in crisp black-and-white uniforms glide back and forth, offering the finest bottles of wine and trays of delicacies.
It’s not my vibe at all.
But the way Naomi’s eyes light up when she takes in her surroundings makes it all worth it. She’s never been the type to value money or status, but we didn’t exactly grow up with it either. Over the years, through legal means and otherwise, I’ve grown incredibly wealthy, and while I’ve treated myself to bikes, a nice apartment and other basic luxuries, Naomi hasn’t experienced any of that. And I want to give her everything this life has to offer. EverythingIcan possibly offer her.
I know that will never be enough, given what she truly deserves, but I’ll fight like hell every day to make myself worthy of her.
“Good evening. Reservation?” the hostess asks.
I nod. “Under Jacobson.”
Naomi gives me an odd look, but the hostess just smiles.
“Right this way.”
“Since when is your last name Jacobson?” Naomi whispers over her shoulder to me as the hostess guides us through the restaurant.
“They don’t need a real name, and it’s better this way,” I respond, pulling out her chair for her then scooting it in while the hostess places the menus on the table.
“Why?” she asks as I take my seat.
“Why what?”
“Why is it better to use a fake name?”
I look at her for a moment, the answer on the tip of my tongue before I think better of it. Instead, I grab the menu off the table and start browsing through it. I can feel her gaze on me like a laser, but I don’t give in.
“Your life is really dangerous, huh?” she says, almost to herself. “Like, there are people out there who want to hurt you—who might want to hurt me?”
I set the menu down and find her watching me with a deep frown. Her tone isn’t concerned, though, just accepting—as if she already knew all of this to be true but is just now confirming it. I don’t like to sugar-coat things, and she’s too smart for me to even attempt to lie to. I’ll withhold certain information, but this is hardly a secret.
“Yes.”
She nods, picking up her own menu and disappearing behind it. “Kinda wish you’d lied.”
A dry laugh escapes me as I pull her menu down so I can look her in the eye. Her expression is sad, heavy, but still accepting.
I take her hand in mine and graze my thumb over the back of it. Fuck. Her skin is like silk. There isn’t an inch of her that isn’t perfection.
“You never have to worry, okay? I will always keep you safe—never doubt that.”
She gives me a sad smile. “I know. It’s you I’m worried about. As important as I am to you, that’s what you are to me. You get that, right?”
I blink slowly. I’ve never considered that before. Mainly because I don’t see how it’s possible for anyone, even Naomi, to love someone as much as I love her. The anguish hiding just beneath the surface gives her away, though, so I nod and deliver her a new promise.
“I will always come home to you—always.”
Hope flickers in her eyes, and it’s exactly what I was craving. I know it’s a promise I shouldn’t have made. It’s definitely one that I can’t keep, but if it gives her even an ounce of relief, then it was all worth it.
We start with a few appetizers and a bottle of red before ordering our entrees. Naomi fills the conversation with so many topics, it’s almost difficult to follow. I don’t mind, though—I’d happily sit here for hours, listening to her bounce from topic to topic with her hand in mine.
She looks past me then as if the waiter is approaching, but her smile fades, and I turn to see it’s not the waiter standing there—it’s my father.