Chapter 286: The Rowe III
(Vivienne)
The moment they stepped inside The Rowe, Vivienne felt a small rush of relief.
She had been nervous the entire walk there.
Not because she was afraid of Christopher.
Quite the opposite.
She was simply too aware of him.
The sound of his footsteps beside hers.
The occasional glance he gave her.
The clean scent of his cologne whenever the evening breeze shifted.
Everything seemed to register more sharply than usual.
Christopher held the door open for her.
"Thank you."
"Of course."
They stepped inside.
The restaurant was warmer than the evening outside, filled with the low hum of conversation and occasional bursts of laughter. Warm lighting reflected against the dark wood and polished surfaces, giving the room a comfortable, lively atmosphere.
A hostess greeted them and checked the reservation before leading them toward the windows.
Their table was small and round, positioned slightly away from the busier center of the restaurant.
The hostess gestured toward it.
"Here you are. Please make yourselves comfortable. When you’re ready to order, just let me know."
"Thank you," Christopher said.
The hostess smiled and stepped away.
Vivienne remained standing for a moment.
Her fingers tightened around the edge of her coat.
Now.
She had been thinking about this moment since she left the dormitory.
She had chosen the dress carefully.
She had spent far too long deciding whether it was too much, too little, too formal, too revealing—
And now she had to take off the coat.
She swallowed.
Then slowly slipped it from her shoulders.
The black coat fell away.
The deep wine-red halter dress was revealed beneath it, leaving her shoulders bare and following the graceful lines of her figure before falling into a softly flowing skirt.
Vivienne immediately looked at Christopher.
She tried not to make it obvious.
Was he looking?
Did he like it?
His gaze moved over her.
Only briefly.
But she caught it.
There was something in his eyes that made her heart flutter.
He looked at her for another moment before his gaze returned to her face.
Vivienne suddenly became very conscious of her bare shoulders.
She smoothed the skirt of her dress.
Christopher smiled.
"Do you mind if I tell you something?"
Vivienne blinked.
"What?"
He gestured lightly toward her.
"Your dress suits you very well."
Her cheeks warmed instantly.
"Oh."
She smiled.
"Thank you."
She looked down for a moment, unable to stop herself from smiling.
Christopher stepped toward her chair and pulled it out.
"After you."
Vivienne sat.
"Thank you."
Christopher waited until she was settled before taking the seat opposite her.
For a moment, Vivienne simply looked at him.
He looked even better beneath the warm restaurant lighting.
The navy Oxford shirt.
The sleeves rolled neatly to his forearms.
The platinum-blond hair that looked slightly softer than it had outside.
Those silver-gray eyes.
She quickly looked down at the menu.
Get a grip.
This was dinner.
Just dinner.
She opened the menu.
There were plenty of choices.
Pasta, grilled dishes, steaks, sandwiches, salads, small plates, and several things she wasn’t particularly familiar with.
Vivienne skimmed through the pages.
The food itself wasn’t the problem.
The problem was figuring out how they were supposed to order.
Did they each choose their own dish?
That seemed normal.
Or did they order several things to share?
She glanced at Christopher.
He was reading his menu calmly.
What would he prefer?
She looked back down.
If they ordered separately, it would simply be dinner.
But if they shared...
She hesitated.
That felt a little more intimate.
Did people do that on a dinner like this?
Was she already assuming too much?
Vivienne glanced at him again.
Wait.
Why was she even thinking about sharing?
She hadn’t asked him to share anything.
They hadn’t discussed it.
Maybe Christopher expected them to order separately.
Of course he probably did.
That was normal.
She looked down at the menu again.
Then another thought occurred to her.
But wouldn’t sharing be nicer?
She immediately frowned at herself.
Why do I care?
She had invited him to dinner because she wanted to spend time with him.
That was all.
Probably.
She finally looked up.
"What do you want to order?"
Christopher lifted his eyes from the menu.
"Hmm?"
"What do you prefer?"
He smiled slightly.
"I’m good with anything."
Vivienne stared at him.
Anything?
That wasn’t helpful.
She looked back at the menu.
"Anything?"
"Pretty much."
He turned another page.
"What about you?"
Vivienne hesitated.
"Actually..."
She looked down at the menu again.
"I’m not."
Christopher chuckled.
That made her look up.
"What?"
"You sounded very serious about that."
"I am."
His smile widened slightly.
"So what do you like?"
Vivienne stared at the menu.
What do I like?
That wasn’t really the problem.
She liked plenty of things.
She just wanted to know what he liked.
She wanted to choose something he would enjoy.
Something they could both have.
Something that wouldn’t feel too formal.
Or too casual.
Maybe they should order separate dishes.
That was probably the sensible thing.
But perhaps sharing would be nicer.
Would that be too obvious?
She glanced at him.
Christopher was still waiting patiently for her answer.
Vivienne tucked a curl behind her ear.
"Maybe we should order something we can share?"
Christopher looked at her.
Then smiled.
"Sure."
Her heart gave a little flutter.
"Okay."
She looked back at the menu.
Oh.
So they were sharing.
Apparently.
She stared at the choices again.
And suddenly, she wasn’t any closer to deciding what to order.
There were still far too many things.
What do I choose?
She scanned the menu for another few seconds.
Then remembered.
He had told her he’d been here before.
Of course.
She looked up at him.
"I really can’t decide."
Christopher smiled.
"You can’t?"
She shook her head.
"There are too many things here."
She gave him a helpless little smile.
"You’ve been here before, right?"
"A few times."
"Then why don’t you recommend something?"
Christopher laughed softly.
"All right."
He looked down at the menu again.
"Let’s see what we should get."
Vivienne relaxed.
At least someone knew what they were doing.
And, perhaps embarrassingly, she was beginning to enjoy letting him decide.
--
Tbc