CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

TAMARA

I had so much fun today with Shane, and he was such a gentleman; I wish Mr. Kingston was half as nice as Shane; maybe this fake marriage would have been bearable. When I arrived at the hotel after informing Mr Tony that I would be going out for dinner, I checked on Mr Kingston and he hadn't returned as expected, so I went to my room and freshened up before changing into a black off shoulder skater gown with a pair of black flats and repacking my ponytail. When I was satisfied with my appearance, I checked my phone and saw that Shane had texted that he was waiting at the entrance, so I went to join him.
I was taken aback when I saw him; I had seen him in a suit before, but the one he was wearing now made him look extremely handsome; his hair was slicked back and he was wearing a pair of sunglasses, oblivious to the stars from the women around me.
"Shane," I said, and his face lit up as his gaze fell on me, a huge smile on his face.
"Hey firefly, you look beautiful," he said, scanning my entire length. I felt quite self-conscious at his blatant observation, but a part of me hoped he liked what he saw. I know he saw me as beautiful, but does he really feel that way or is he just trying to be nice?
"Thank you Shane, you don't look too bad yourself," I said, and his grin broadened.
"I try," he said as he took my hands in his and guided me into the car, before running to his side to get in.
"Thank you for having dinner with me, Tamara," Shane said as he started the car and carefully exited the parking lot.
"It was a win-win situation; if it hadn't been for you, I would have spent my dinner alone, surrounded by strangers," I said, and he gave me a sad smile; if I had known it would ruin the happy mood, I wouldn't have said it.
"I apologize."
"Why are you apologizing?"
"I ruined the mood"
"No, you didn't, firefly, I like it when people are honest with me, you don't need to lie to make me feel comfortable," Shane said, smiling.
"Oh"
"Just forget about everything else and just enjoy yourself tonight, Please?" he said as we came to a halt in front of a cute little restaurant called Mario's, which appeared to be an Italian restaurant based on its appearance.
"How did you find out I liked Italian?" As I stared at the cute restaurant, I asked with a huge grin on my face.
"Alex told me," Shane replied shyly, rubbing the back of his head, his gaze downcast, "come on," he mumbled as we walked side by side into the restaurant.
Once inside, the receptionist asked for our names and checked a list. When she found our names, she looked up at us and led us to a small table in the quiet restaurant. There were only a few people at dinner. Alex sat across from me after the receptionist had left. The only light in the room came from a few candles placed in the center of the table and the lights in the restaurant were dim so I couldn't see his face clearly, but the lights gave the room a romantic feel.
After we had been seated for a short while, a waiter came over and silently filled our wine glasses before taking the bottle away. There were no menus set out on the table. Did Shane place a pre-order for us? I pondered as I sipped my wine, which tasted like grapes and made me smile because I adore grapes. When I looked up, Shane was staring at me and appeared amused.
"What!" I enquired, a hesitant smile appearing on my face.
"Nothing, just admiring the view," he said, smiling warmly back as if to comfort me. Did he notice I was nervous? I had never been out with anyone other than Tommy before, so this was new to me, and I didn't want to make a fool of myself.
"Stop being cheesy, Shane," I joked, causing both of us to laugh quietly so as not to draw attention to ourselves.
A few minutes later, the same waiter who had poured the wine placed the first course and the previous bottle of wine between us before leaving us for our meal. It's a simple plate of fruit and cheese.
I bit into a strawberry from the fruit platter, and it was the most delicious strawberry I'd ever tasted.
"You should try the strawberry Shane, it's quite delicious," I said, moving my gaze up to him, and he gave me an amused look.
"I'll take your word for it, Alex was right, you really love to eat and I don't mean that as an insult, you look cute gushing over that fruit platter," he said, making me cover my face, I was so embarrassed, I'm going to kill Alex.
"Shut up or you'll get punched in the face, Shane," I said, and he burst out laughing, which was so contagious that I couldn't help but join in.
His gaze shifted to something in front of me; I followed it, and it was fixed on my nearly empty wine glass. He took up the bottle beside him and refilled my glass, being careful not to overfill it.
"Thank you," I muttered as I watched him throw a grape into his mouth. He did this a few times before taking a sip of his wine and returning his gaze to me, as we started talking about our day and everything we did, when the main course arrived
"It's a dish called Chicken Saltimbocca; Saltimbocca also refers to a Roman method of preparing meat cutlets, in which the cutlet is pounded thin and wrapped in prosciutto and hearty, herbaceous sage. Though it can be served plain, they added a delicious and simple white wine sauce that complements the chicken perfectly." Shane explained when the waiter left us, and his explanation made my mouth water; I couldn't wait to try the meal.
We both ate our meals while talking and getting to know each other better. I found out that Shane enjoys reading, and his favorite book is A Tale of Two Cities. He prefers to stay indoors rather than go out, and he despises pineapple.
After we finished our meal, the waiter returned and took our plates away. My attention was drawn to Shane, who appeared to be deep in thought.
"Shane," I called out, hoping to get his attention. His gaze fell on me and he gave me a sad smile. "Are you okay?" I inquired.
"It's nothing, just thinking about work," he said with a forced smile. I wanted to know what was bothering him so I could help him, but I shouldn't press him.
"All right, if you say so, then what?" "Dessert," Shane said, his previous discomfort gone, then he signaled to the waiters to bring dessert over, and when the waiter brought it over, it looked like ice cream but had a strange texture.
Shane spoke up, as if he had noticed my internal struggle to figure out what it was "It's called gelato al cioccolato fondente; cioccolato fondente refers to a classic dark chocolate gelato flavor with a bold, lingering chocolate flavor. It is made with high-quality chocolate mixed with a base of milk, cream, eggs, and sugar. Sugar and milk complement the dark, tart chocolate perfectly, making this gelato flavor one of the most popular in Paris "I could see pride in his eyes as he explained how much he enjoys cooking.
"It tastes fantastic, Shane," I replied, a small moan leaving my lips, causing Shane to laugh.
"Alex mentioned that you liked chocolate, so when I was thinking about what you'd like, this dessert was the first thing that came to mind when I thought about you," Shane responded, avoiding my gaze; I was so touched that he went to such lengths to ensure I enjoyed my dinner.
"Thank you Shane for everything you did for me today, you've made my first time in Paris very memorable, and I will never forget it," I said, placing my hand on his, causing him to smile.
"I'm glad you had a good time, Tamara, but it's getting late and we need to get you back to the hotel before that asshole comes back and sees you're not home and blows a fuse," Shane said, making me frown.
"What's the matter, Tamara?" He inquired, his worried gaze fixed on me.
"I'm having fun and I don't want it to end, but your right, I need to get back," I said as I stood to my feet, and Shane joined me, looking like he wanted to say something but instead just sighed, we then went to the counter to pay our bills before heading to the car, but Shane abruptly stopped and ran back inside, leaving me perplexed, perhaps he left something behind.
He returned outside a few minutes later, holding a small bag.
"What's that?" I inquired.
"A surprise, come on get in," he urged, and I obliged. Ten minutes later we were in front of my hotel, and my happy mood was gone in an instant.
Shane assisted me out of the car, and we stood side by side, staring at the hotel doors. I turned to face Shane, and the bag from before was outstretched towards me.
"I got this for you to cheer you up," he says, handing me the bag. When I looked inside, I saw two cups of the dessert we had for dinner, which, as he had predicted, brightened my mood.
"Thank you Shane, I had a great time," I said as I leaned in for a quick kiss on his cheek.
"It's more than you deserve Tamara, I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, I can make it for you again when you come back home," Shane said. "That would be awesome, goodbye Shane, safe journey back to New York," I said hesitating a bit not wanting him to leave me alone.
"Goodnight Tamara," he said, taking my hands in his and kissing them, then pulling away and walking towards his car, giving me one last smile before getting into his car and driving away. When he was gone I turned to face the hotel doors, time to return to the real world.