Beauty and the Boss (Modern Fairytales #1)

“You’re acting strange.”


Did that mean she wasn’t acting like the million other women he’d practiced his way too smooth moves on? “Lucky for you, this date is all for show, and you don’t need to worry about what I’m thinking.”

He downed some of his wine and tugged on his tie. The waiter came in carrying salads—wait, they hadn’t even ordered anything—and set them in front of them. She took the opportunity to check him out since he was talking to the waiter.

He, of course, was as devilishly hot as always.

Benjamin—not the waiter.

He wore a black suit, a light blue shirt, and a gray-and-blue striped tie. He seemed to like stripes—probably because they were even and never out of place. His jacket hugged his body perfectly, since it had clearly been custom made for him. Guys like him didn’t buy off the rack. That would never change. He came across as every inch the gentleman accustomed to such a lavish lifestyle…

While she felt like a little kid playing dress up, hoping her mother wouldn’t come in and catch her wearing her favorite pearls before she could put them back where they belonged. And that was something that would never change, either.

Their two worlds just didn’t make sense when put together.

The waiter bowed and left without even speaking to Maggie, or leaving a menu behind for them to read. She glanced down at her salad. It had blue cheese dressing on it.

Moldy cheese. Yum.

She pushed it away and set her hands back in her lap, linking her fingers together. “When will they bring the menus?”

“I already ordered us both their finest,” he answered dismissively, looking devishly handsome as he picked up his fork. How the man managed to make a freaking fork look sexy? She had no idea. But he did. “They’ll bring the courses in when we’re ready for them.”

Oh. My. God. He really had this whole thing down pat.

“Excellent,” she said drily. “Can’t wait to see what I’m eating tonight.”

He set his fork down and sighed again. “You’re displeased.”

“No. It’s just that this isn’t going exactly how I expected it would.” She smiled and downed the last of her wine. “More wine, please?”

He poured her more and lifted a finger. A waiter brought another bottle within seconds. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask the man for an appletini instead, but he left as quickly as he came, yet again without even glancing at her. She rolled her eyes at the slight, picked up her wine, and drank some more. It would go straight to her head on her empty stomach, but she was past the point of caring.

At this point, she’d do anything to get through this evening without telling her boss that he sucked at first dates. Because he did. Horribly.

Too bad he didn’t suck at kissing, too.

It would make resisting him so much easier.

Her stomach growled angrily, so she picked up a piece of bread and took a bite. That, at least, was delicious. “Mm. Good bread,” she said, holding it up to Mr. Gale—Benjamin. “You should try some. Don’t worry, I won’t throw it at you this time.”

He ate a bite of salad and watched her. Once he swallowed, he patted at his mouth with the linen napkin. “What’s going on?”

Besides the fact that this was the most awkward date she’d ever been on? “Nothing.” She picked up her glass of wine and took another sip, fighting back the cringe that tried to creep out. “I already told you that.”

He leaned back, rested his elbows on the arms of the chair, and let his hands cross in front of him. They fell silent. He sat there looking sexy, and she pushed her salad around on the plate. Sighing, he picked up that darn fork again and ate a few bites. After a while, though, he must’ve realized she hadn’t actually eaten any of hers.

Frowning, he studied her with an intensity that sent goose bumps crawling over her skin. “You might think you’re good at pretending you’re all right, but I can read you like an open book, so I see you’re not happy. Tell me what’s wrong.”

“Why do you care?” she asked softly. “What’s it matter to you?”

“I didn’t exactly say I did care,” he replied, cocking his head. “I just said I could see it. But regardless of what you seem to think, I want you to enjoy yourself. I’m not that cruel.”

Her heart thumped. “I am. Like I said, I’m fine.”

“Good. In that case…” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bright blue box. “I picked this up today.”

She froze, and her stomach dropped to the floor with dread. She would have been more at ease if he’d slid a pair of padded handcuffs across the table. “Please tell me that’s not what I think it is.”

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