Don't Lie to Me Read Free Page A

breathed in deeply, enjoying the smells in the air and listened to the soft clattering of utensils and opera music playing softly through the restaurant’s speakers. As I looked around, I noticed white tablecloths spread over all the tables giving off a romantic feel, but the lighting was just bright enough to be casual and friendly. My mouth watered as I savored the aroma of basil and other heavenly spices. The company could potentially suck, but my belly would leave full. The thought brought a slight smile as I reached the hostess stand.
    “Hello. I’m meeting someone…is Dean Neilson here?” As I spoke, my eyes surveyed the small restaurant, trying to see if I could spot him myself. I did almost instantly. A lone male sat at a table on the left of the restaurant, the perfect distance from the kitchen entrance and restaurant entrance so we wouldn’t be disturbed by traffic from customers and workers, but central enough to not feel too intimate.
    “Never mind,” I said, turning back to the hostess. “I think I found him.”
     

     
    Dean smiled and rose from his seat when I reached the table. A pleasant smile appeared on his lips. I didn’t bother hiding mine. The first thing I noticed about him was his pale blue eyes, or light gray. I couldn’t tell in the light but whatever color, they were some of the lightest, almost crystal clear eyes I’d ever seen. His smile and shaggy blonde hair that curled just a bit at the ears made him even more attractive to me instantly. He looked playful, but yet still polished; the perfect blend of casualness and wealth. I groaned inwardly at the thought that I might actually have to admit to Macy that this date was a good idea.
    I shook his hand when he extended it. “Dean Neilson. Nice to meet you, Emma.”
    “You too.” I nodded and sat down as he pulled out the chair across the table from him before returning to his own seat.
    “So…” we both started at the same time and laughed at our own awkwardness after our waiter left with our drink orders.
    I waved him on. “You first.”
    “I was just going to say that Macy didn’t do you justice when she described how beautiful you are, but I stopped when I realized how much of a perv that would make me sound like.” He smiled sheepishly and I couldn’t stop another laugh. His laugh was infectious and Macy was right, he was hot with his clear eyes and button down navy blue dress shirt that fit perfectly across his chest and broad shoulders when he moved his arms.
    “It’s a little pervy….I’ll let it slide.”
    We clinked our glasses together and fell into a nice conversation. Dean had two brothers and a sister and was the baby of all of them. All four siblings helped run his family-owned corporate construction company until their dad retired and they could take it over fully. Based on how he described his family, they seemed like a Rockwell painting: perfect, normal, and a tiny bit old-fashioned.
    “If you’re so close to your family, why’d you spend so much time in DC?” I asked right as our server brought back a delicious plate of scallop linguini. I moaned softly to myself when I tasted my first bite, the scallops practically melted in my mouth.
    He shrugged unashamedly. “I always knew I was going to come back someday and help run the business; I just wanted to stretch my wings a bit, first. I wanted to prove to myself that I was a good engineer and wasn’t just using my parent’s name.”
    I appreciated his candor and honesty and felt immediately guilty for judging him so harshly before. He noticed.
    “Let me guess,” he asked, “you assumed you were meeting a spoiled little rich boy who lived off his parent’s wealth?”
    “Sorry,” I mumbled a little bit but relaxed again as he just brushed me off.
    “What about your family?”
“I’m an only child. My parents live on a ranch in Texas.”
    His eyebrows rose slightly. “What brought you up to Chicago?”
    I leaned back and smiled at the memory