Page 12 of Sinner's Binding
I squeezed his hand as I replied, “Stuck it is then.”
It took nearly every ounce of restraint I had not to turn my head to look at Reign, but I did it. A few minutes later, our food was served. We both exclaimed over how good it was. I had a seafood platter, and Sam had the steak and lobster. We ate more than we talked. The food was great. It didn’t take long to consume it.
Suddenly, my breath hitched when a shadow fell over our table. I knew before looking upward who it was. When I met Reign’s intense eyes, I fought to remain breathing. He beat me to saying anything.
“Good evening, Anastasia. What a surprise to run into you here. You didn’t mention you were going out this weekend.”
Sam straightened and closely studied Reign.
“Hello, Reign. No, I didn’t mention it. I see we both had the same great idea. Have you been here before?” I asked.
“I have. You?” Reign countered.
“No, this is my first time. Sam has, though. It was his idea that we come here,” I stated, smiling back at Sam.
“It was. Hello, I’m Sam. You are?” My date asked, holding his hand out to Reign.
Reign shook it as he answered. “I’m Reign. Do you come here often?”
“Fairly often. I knew Stasia would love it. She’s into so many different foods. Do you mind if I ask how you two know each other? I don’t recall her mentioning a Reign,” Sam observed.
“I’m her patient. I came to her for chiropractic help two weeks ago and met her. She came highly recommended. I’d never been to a chiropractor before, so she took pity on me.”
On the surface, there was nothing odd about his remark. But if you listened closely to the tone, there was this bitey inflection. I hoped Sam didn’t hear it. Or maybe I was imagining it, and there was no tone other than basic cordiality.
“I’ve heard nothing but great things about her practice. I’ve not had the pleasure of her talented hands on me. Makes a guy want to get hurt a little to have an excuse. Are you here alone?” Sam asked.
My body tensed when he said the part about my hands on him. Surely, he wasn’t being suggestive. He might flirt a bit andtease, but there was no reason for him to let Reign hear it. My gaze flickered back to Reign. I swore his mouth tightened, then he smiled, making me believe I imagined it.
“No, I’m not here alone. I’m with special company over at that table,” Reign said, pointing to where the man and woman sat watching us.
Curiosity was written on both their faces. The woman wore a slight frown along with her curiosity. Undoubtedly, she disliked her date, her man, speaking to another woman. The man had a speculative look on his face.
“Anastasia is an amazing woman and a talented chiropractor. After four sessions, she has me feeling close to normal. I just wanted to stop by and say hello. I’ll let you get back to—well, it appears it might be dessert time. I highly recommend the chocolate lava cake. Enjoy. I’ll see you next week on Tuesday, Anastasia. Sam, glad we met.”
Without another word, Reign walked back to his party. As soon as he sat, the woman’s hand went back to his arm. An intense conversation broke out. I forced myself to turn away. It wasn’t any of my business.
“Stasia, are you okay?” Sam asked.
I looked at him. “Yeah, I am. Why do you ask?”
“I had to say your name three times before you responded,” Sam stated.
“I’m sorry. I was just surprised to see him. What a coincidence.” I scrambled to cover.
“Don’t you often run into your patients in public?” he asked.
“Sometimes, but for some reason, I never imagined I’d bump into Reign. Oh well, let’s get back to our dinner. What do you say? Dessert?” I asked, wiggling my eyebrows.
Sam laughed loudly, but when he replied, his voice was low. “Hell yeah. You think I’m saying no to sweets? Let’s see what they have before we make our decision.”
As I nodded in agreement, Sam raised his hand, which brought our waiter to us. After the dessert listing was requested, we took a few minutes to make our selection and place our order. With it underway, we fell back into conversation.
It was hard to give Sam my undivided attention. It took willpower. I thought I smiled, responded, and laughed in all the right places. When dessert came, it wasn’t a disappointment. We’d ended up ordering the lava cake Reign had recommended. The waiter assured us it was big enough for two, so we split it.
As we ate, Sam and I got into a mock battle with our spoons. We accused the other of eating more than their share. I relaxed as we teased each other. When the check came, Sam insisted on paying it. He reminded me that I’d gotten it last time. My argument that the place had been significantly cheaper didn’t sway him, so I gave up.
Minutes later, as we walked away from our table, Sam had his hand resting on my lower back. We had to pass by Reign’s table. His party was still there. I gave a barely there nod and a slight smile as we passed. The man and woman nodded and smiled back. Reign didn’t smile. He merely dipped his chin. I felt like his gaze burned into my back as we left. However, I had no idea why he would do that.
