Page 28 of Dissolving Prejudice

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

Camilo showed no modesty as he locked eyes with me, his stare boring into the deepest part of my soul. “I’d kill to know.”

Licking my lips, I made the mistake of looking at his neck and that sexy new tattoo. Shit. The room was suddenly a lot hotter, and I pushed back, reminding myself I had to have control over how this evening would turn out to be. Thankfully, just then, our waiter arrived with a cart.

Camilo frowned at the waiter while I clapped my hands with excitement.

“The best part of this place is that before you order, they show you the—”

The waiter lifted the silver covers and flashed us a variety of beautiful, juicy, red cutlets that waited on a silver platter. Camilo’s eyes widened once our waiter stuck a steak fork in one sexy T-bone and presented it to him up close, as I requested.

Watching the color slowly drain from Camilo’s face while the raw meat wiggled in front of his eyes, with all its blood and fat, was absolutely priceless, and I took joy in every second.

“So, how would you like your steak?” the waiter asked.

“Bloody,” I said before averting my eyes from Camilo to the waiter. “Unfortunately, he’s vegan, so he’ll have…” I pursed my lips and glanced at the menu. “What can he have?”

The contrast between my mischievous grin and Camilo’s horrified expression was palpable, enough to make our waiter move uncomfortably as he shifted his weight from one leg to the other.

“I’m afraid the only things that are vegan in our restaurant are the water and wine, sir.”

“Well, that’s fabulous. He’ll have a glass of wine, then.” I handed the waiter back the menus. “On second thought, could you serve it in a bowl instead?”

Dogs can’t drink from glasses, can they?

“I’m sorry?” the poor man stuttered.

I waved my hand at him. “It was a joke. Just bring a bottle of your finest wine.”

Camilo waited until we were left alone before he spoke. “Are you happy now?”

“Self-satisfied for sure.”

He flashed me a fake smile. “You’re as peachy as I remember.”

“Is that so?”

“Very much, indeed.”

I gave him a cheeky smile. “In that case, I’m glad.”

“You’re such a jerk.”

“And here I thought I was peachy,” I pouted, and he grunted.

Someone came to fill up our wineglasses and then left the bottle in an ice bucket beside our table.

“By the way, if you want to cancel this dinner, we still can,” I said while swirling my drink in the glass to let it breathe just like Soren taught me how to do.

“You think I can’t handle a bit of meat?” he challenged me, one brow raised, then sipped his drink.

Oh, I knew he could handle meat. Especially my own. The dirty thought brought a few pleasant memories, and I shook them away with a question. “So what do you want from me? What’s the point of all this nonsense you’ve been putting me through for the last two weeks?”

Placing down his glass, Camilo leaned back on his chair. “To get you back, of course.”

I snorted while bringing the glass to my lips. “You better give up, then, as it’s never going to happen.”

“You know I’m not the quitting type.”