Serendipity Strikes

16

Emmaline

The day before Shawn left for his release-day pop-up store surprise, we went out on our first real date. Karen and Manny came to my place to watch Jaxon so that we could go out to dinner, just the two of us. They arrived at 8:30, right after I'd put the baby down for the night. He rarely woke up, but if he did, there was a bottle in the fridge that I'd pumped that morning.

"I know I told you this already, but you look absolutely stunning tonight," Shawn complimented as we walked hand in hand down the hallway to the elevator.

I'd opted for a belted sweater-dress in a deep eggplant color which I'd paired with brown high heeled boots.

"It's our first date! I had to put some effort in," I said, pleased that he'd noticed.

"The first of many. Now that word has gotten out that we're together, there's no reason to hide."

We'd managed to keep things pretty low-key for over a month. Some pics had circulated after Halloween but when no other photos surfaced, the gossip died down. It was winter, so we hadn't been walking as much and therefore weren't spotted together as often. However, two days ago we'd been at the grocery store with Jax. Without thinking, Shawn had given me a kiss as we waited in the check-out line. He was a physically affectionate man, and when we were alone, he was always touching me with one or more of his body parts. I'd grown very fond of the hand holding, cuddling, kissing, and hugging that he couldn't stop himself from doing. Unfortunately, when he'd pulled me in for a deep smooch at Longo's, someone had been filming us, and within two hours, the footage was everywhere. A couple of the dirtiest online rags rehashed the story about Shawn possibly being Jax's father, but for the most part, the focus was on the fact that he was dating for the first time since his break-up with newlywed Celeste Pollard. That kiss had undeniably confirmed our relationship.

I didn't mind that people knew we were together. He was insanely famous which made keeping me a secret virtually impossible. What bothered me was two-fold. First, I disliked that someone had pulled out their phone and intentionally recorded us sharing a tender moment and had then broadcast it for the whole world to see. Second, I hated the speculation. The paternity issue was so ridiculous, yet it persisted. It hurt, too, that Shawn's ex kept coming up. The implication was that she was the great love of his life, and I was the sweet children's book author helping him get over the fact that she'd recently gotten married. Why couldn't people just be happy for us and leave us alone?

Shawn drove us to Richmond Station, a very nice restaurant not far from City Hall. I'd been there with Mike a couple years ago, and the food had been outstanding. We were seated at an end table, though the layout of the restaurant gave us no privacy. All of the dining tables were in a long row against the wall parallel to the long bar. I had to learn to accept that someone might snipe a photo in these situations.

"Should we order a bottle of wine?" my gorgeous date asked as he browsed the wine list. He looked particularly good tonight in slim black dress slacks and a textured charcoal button down.

"Yes! It's my first time drinking in ages, so can we get something bubbly to celebrate with?"

"Whatever you want, honey. There's a 2018 Montepulciano. Do you like sparkling rosé?"

"Love it!" I said excitedly. It's not like I was ever a big drinker, but I was looking forward to feeling a bit tipsy.

He ordered the wine and then we looked over the menu, discussing what sounded good.

"The polenta fries sound amazing," Shawn said.

"That's what I was thinking. Honestly, I could happily just eat off the appetizer and dessert menu."