Miscommunication (What the Billionaire Wants 1) Page 5

  Ordering from the menu was easy, though she and Ryan made minimal eye contact as she did. She was trying to force down her nerves, but it didn’t help that Ryan was being gracious and perfect. It wasn’t a bad thing, but it was still strange enough for Tina that she was slightly thrown.

  “So,” Ryan said, when they were left alone, waiting for their food. “Do you like your job at the hospital?”

  Grateful for the chance to talk about something that she loved, Tina told him about the horrible exams, how she had longed to go back to the hospital where she’d done her residency, and the children that she loved to work alongside. When their food arrived, she had realized she had been talking for a while and flushed, looking down at her plate. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to talk for so long.”

  Ryan shrugged. “If I didn’t want to hear, I wouldn’t have asked.”

  “Still,” Tina said. After a pause, she admitted,” I didn’t call the last time because I felt so awful about what I had done.” When Ryan looked at her strangely, she shook her head. “I mean, I thought you were a new father! Here you were, having sex with me, when your wife was delivering a few floors down!”

  Bursting out laughing, Ryan rubbed a hand over his face. “I didn’t even think about how it must have looked from your side! I was doing my sister a favor, and then met you. It was so obvious to me that she was my sister that it didn’t occur to me how it must look!”

  Tina grinned, feeling herself relax a little. “That’s why I threw out the phone number. I mean, I thought you were a new dad, I thought you were a scumbag, really.”

  Ryan leaned forward a little against the table, his eyes going a little softer. At least, Tina hoped that wasn’t her imagination or a trick of the light. “So you aren’t nervous?”

  “Maybe at the start,” Tina admitted. “But it always takes me a while to get used to dates.”

  Ryan looked surprised by that, but thankfully didn’t say anything. Tina didn’t want to have to go into her dating history, thankfully because it was bad form, but also because she didn’t want to put in his mind that she was flighty. She was all in where it mattered, it had just taken her a long time to want to date again.

  “I don’t think that anymore, if it helps,” Tina put in.

  Ryan laughed, sitting back in his chair. “That’s good.”

  Tina had chosen a light pasta meal. She wasn’t watching her figure, she went to the gym enough and made sure she usually ate healthy so she didn’t have to worry about a night out here and there, but she knew she was working the next day, and eating a heavy meal the night before a morning shift had never done her any favors before. Ryan was eating his steak, and though they exchanged a few more words, for the most part they were silent while they ate. She had worried beforehand that there would be awkward silences she would be desperate to fill, but thankfully that wasn’t the case. Everything felt comfortable and easy, and she was surprised how much fun she was actually having. Being with Ryan was definitely better than any of her previous partners, including Andrew, and she was confident things would only get better between them – providing that Ryan actually wanted things to continue between them.

  Trying not to think too much about that, she focused on finishing her food, and asking Ryan’s questions. She learned that he was pretty work-conscious, and had donated to the hospital because of the way they had dealt with his sister. Tina told him about her mother, and her best friend, and also that she quite liked her job and wanted to stay there as long as possible.

  “I love children,” Tina said, wistfully. “Someday I think I want them.”

  She held her breath, knowing that most guys would take a comment like that wrongly on the first date, but thankfully Ryan seemed amenable. He gave her a knowing smile, and nodded.

  “I would too, someday.” He picked at the little food left on his plate. “I think I’d like to wait a few years, but if one came along, I wouldn’t be upset at all.”

  That was more honest than Tina had been expecting, and she found herself smiling widely. Ryan was fast exceeding all of her expectations, turning out to be polite and conscientious and someone she knew her mom would be pleased she was dating.

  The evening was drawing to a close, but Tina found herself reluctant to leave. She was enjoying the date, and could tell that Ryan was too, at least from the way he seemed to find something new to talk about, every time that she thought they should probably leave soon.

  When Ryan called for the check, Tina didn’t know if she should offer to pay, but Ryan was already reaching for his wallet. Seeing her look, Ryan frowned a little. Even the little creases in his face are sexy. “I never make my date pay the first time.”

  “But you will let me pay sometimes, right?” Tina asked, with a small smile, knowing that she was tentatively asking for more dates.

  There seemed to be a moment where Ryan didn’t know what to say, but eventually a smile started to spread across his face. “I don’t know. We might have to discuss that at length.”

  “I would be happy to do that,” Tina told him seriously, mostly because it was definitely an affirmative for more dates, though there was always a chance he could change his mind once they were back home and going over the date. Still, for now she would take it. “Shall we go?”

  Once the check was taken care off, Tina slipped her jacket back on and let Ryan guide her back out of the restaurant, his hand on the base of her spine once again.

  “I had a great time,” Tina said, sliding back into the car. She settled her purse on her lap this time, buckling up and waiting for Ryan to start the car.

  “So did I. Definitely worth the wait,” Ryan added, with a smile. He turned the key in the ignition and then pulled away from the curb.

  Tina laughed at the reminder. “Well, things can only get better from here on out after something like that, can’t they?”

  Ryan nodded, still smiling.

  Tina settled back against the seat. She was pleased that everything had turned out for the best, and with any luck, they would be going on another date pretty soon. The ride was over far too quickly, Tina still in the mindset that she wanted the night to go on forever, but they were outside of her building in no time at all.

  Turning the key to stall the engine, Ryan turned in his seat. “Can I walk you to your door?”

  Tina could get used to the gentleman act. “Of course.”

  They walked up the steps to the door and Tina paused, purse tucked under her arm. “Thank you for tonight. I’m glad you came over and spoke to me.”

  “So am I,” Ryan said. There was a brief pause, and then Ryan was putting his hand on her elbow. “I’ll call you later?”

  “Of course I will,” Tina said, voice low. She turned her cheek a little, and Ryan kissed it. “Bye.”

  She waited until Ryan was down the steps and climbing back into his car, before she dug through her back for the key. He waved at her from the driver’s seat and she responded, watching the car disappear round the corner before opening her front door. As soon as she was through, she kicked off her heels, massaging them a little before walking through to the living room. She was grinning as she collapsed backwards onto the couch, staring up at the ceiling. She wanted to call everyone – Maria, her mother – but she was willing to bask in the evening a little bit more, first. The connection between her and Ryan had lessened any over the entire evening, and she hoped that he would call, and that they would have more dates.

  She was aware that just because she had fun, and just because Ryan told her he had, didn’t mean that anything more was going to happen.

  Still, she had gone on a date with a billionaire, and that was always something she could talk about, even if Ryan decided that she wasn’t the one for him. She couldn’t stop herself from being nervous about how he saw her, or how he saw the evening.

  She grabbed her purse from her bag, and simply sent a text of exclamation points to Maria, and made a mental note to call her mother in the morning.

 
; Ryan was the perfect man, and Tina wanted him to be her perfect man, but even if that never happened, she would remember this night as one of the best in her life.

  Here’s to many more like this, Tina thought to herself as she closed her eyes, dreaming about Ryan.

  To Be Continued…

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