Side chapter: Valentine's Day, part 7

Carmen led me inside the restaurant, and the second I stepped through the doors, I understood.

She had reserved the entire place.

Not a single other guest was present. The tables were set, candles flickered, and the warm, intimate lighting bathed everything in a golden glow.

The space, usually filled with the murmur of conversation, the clinking of glasses, and the hum of background music, was silent. It was just us.

And I knew exactly why she had done it.

This dress.

This damn dress.

The one that clung to me in a way that left very little to the imagination. The one that flowed like liquid emerald when I moved, shimmering with every step. The one that Carmen hadn't been able to stop staring at since I walked out of that dressing room.

If there had been other people here, their eyes would have lingered. And Carmen?

She wouldn't have handled it well.