Inarticulate by Eden Summers

for her.
    “The table you requested is ready, sir.” A young woman smiled at him and then led them through the bustling room to an intimate setting beside the window.
    The building was contemporary. All dimly lit surfaces and quaint furnishings. It was neither upmarket nor shabby, which led her to believe he hadn’t tried to impress her with the location. Not that she was hoping to be impressed.
    Not at all.
    Nope.
    The atmosphere was casual yet still entirely appealing. Just like Keenan.
    As Savannah approached the table, he grabbed her elbow, halting her. She opened her mouth in confusion, then closed it as he slid past her and graciously pulled out her chair. The gesture startled her. Confused her. She had him pegged as the bad-boy, mysterious type, yet here he was with impeccable manners and a pleased gleam in his eye.
    “A gentleman?” She slid into her chair, loving the way his knuckles brushed the back of her jacket. “I never would’ve guessed.”
    He moved out from behind her, grabbed his own chair and repositioned it from the opposite side of the table, to the spot beside her. Close, so close. His leg brushed hers as he sat, and from the unaffected way he held his expression, she knew it was deliberate.
    He wasn’t startled by the connection that buzzed between them. He was probably immune. Too perfect to notice anything as meaningless as attraction. His gaze continued to focus on her. It didn’t stop. They shared a conversation without words. A communication without speech.
    “I’m sorry I was late.” She shrugged off her jacket, needing to break the silence and sever the power of his stare. “I wasn’t sure if I should come.”
    He gave a breath of a chuckle and grinned at the table as if he knew she hadn’t planned on walking inside to find him.
    “Did you have fun last night?” She should’ve stopped the question before it left her lips. He couldn’t give her a definitive answer. Not without words. And she didn’t want to second guess if an affirmative answer meant he’d gotten down and dirty with her cousin. “Forget I asked. I guess I’m not comfortable with silence.”
    She wished she would’ve spared a thought at the awkwardness of a shared meal. Maybe it would be different if she knew him like Dominic did. But a one-sided conversation in a bustling restaurant wasn’t her idea of fun. The last thing she wanted to do was offend him, yet this situation was entirely out of her comfort zone, not only on a personal level, on a sexual one, too.
    He frowned at her from under his lashes and opened his mouth as if to speak. She crept forward in her chair, poised to read his lips only to watch them press together again.
    A menu was shoved toward her, his gruff movements announcing that she’d offended him with her ‘uncomfortable with silence’ comment.
    “Thanks.”
    He didn’t open his menu. Instead, he sat there, watching as she opened hers and then trailed an index finger over the list of food. She couldn’t read a word. She was too busy stealing glances at him, wondering when or if the meal would become easier. The more he watched her, the more her nervousness built.
    She wracked her brain trying to figure out what to say, what to do. He was relying on her to create a conversation and she was clueless when he couldn’t reply. Apart from playing a one-sided game of twenty questions that only involved yes or no answers, she was stumped.
    It wasn’t like he was helping to soften the awkwardness. He could’ve pulled out his cell and texted her. Or maybe he didn’t have a cell… Hell, a napkin and pen would’ve sufficed. But the hint of determination in his features seemed to imply his unwillingness to acknowledge his lack of speech.
    She closed her eyes in defeat and internally chastised herself for meeting him. It was a bad idea. Dominic had already told her as much. She’d ignored the one cousin she trusted. All for what? A man who daunted her? A guy who didn’t believe in