Read Online Blackjack and Moonlight: A Contemporary Romance by Magdalen Braden - Free Book Online

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    “I felt we’d already danced to that tune,” he said. “The Mismatched Minuet.”
    “Cute.” Elise grinned. “So where are we going, because I know it’s not Le Bec Fin, dressed down as we are.” She waved a hand at his chinos and button-down shirt.
    “You’ll see.” Her militant expression stopped him. “You don’t like surprises, do you?”
    She poked him in the chest. “A surprise is breakfast in bed or flowers for no occasion, not being propositioned by a sitting federal judge in open court. Just so you know for future reference.”
    “I’ll keep that in mind for the next lawyer I fall in love with.” Jack struggled to keep a straight face. All he really wanted to do was kiss the hell out of her. For a start.
    “I knew I should have made it a condition that you not mention that word again,” she muttered as she grabbed a jacket and her bag.
    “What word?”
    “You know full well what word.”
    Now Jack really wanted to grin. A chink in her armor—she didn’t like being reminded that he was in love with her.
    He pretended to consider it as they walked to his car. “Okay, how about this. I won’t mention the L-word on the dinner dates, if you’ll let me use the rather more pleasant euphemism ‘making love’ on the uh, sex dates.”
    “You really are old-fashioned, aren’t you?” she said.
    He laughed. “Just your luck, huh?” He opened her door with a flourish.
    She rolled her eyes. Then she shrugged and said, “Yeah, okay. But I don’t have to call it that, do I?”
    Jack dragged in a deep breath. One step at a time, he reminded himself. “Not if you don’t want to.”
    They talked about the latest political news from City Hall as he drove across to Columbus Boulevard. While he parked, she looked around with interest.
    “Dave and Buster’s? You’re kidding, right?” Elise said as they got out of the car.
    “I think you’ll find I rarely kid,” he said before he could stop himself.
    “Yeah, like that comes as a surprise.” She said it with a smile, though. “I love Dave and Buster’s. I’m so good at pinball.”
    “We’ll see about that. I bet I’ve got you beat,” he taunted. Admittedly it had been twenty years, but it had to be like riding a bicycle, right?
    He’d managed to find the precise antithesis of his dream first date. He’d pictured someplace quiet, romantic, intimate. Dave & Buster’s was none of those things and then some. The food was okay, and Elise seemed to enjoy it, but the place was noisy and busy. There was no opportunity for a personal conversation. Between the music, flashing lights from the games arcade, and the families with kids running around, he despaired of ever getting her attention.
    Still, he knew he’d scored a bull’s-eye. She might not be opening up to him, but she was having fun. She never stopped smiling.
    “Now, admit it. Someone put you up to this,” she teased him as they walked over to the games arcade after their meal. “No way you thought of this place on your own. Lemme guess—you asked your clerks.”
    They found a spot to wait for a pinball game to free up.
    Jack quirked an eyebrow at her. “I would hardly misuse federal funds by asking my law clerks for their recommendations.” She flicked her eyes at him, mocking his pompous tone. “Anyway, I didn’t have to ask. They both volunteered their suggestions. Why they think I need their dating advice I don’t know. The little savages.”
    She laughed. “I’ll bite. What were their suggestions?”
    “Ms. Riley suggested taking you to The Astral Plane for dinner. In its heyday, I gather it had a fortune-teller on the premises. Ms. Riley, uh, shares Judge King’s rather romantic view of this situation.”
    “So how come I’m spared the fortune-teller reading my palm?”
    “The place has closed. It seems Ms. Riley’s finances haven’t stretched to dinner out for a while.”
    Elise nodded. “And the other one?”
    “Mr. Alexander. Yes, well, I suspect