She took another sip of her water, then put it down and folded her hands in her lap. “I’ve never done any intricate role-play before—not like what we’ve been talking about—but even with the lighter stuff, I tend to go all in.”

“What about coming out of that headspace? How difficult is that for you?”

“It can be hard,” she admitted. “Once the scene is done, I need time to get sort of re-grounded back in reality. Aftercare helps a lot. So does a nap, if I can squeeze it in.”

That got her a gentle smile. “I’ll make a note to work in plenty of nap time. Last question, then we can enjoy our meals. Do you want me to tell you when I’m transitioning into a scene?”

She frowned. “Like, what? ‘Hey, I’m kidnapping you tomorrow, be ready’? That’s not going to work.”

“No, it won’t. But what if I want to pretend I’m taking you home after a first date?”

“Oh. Oh!” Her eyes went wide as realization dawned. “Um. In that case, you should probably tell me, especially if you want me to react in a certain way. Otherwise, I might muck it up.”

“Noted,” he said, and even in the dim light, she could see his eyes were dancing.

“I’m not making this weird, am I?” she asked, her fingers twisting together in her lap.

“You’re making it fun,” he told her, and he was so openly pleased she sighed with relief.

“Oh, good.” She sat back in her chair as the waiter approached, then blinked at the dish he set in front of her. “Did I order a shrimp cocktail?”

Cade laughed again and raised his glass as the waiter set a plate of seared scallops in front of him. “Here’s to fun.”

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Cade pulled up to the curb in front of his house, Olivia in the passenger seat, her face lit by the glow of the streetlamp. She’d relaxed during dinner, the tension she’d been holding at the beginning of the evening dissipating with good food and good conversation. She even looked a bit sleepy now, though it was barely ten o’clock.

“Thank you for dinner,” she said, a smile curving her pretty mouth.

“Thanks for finally going out with me,” he said, following the first-date script he’d laid out in his head.

“I’m glad I did,” she said, ducking her head shyly. “I had a good time.”

He kept his expression open, his smile easy. “The evening’s not over yet.”

She blinked, a slow flutter of eyelashes that couldn’t quite hide the confusion in her eyes. “It’s not?”

“I have to walk you to your door,” he teased gently, and was delighted with her answering giggle.

“Of course,” she said, and reached for her door handle.