He could most likely take her right there or, at the very least, slip his fingers beneath her skirt and make her moan into his mouth without anyone being the wiser.

The thought of doing just that had him walking funny as they were led to their table.

Pulling out her seat, he waited until she was comfortable before he moved to the other side of the table and sat, shifting around until he was somewhat comfortable. Until he was deep inside her body, he wouldn’t achieve anything near relief on this night, though.

“Your wine, sir,” the waiter said as he broke the silence between them.

“I’ve ordered ahead if that’s okay,” Maverick told her as he sipped the wine and nodded his head.

She took a sip of the new bottle and smiled. “It’s even better than what we had in the limo,” she told him. “I guess you do know what I like more than I do. I don’t know if I should be afraid of that or not.”

“A man who pays attention to a woman is a smart man indeed,” he told her.

“Or he’s a man who knows how to get what he wants,” she pointed out.

“Is there anything wrong with that?”

The waiter was gone but came back again with a selection of appetizers before he disappeared once more. She took her time to think about his last statement.

“No. I guess not. I’ve always been around confident men,” she began and his eyes narrowed.

“I don’t like thinking of you with other men.” The instant possessiveness he felt belied his goal of setting her free.

“I was talking about my brothers, actually,” she said with a chuckle before picking up a shrimp, dipping it in cocktail sauce, and then delicately taking a bite.

“Well, I guess that’s okay, then,” he told her. “Your brothers are certainly protective of you.”

“Yes, they always have been. That’s what happens when you’re the only girl out of six children. My poor mother said I was her last chance to get a girl. She loves each of us so much, but she’d wanted a girl for so long. She’d threatened my father that if I was another boy, she was moving away,” Lindsey told him.

“I can imagine it would feel slightly overwhelming to be in a home with nothing but testosterone all day,” Mav said.

“Yeah. She said she’d always wanted a large family, but she’d planned on only four children. Then when Erik came out, another boy, she got pregnant again hoping for a girl. Of course, she had Seth next, and she told my father her family was full. I was actually an accident. She got pregnant before my father was able to go in and take care of permanent birth control. He did it, though, while she was pregnant with me. She didn’t get an ultrasound, saying it would be bad luck. Dad said she cried tears of joy for three days straight when I came out with the right parts.”

Mav smiled at her impish look. “It looks like you saved your mother’s sanity,” he told her. He didn’t comment on the fact that she had indeed come out with all the right parts.

“She might have regretted her desire to have a girl, though, because I was a terror child. I started walking at eight months, running at a year old, and I didn’t slow down until I hit twenty-one. I got in more trouble than all of my brothers combined,” she said.

“Why is that?” he asked.

“I felt I had to prove myself, I guess,” she said with another chuckle. “My brothers were huge and everyone loved them. They played sports, had all the girls drooling over them, and were the teachers’ pets. I wanted to stand out, and I was never as good as them, so I found other ways to do it.”

He was shocked by her statement. Reaching across the table, he took her hand and tugged, getting her to look at him.

“Never say you aren’t as good as anyone,” he commanded. “You’re beautiful, intelligent, and have a huge heart. We all make our own way in life any way we can. Don’t doubt for a moment that you are special.”

Her eyes shone as she met his gaze. “You’ve done wonders for my ego, Maverick Armstrong. I’m so glad you decided to make me your mission, even if I was ready to throttle you for it at first.”

“This has been more than a mission to me, you know that, right?” he said as his thumb caressed the back of her hand.

“We’re friends,” she said. He wanted to deny her words. “Friends that have found a pretty smoking hot chemistry in the bedroom,” she added.

“There’s more to us than that,” he said, feeling agitated.

“Let’s not focus on that, Mav. Didn’t you tell me that tonight is about romance?” she pointed out.

He wanted to argue more with her, but wasn’t she right? This night—this entire week, actually—was about him giving her a wonderful time before their time ended. Why was he mad when she was saying the exact same thing?

Maybe because he was having such a difficult time letting her go.

He needed her to walk away from him feeling stronger, more beautiful, and ready to face the world. How was she going to do that if he refused to let her go? She couldn’t.

She tugged on his fingers and there was worry in her eyes.

“Are you okay, Mav? Something feels a little off tonight.”

He needed to add to her list of qualities that she was incredibly observant.

“Of course,” he said, before shooting her the smile she’d told him made her knees go a little weak. “I’m with you, so the night couldn’t be more perfect.”