**CHERYL**

“Thank you for agreeing to see me tonight,” Brandon said as he smiled at me from across a table covered with white linen and softened by candlelight.

I waved him off with a soft laugh. “It's nothing, trust me, the pleasure is all mine.” Literally.

His smile widened, his green eyes flashing with interest. “So, I take it you're enjoying the company,” he teased lightly.

I twirled the stem of my glass and chuckled. “Of course, the company is great.” I winked at him just as teasingly.

“Phew,” he wiped off an imaginary sweat from his brow. “And here I am, thinking I'm a bore.”

I laughed into my...