Protect Me Not

Chapter 19

Excited for her dinner plans, Mary shopped for the perfect dinner outfit. She was careful not to choose anything too revealing but wanted the perfect scantily clad piece to leave just enough room for imagination. She found a high-lo black lace gown that accented her perfectly long lean legs. Mary finished the outfit with a red heal to add a pop of colour. It's alluring shade screamed power and confidence; red was known to be the colour of seduction. Mary loved wearing red, not that she needed the extra attention but she felt extra sexy when she wore the lovable colour. The love shade gave an extra boost to her black dress, not that her almost transparent dress needed a boost. Why she was trying to appear sexy to other men was unknown to her. All she knew was that she liked the way she felt around Camden and somehow his presence helped her feel alive and whole again.

When Mary snapped back into reality, she heard her cell phone ring. She was eager to take the call; knowing only one person had her number.

"Hello?" Mary softly answered.

"How's your day going Beautiful?" Camden asked.

"It's been fantastic so far. I bought a new dress for tonight's dinner," she proclaimed with glee.

"Tonight's dinner?" he questioned.

"Ah yeah, I thought we made dinner plans this morning before you left?" Mary inquired. "Did something come up?"

"No no, nothing has come up. I'm just fooling with you. I've already made reservations to a nice restaurant around your hotel area. I've had dinner there a few times and absolutely love everything on their menu," Camden said sounding proud.

"Are you going to leave me in suspense or will you tell me where we are going ahead of time?" Mary playfully asked.

"Well now that I know you are so interested in the venue, I think I'll leave you guessing," he said.

"Somewhere in my area that you've frequented," Mary quizzed. "How close to my hotel?"

"Inquiring minds do want to know! I'll give you a hint. It's in the financial district," he mentioned.

"There must be over two hundred restaurants in the financial district. Can you narrow the guessing game down slightly?" Mary asked.

"Okay, here is the most subtle hint I can possibly give you. The owner of the restaurant is Mark McEwan.

"Oh yes I know," Mary spewed like a small school girl. It's Bymark isn't it?"

"You guessed that pretty quickly," Camden said while laughing. "Did the owners name give it away that easily?"

"I'm actually a big fan of his group of restaurants and besides, who hasn't wanted to eat at one of his restaurant after witnessing him being a judge on Top Chef Canada?" she bantered. "Tell me though, how are you able to afford all of this on a cab drivers salary? I'm sorry was that too personal?"

"Alright there Grasshopper, settle down a bit would you? One question at a time," Camden spoke taking control of the conversation again. "I never guessed you to be the star struck kind of girl but then again, we are just getting to know each other better. How I can afford fine dining is a personal question but lucky for you I'm a fairly transparent guy. The short answer is that I know how to save and manage my money and besides, I think you seem to forget that Toronto is not as expensive to live in as New York City. Don't over think things Pretty Lady because there are a few more surprises in store for you."

"By the way, I'm not star struck but you have caught my attention again. I love surprises," Mary stated. "So spill it because the anticipation is killing me."