Page 59 of My Big Fat Shifter Wedding

“Good evening, may I have the name on your reservation?”

One of the reasons I never ended up coming to this place was because they didn’t take walk-ins and their waiting list was a mile long. I always told myself I’d snag a spot the next month, then I’d forget about it. Once again, Keith was covering the places where I struggled. I liked to think I did the same for him. Like making any sort of phone call to customer service and getting results instead of being pushed around.

“Keith Insrym,” he said, letting go of me so he could pull his phone out, no doubt for the confirmation e-mail. The hostess gently shook her head.

“Oh, don’t worry about that! We haven’t had anybody try to steal another person’s reservation so we don’t really require ID unless you plan to do the wine tasting menu. I see here, under your reservation, it’s your birthday Miss Olivia?”

I nodded, and as silly as it was, I felt a bit like a micro celebrity. While my family had enough money that the occasional fine-dining event wasn’t impossible, we tended not to do it since we had so many cooks in our pack covering quite a broad range of skills.

“It is,” Keith said, sounding almost as excited as I was.

“Thank you for choosing to celebrate with us tonight, Miss Olivia. If you’ll follow me, we have your table prepared for you.”

I expected plate settings and maybe a glass of sparkling water, but I should have known better. Because apparently, this restaurant took fine dining as seriously as my partner took my birthday. A huge bouquet of bright flowers stood in the center of the table, which I knew Keith had sent ahead of time, a bottle of wine and fresh glasses of water waiting for us, as well as a decorated side table that held a handful of beautifully wrapped small presents.

I couldn’t help but think how different this was to how things usually went with my family. I loved them, I did, but they kind of sucked when it came to celebrating me.

“Wow…” I whispered, unable to stop myself. Keith and the hostess seemed pleased at my breathless response.

I was only half-listening to the ensuing explanation of our night as we sat. Something about a special tasting menu that was never created twice and the influences they had. There was too much to look at and too many delicious smells surrounding us.

So, this was what Ginna meant when she told me I needed to try more upscale places. It wasn’t something I’d want to experience every time but it was nice on a special occasion.

“A tasting menu?” I murmured. “This is so cool!”

“Do you think so?” Keith said, and I swore he was blushing behind his beard. I loved that he loved treating me almost more than I enjoyed being treated. Was… was he making me a bit of a princess?

The thought would have been laughable if I didn’t feel a bit like royalty with the stylish décor all around us and the mood lighting.

“Yeah! I do! Thank you for this, babe. This is the best birthday I’ve had since I was a kid.”

“And just think, this is only the first one we’ve gotten to celebrate together, so I’m still a rookie. Imagine the kind of tricks I’ll have up my sleeve on the fifth one we spend together.”

“At this point, I don’t know if I’m capable of even imagining all the ways you’ll spoil me,” I answered with a little laugh, but at the same time, I couldn’t help but envision a future where we were together five years in the future, past the honeymoon and all the firsts yet still just as much in love.

That was an awfully long time to maintain a lie.

Ugh.

“Either way, I look forward to the challenge.”

I was sure he did, and I busied myself with drinking some of my water to distract from any guilt written across my features.

Enjoy your birthday! Stop fretting!

Easier said than done when that clock that had been ticking over my head for months now felt more like a guillotine than anything else. Thankfully, it was easier to distract myself when our server arrived with our first course and the wine that paired with it.

It was scrumptious. Tiny, of course, barely enough to have a full bite sometimes, but so delicious in a way I didn’t expect. And occasionally, the little mouthfuls were so intense in flavor that they would have been overwhelming if they were full dishes.

Soon, the march of food and drink really kicked up. There was a flight of different types of oysters with equally different garnishes, including lemon granita, champagne, shallots, and sea grapes. A miso brioche with kombu butter. Cucumber wakame salad. Soy marinated monk fish. Scallops. A sashimi flight. A nigiri flight. Akaiito Beef Tartare. Patagonian Toothfish soaked in beurre blanc. Little tea-flavored sorbet balls on different classic cookie crusts and a citrusy confection at the end to top it all off.

And that wasn’t even including the wines that were paired throughout the tasting menu. They went beautifully with each dish, and were spaced out so that Keith, who was much more of a lightweight than I was, didn’t get more than a slight wine-flush to his cheeks. I was sure that if we took a little walk after we ate, he would be more than fine to drive. But if he wasn’t, I would be happy to do it for him. While I was enjoying my time as a passenger princess, it wasn’t an end-all, be-all thing for me. Besides, what was the point of unknowingly having a shifter girlfriend if she couldn’t be designated driver once in a while?

Eventually, the procession ended and both of us were sitting back, savoring, contemplating, or maybe both. All sorts of flavors played around on my tongue. If the table wasn’t so wide, I would have leaned over it so Keith and I could have a little encore.

But, as it was, all I could do was grin at him and stretch to hold his hand across the table.

“Thank you for this. I think I would have kept procrastinating and never made the reservations, so I’m so glad that you did.”