"Penny for your thoughts." Raine glanced at Emily, then returned to watching the road.

She arched an eyebrow. "Is that all they're worth?"

"A penny and a cup of coffee?"

"Hmmm." She paused, pursing her lips. "You can do better."

"Three minutes in stretch pose?" he tried.

"Getting there."

She did her best to appear calm as they pulled up to the crowded intersection at Highland Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard. The drive from her place to wherever Raine was taking her had started off well enough, with jokes about their yoga class and good music on the satellite station they were listening to. Now, though, all Emily could pay attention to was a throng of tourists with cameras waiting to cross the street. She wondered if they could see her and Raine through the Escalade's tinted windows.

"You're a tough negotiator," he told her. "What if I add breath of fire and fifty-two frog pose squats?"

She sat back against the seat. "Okay, Mr. Mysterious. You win. I'm wondering where you're taking me, so spill."

Raine chuckled. "So much for surprising and impressing the girl. How about you guess first?"

"Somewhere in Miracle Mile or Silver Lake?" Those weren't guesses so much as what Emily was hoping for. She knew there were a couple of restaurants in both neighborhoods that were usually quiet and mostly empty on weeknights.

"Imagine."

"Imagine where we're going, or Imagine the always jam-packed restaurant on Hollywood Boulevard?"

Raine smiled and signaled to turn. Emily chewed on her bottom lip.

"You're worrying again."

"Nope," she lied. "I promised to trust you."

He turned on to Hollywood Boulevard. "I'd believe you, but that little crease in your forehead and you gripping the door handle for dear life gives you away."

So much for playing it cool. She hadn't realized she was holding on to the door. She let go of the handle and folded her hands in her lap.

"Would you trust me more if I told you we're not setting foot on the street?" Raine asked.

"The entrance faces Hollywood Boulevard," she pointed out. "I know you're a movie star and everything, but even you can't float through walls."

"So you think," he quipped. "You haven't seen my ghost movie, have you?"

"Probably not," she admitted. "I haven't seen many of your films."

"Ouch."

He turned the Escalade into an alley and drove for about fifty feet, then pulled into a parking spot beside a fence. Emily read the sign that hung on it.

"I think this is employee parking," she told him.

He shrugged. "I've played someone's employee before. We're good."

"Was this also in the ghost movie that made you think you can float through walls?"

"How'd you know?"

"Do you have another magic power to dodge Hollywood's parking patrol and tow-truck-happy business owners?"

"You can't have all my secrets in one night," he said, unbuckling his seat belt and opening his door. "Where's the fun in that?"

After helping her out of the Escalade, he opened the fence gate and waited for her to walk ahead of him. It took all of her willpower to not scan their surroundings for anyone who might be watching them.

They approached the back of a building. There were no windows that Emily could see, but there was a door. Raine turned the handle and pushed it open. Emily walked inside, with Raine right behind her.

She'd taken only a few steps when a man appeared in front of them. He was thirty-ish, she guessed, and well-dressed. He didn't look like a waiter, and he seemed to recognize Raine. She stopped, not sure what to do.

Raine clapped the man on the back. "Good to see you, Paul. Thanks for getting us in tonight."

"Right on time as always." Paul extended his hand to Emily. "Welcome to Imagine. Any friend of Raine's is a friend of mine."

She shook his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Right this way," Paul told them.

Emily and Raine followed him down a short hallway. Paul stopped at an open door.

"Will this table be okay?" Paul asked. Emily peeked past him into a private dining room that held a single mahogany table and was lit with candlelight and a sparkling chandelier.

Raine touched Emily's arm. "What do you think?"

"It's perfect," she said, hoping she didn't look as sheepish as she felt. She had been doubtful about how private their dinner could really be, and Raine had delivered on exactly what he'd promised.

She entered the dining room. Raine pulled out a chair for her before Paul could, then sat down beside her. Paul left them with menus and a wine list, assuring them he'd be back in a few minutes and would personally be serving them tonight.

"Is Paul the manager?" Emily asked, once he was gone.

"He owns the place," Raine answered. "It's his baby."

"Does he usually serve you when you come here?"

"Sometimes. It depends how busy it is." He picked up the wine list, avoiding her eyes, and she knew he'd asked Paul to serve them tonight.

Emily focused on reading her menu, but after a minute or two had a hard time concentrating on the words. In spite of the soft music playing in the dining room, all she could hear was the quiet. If this was a normal date, she knew the silence would have been filled with the buzz of other people's conversations and clinking silverware at other tables. She had asked for this, though—she'd needed it. And now she was getting it.

"Hmmm."

She looked up at the sound of Raine's voice. He studied her.

"What?" she asked.

"This got awkward, didn't it?" His mouth twitched.

So it wasn't just her. "A little bit," she agreed.

"It's the chairs, right? And the socks. I mean, we're usually on mats and barefoot."

"I kind of still am barefoot," she said, looking down at her feet. "No socks with my heels. The awkward sock thing is all you."

"You're just as guilty of sitting on a chair, though," he pointed out.

"I don't see a yoga mat around here."

"I could get my mat from my truck. I'll ask Paul if he can set up some placemats on the floor." He pushed his chair back.

"You're not really going to get your mat, are you?"

"I promised this would be fun. What's more fun than cat-cow and sufi grinds over a candlelit dinner?" He stood up.

"Sit down," she told him, unable to stop a smile from spreading across her face. "We'll try something new. Be in the moment."

"You're smiling." He moved his chair closer to her and sat down. "First mission accomplished."

"First mission?" she asked. "Are there more?"

"Many more."

"This sounds like it could be trouble. Do I want to know what you're plotting?"

"I promise to be a perfect gentleman," he said, an impish gleam in his eyes. "Even if it pains me not to think about our threesome."

"Twosome," she corrected him.

His eyes lit up. "You want to have a twosome?"

She laughed. "What's this about being a gentleman?"

He shrugged. "You distract me, and not just when you tell me you want a twosome."

The dining room door slid open before she could respond, and Paul reappeared.

"Can I get you guys something to drink?" he asked.

"A glass of chardonnay would be great," Emily said.

"Same here," Raine told Paul. "Bring the bottle."

"Consider it done. Back in a sec." Paul left the room again, closing the door behind him.

Emily gave Raine a sly look. "Bottle, hmmm? What kind of girl do you take me for?"

"One who will hopefully talk to me for long enough to have a second glass of wine." He fought back a grin.

"You're in luck," she told him. "Two glasses of wine and I strike up friendships with lamp posts."

"Really?"

"Nah. It's only ever happened after three. There might also have been a tequila shot or two involved."

"Here I had you as more of a coffee and water girl." Raine stroked his chin, looking thoughtful.

"I am, but it was college and my twenty-first birthday. You know how it goes."

"It hurts to even remember my college days sometimes, so yeah."

"Frat party guy?" she asked.

He shook his head. "My roommate was Australian and I tried to drink him under the table once. That's when I learned I'm really bad at beer pong."

"Good way to get you drunk?"

"Is the lady thinking about getting me drunk? Tell me more." He gave her a wicked grin.

She rolled her eyes. "I should just give up now and only talk about twosomes, right? I sense that's where we're headed again."

"I like this 'we' thing when you talk about twosomes."

"Enough with that." She tried to sound stern, but she couldn't keep a straight face. "I shouldn't have ordered the wine. Looks like I have to stay on the ball around you."

She stopped, realizing that "ball" and anything to do with staying on it had probably been a poor choice of words. Who knew what he'd do with that? Sure enough, she saw mischief written all over Raine's face.

"I meant that I need to stay sharp," she quickly added, before he could reply.

Raine looked amused. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again when the door opened and Paul returned with a bottle of chardonnay and two glasses.

"Ready to order?" Paul asked, setting the glasses down on the table. "Or should I come back in a few minutes?"

"We can order now," Emily said. She glanced at the menu, settling on the first thing she saw. "I'll go with the chicken parm."

"Garden salad or vegetable medley?"

"Vegetables."

"Make that two," Raine told him.

"Coming right up." Paul poured wine into each glass, then left the room.

"Copycat." Emily picked up her glass. "Chicken parm, vegetable medley, and chardonnay?"

"What can I say? You have great taste."

"Flattery will get you everywhere." She took a sip of wine.

"Everywhere?"

She swallowed. "Not there."

"Where?"

"Wherever you're thinking."

He held out his hands. "My thoughts are pure innocence."

She smirked. "Uh-huh, which is why you always bring up twosomes and threesomes."

"You brought that up this time, which tells me where your mind is." He leaned closer to her. "Another penny for the thoughts you're having now?"

"I thought we had this talk already? Quit undervaluing my thoughts."

"I'd never do that. Name your price." The look he gave her made her pulse quicken.

She shifted her eyes away from him. "Good call on having Paul bring the bottle," she mused, reaching for her glass again.

"I know a few lamp posts we can talk to after this," he offered. "I hear they're friendly around here."

"I don't talk to lamp posts on the first date, sorry. Not that kind of girl."

"That's a shame. Guess I'm going to have to convince you to go out with me a second time."

Raine sounded like he was kidding, but then Emily's eyes met his and she knew he was serious. The longer she held his gaze, the more impossible she found it to look away. Her body swayed closer to him.

"Oh yeah?" Her voice came out as a murmur. She was about to ask him how he was going to do that, when his hand touched her cheek and he gently brushed a strand of hair away from her face. He paused, letting his fingers rest against her neck.

She wasn't sure if it was her or Raine who leaned in to close the space between them, and it didn't matter. Emily shut her eyes. A moment later, she felt the soft brush of Raine's mouth against hers. His teeth grazed her bottom lip and she nudged him back up, pressing her mouth against his. She felt him smile.

Maybe it was because of the flutter in her chest, or because of the electric spark coursing through her as their kiss deepened. Maybe it was because of how their kiss lingered, or how the world beyond their dining room ceased to exist for those blissful seconds. Whatever it was, when they broke apart and she looked into Raine's eyes again, she couldn't help but smile, too.