Descent (Black Heart Romance presents Heaven & Hell)

I had heard this room was rented out for weddings or benefits, but I’ve never heard of it being
rented out for a dinner just for two people.
Even though ours is the only table, it was clearly set up by an event planner. The whole space
was. It has the look of a wedding reception or black tie gala, only it’s just for us.
“This is… wow,” I say, gazing up at the impressive temple as Calvin moves up behind me and
pulls out my chair. I look at him. “Wow,” I say again.
Pleasure glitters in his dark eyes. “I’m glad you like it.”
“Of course I do—who wouldn’t? This is an insane amount of effort to put into a date, though.
How did you even do all this in one day?”
“That part was a bit tricky, but I called in some favors. I figured if I’m going to convince you to
go out with me again, I’d better go big or go home.”
Shaking my head as I take the napkin off the charger and unfold it across my lap, I say, “Well, I
hope that’s not why you went to all this trouble. It is very nice and I’m very impressed, but this
doesn’t change anything between us.”
When I look at him across the table, I expect him to look thunderstruck. He’s thrown all this
money in front of me and arranged a lavish date that exceeds even my wildest dreams—he must have
expected the show of wealth and effort would change my mind. Honestly, I can even understand why
he would. He thinks he can buy anything, even me, and it must be a shock to find out he’s wrong.
But he doesn’t look surprised or disappointed at all. It’s almost as if that’s the response he
expected, which begs the question: what sane person would put in this level of effort not even
expecting it to change anything?
“You don’t seem disheartened,” I remark tentatively.
He shakes his head. “I’m not. That’s about how I expected you to feel.”
Frowning faintly, I ask, “Why did you do all of this, then?”
His gaze meets mine across the table, and without a flicker of hesitation or disingenuousness, he
says, “Because I thought you deserved it.”
His words hollow out a space in my stomach that I don’t entirely understand.
I’ve never in my life been out with a man like him before. I mean in the bad ways, sure, but the
good ones, too. I’ve been out with my share of selfish assholes who take what they want without
concern for other people, but I’ve never gone out with a man who would go to all this trouble
knowing I’d just reject him in the end, anyway.
Granted, perhaps that stings less for Calvin because he knows he’ll take what he wants
regardless of my decision, but he doesn’t have to put in all that effort first. I knew showing up was
non-negotiable. He could have had Hollis pick me up and bring me right to his place. Hell, he
could’ve mauled me without even giving me dinner and then sent me on my way.