Jax Taylor and Publicist Girlfriend Lori Krebs Hold Hands While Leaving Dinner

Jax Taylor and Lori Krebs' relationship is clearly more than a summer fling ... because they happily held hands after a dinner date at a restaurant that's popular with celebs.

The pair walked out of Craig's in West Hollywood after breaking bread Thursday night ... with Jax wearing a black shirt and jeans, while Lori stunned in a low-cut brown dress.

Lori carried a designer handbag while Jax held tightly to a takeout bag. They smiled for the cameras before disappearing into a waiting black SUV.

As you know ... we first reported this shocking romance back in July, when we obtained photos of the pair getting real cozy in a swimming pool down in Mexico.

It came as a shock to many because Lori was the longtime publicist for Jax and his ex-wife Brittany Cartwright. Brittany fired her after Lori informed her of the pics.

Brittany's blasted Lori and Jax in the months since we published the pics ... referring to her former PR pro as a "snake."

Text messages between the exes the day after news of Jax and Lori's relationship broke show Brittany told Jax not to let Lori around their son ... threatening him with legal action if he didn't comply.