Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 78576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
He grins, and it’s jovial…like the old Dave. “I came here to ask you to have dinner with me.”
I stand there blinking for a solid fifteen seconds before speaking. “Oh?”
“Yeah.”
I scratch my arm. “Why? Because Brock and Rory are having a date? And so are Jesse and Brianna?”
He shakes his head. “Of course not. I thought… I mean, we could have dinner together here in the hotel, as friends, or friends with bennies, or whatever, but I actually thought it would be nice to have an actual date with the woman I…”
I roll my eyes. “With the woman you…what?”
“Damn it, Maddie.” He grabs me and kisses me. Hard.
I can’t help myself. I open for him, sweeping my tongue into his mouth and tangling it with his.
Is he feeling something?
Am I feeling something?
Or is this just a childhood crush?
No.
Not a childhood crush. Jesse thought that’s what Brianna was feeling for him, and it wasn’t.
We kiss hard for a few minutes until I pull back, releasing the kiss with a smack.
“Does that convince you that I really want to have dinner with you?” he asks.
“Not really.” I touch my lips. “It convinces me that you want to come back to my bed.”
He shakes his head. “Christ, Maddie, what do I have to do to convince you?”
I frown. “What, all of a sudden you have feelings for me?”
“I’ve had feelings for you since the beginning,” he says. “Despite my reputation, I’m not completely indiscriminate when it comes to the people I have sex with.”
“Not completely,” I scoff. “Wow, that makes me feel better.”
He draws in a breath. “You know what? Just forget I asked. Maybe I’ll see you down in the hotel dining room for dinner. Maybe I’ll just go to fucking McDonald’s and have a French Big Mac with French fries. Or do they just call them fries here?”
Despite myself, I can’t help smiling. “For God’s sake, David, don’t do that. We’re in Paris. culinary capital of the world. Don’t get fast food.”
“I already made reservations, Maddie. I want to take you out for an amazing French feast. Why would I do that just to get you into bed? I’ve already been in bed with you.”
He’s not wrong. And I probably will let him back in my bed, because he’s an amazing lover, and we seem to have awesome physical chemistry.
I have been crushing on him for a long time.
So why am I fighting this?
“Look, Dave,” I say. “I like you. I like you a lot. And we seem to be great in bed together.”
“I’ll say,” he agrees.
“But I don’t want to be the woman you fall for just because you had a near-death experience and you feel like you need to move forward with your life or something.”
He doesn’t reply at first, and I’m thinking I hit the nail on the head, when—
“I’m not asking to marry you, Maddie. I’m asking to take you to dinner.”
And I can’t help myself. I burst into laughter.
Because it’s all so ridiculous.
He’s right. It’s just dinner.
“Yes, Dave, I would love to have dinner with you.” I shake my head. “I suppose I should apologize. Sometimes I get into my own head.”
He exhales sharply through his nose. “Tell me about it. I’ve been all up in my own stuff since the plane thing. Looking at the art today helped a little.”
“How?”
He scratches the side of his head. “Art is bigger than life, I think. Those pieces were crafted so long ago, but they still live today. The people who created them are long gone, but their works still move people. I felt vulnerable in their presence, but in a good way, if that makes sense. As if vulnerability gives us a chance for triumph.”
I drop my jaw and look at him in awe.
“Fuck,” he says. “You don’t get it.”
I close my mouth. “No. I do get it, and it’s a beautiful thing. That’s the whole reason behind art, isn’t it? To consider what it means to be human. Vulnerability is a key characteristic of all humanity, and I believe we’re all striving for triumph.”
He smiles then, reaches toward me but doesn’t touch me. “Thanks. You do understand. And I do want to take you to a nice dinner. I’ve told you before, I didn’t come here looking to hook up with someone. But I’m glad you’re here. I’m glad we’ve gotten together. Our sex is great, so let’s see if there’s something else.”
I nod. “I’d like that.”
“So no more giving me shit, all right?”
“Okay.”
“So… You going to invite me in?”
I smile. “As much as I know we’d both love that, no, I’m not. I really need to relax for a couple of hours before dinner. I don’t think any of us got enough sleep last night.”
“You’re right about that.” He leans forward and brushes his lips across mine. “I’ll pick you up at six o’clock.”