Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 62102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 207(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 207(@300wpm)
“Are you nervous?”
She shrugs. “A little. I don’t really know what to expect tonight.”
“Nothing to be nervous about, though.” I watch her until she meets my eyes, and then I smile, hoping to put her at ease.
“I am … very much out of practice when it comes to … whatever this is.” She gestures between us with the neck of the liquor bottle.
“It’s like riding a bicycle.”
Her cheeks flush at my remark. Her reaction is subtle, but I’ve been watching her closely enough to notice.
“Are you hungry?” she asks as she slowly slides my drink toward me across the counter.
“I could eat. What about you?”
She takes a sip of her drink before answering. “When I stop being nervous, I’ll probably be hungry.”
“Would you like to go out?”
It’s apparently a complicated question, and she appears to deliberate before saying, “We don’t have to. I could order in.”
“Whatever you want.” I’d love to take her to a nice restaurant, but being alone with her in the privacy of her home has its own appeal. “What would you do if I weren’t here?” I ask.
“I’ve been craving pizza lately.”
“Then let’s order pizza. Have you had De Luca’s?” I ask.
“That’s my favorite place.”
“You have good taste. What do you like on your pizza?”
She comes around the counter to sit on the stool next to me and pulls out her phone. “Mushrooms and peppers.”
I scrunch my nose as I grin at her. “Never mind what I said about your good taste.”
“We can get half and half,” she says. “What do you like?”
“Pepperoni, or there’s no point eating pizza,” I say, teasing her and watching her body relax in response.
She scrolls through the delivery app, selecting a large pizza and clicking toppings. “What are your views on pineapple on pizza?”
“Never tried it. Probably never will,” I say.
She nudges me with her arm, leaning into me, giving me a whiff of her sweet scent. Maybe vanilla? “Me too,” she says. “I can’t wrap my head around it.”
“I might try it when I go to Hawaii someday, if it’s actually a thing there,” I say, missing the soft weight of her body when she straightens on her stool.
“You want to go to Hawaii?”
“I want to go everywhere. How about you? Have you been there?” It could have been her honeymoon destination, for all I know, or an anniversary trip. I hope I haven’t hit a sore spot again.
But she shakes her head. “I haven’t been there, but I’d like to go.”
“What’s the best place you’ve been?” I ask.
Her attention has returned to her phone, but she’s not scrolling or tapping. “I don’t know,” she says, turning to look at me. “I haven’t been to a lot of places. My ex didn’t like to travel. How about you?”
“I haven’t gotten very far yet, but I’ll travel more when our business gets going, and when I’m not working constantly. I’ve been to the middle of nowhere in Canada on a fishing trip with my dad, and I’ve been to New Orleans during Mardi Gras. Those were probably my favorite trips.”
“Those sound like very different experiences,” she says.
“Yeah, I like it all.”
She smiles at that and returns to her phone. “Pizza with two very different halves in the cart. Anything else? A salad?”
“Only if you want it.”
“Just pizza then,” she says, clicking to start to check out.
I grab her phone. “Wait, let me put my card in.”
She pulls it back from my grip. “Mine’s already in there. It’s just a pizza. No big deal.”
“I know you haven’t dated in a while, but that’s not how it’s supposed to go. I’m supposed to pay for the dinner.”
Her brows lift. “Is that what this is? A date?”
“Well, I did bring you flowers, and you are trying to get me drunk with whiskey. Looks like a date to me.” I lift my glass and swirl it, grinning at her over the rim when I take a drink.
“Trying to get you drunk!” Her laugh is big and full on, and I am now living to hear more of it.
“I saw what a heavy hand you had with the pour.”
Her laughter fades away, but her smile remains, and I consider it my first victory of the night. I aim to make her smile — and hopefully laugh — a lot more before I leave here.
14
Leo
“What should we do while we wait for the pizza?” she asks.
“I can think of several good ideas.” My eyes zero in on her plump lips, but then I remind myself to take things slow. “First, though, you never did tell me what fantasy you decided on for tonight.”
“I wasn’t lying when I said I couldn’t think of anything. Maybe I suffer from a lack of imagination.”
I shake my head, doubtful. “I’m sure you have some deep, dark hidden desires. I understand if you’re not yet comfortable enough to share them with me.”