Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 46159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 231(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 231(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
It’s possible I found your dance squad’s YouTube channel. It’s also possible I’ve watched all the videos. You’re an incredible dancer, Parker. I hope I get to see a show one day.
Oh man. I grinned and squirmed around in the intensifying infatuation until I ended up on my stomach. Only thing missing was my ankles crossed in the air.
We have an outdoor thing on New Year’s that we’re rehearsing for. It’s in the middle of the day, so if you don’t have plans, consider yourself invited, sir!
Was that too soon? I bit at my thumbnail as I watched him type.
I wouldn’t miss it. Get some sleep, sweetheart. Tomorrow I finally get to take you out again.
Jesus Christ, he was making me walk on clouds.
DECEMBER 8
“It’s okay to check your phone,” he said with a knowing little grin.
I shook my head. “It’s just Mya. She said she wouldn’t give up until I told her what’s going on between us.”
And she would have to wait because I barely knew yet myself.
Wyatt chuckled.
This French restaurant could not be more romantic, from the candles and white linen tablecloths to the intimate setting and dessert menu with items meant to be shared. It was also crazy upscale, and I’d accidentally swallowed my chewing gum when I’d first seen the prices on the menu.
I had more gum for later, though. I wasn’t ending this evening without having my minty-fresh breath kissed out of me.
Either way, I didn’t need Wyatt’s clarification that this was a date. The restaurant made that abundantly clear. So I guessed we were dating—that was the correct term. And I’d tell Mya that eventually, when I could also answer whether it was more than just dating. Since she knew what type of men I was drawn to and what fetish I had.
A server appeared to take our dessert order, and we’d settled on two dishes because we did not share the same taste in sweet stuff. Because he didn’t want much sweetness to begin with! He ordered something called éclairs with a coffee- and rum-flavored-mousse filling with the darkest of chocolate, and I wanted a French vanilla sundae with brown sugar meringue and caramel sauce.
I was so full from an amazing dinner, but I couldn’t resist dessert. I hadn’t pulled out my nicest threads for anything less than two tons of sugar. But unbuttoning my vest wouldn’t hurt. I glanced around us and hoped to see loosened ties, untucked shirts, and…yeah, no. Wearing a suit just wasn’t for me, but I did own a pair of nice charcoal pants with a matching vest that were fancy enough. As long as I didn’t spill on my shirt or apparently unbutton my vest.
“How full are you, Parker?”
Yikes. Okay, he didn’t have to be a mind reader to understand I was a bit uncomfortable. I was tugging on my vest and wiping my forehead. The meat sweats weren’t a myth.
“Moderately,” I lied just a tad.
The mirth didn’t leave his eyes, but his eyebrow went up a fraction. “Is this a good hill to die on, boy?”
I swallowed. “If the hill is made of sugar, then yes.”
He coughed a chuckle and shook his head at me.
I smiled goofily. He couldn’t pretend to be stern with me yet!
Without the strict Daddy façade, he reached across the table and gathered my hands in his, and he brought them to his lips. “Sweet Parker, there are options. We can get the dessert to go.”
“But then the meringue will be soggy,” I protested.
“Not if it’s stored in a separate container. You stay here—I will go talk to the server.” He pressed a kiss to my knuckles before he stood up and left the table.
I grimaced. I wasn’t a fan of this. We’d had such a great time tonight—I didn’t want it to end because I was too full for dessert. I’d learned a lot about his family and childhood. He had two sisters and one brother, though none of them was involved in the corporation. Maybe that was why I’d thought he was an only child. But regardless, I still had questions, and if we left now—and took our desserts to go—chances were, we’d end up eating them alone. What if he just dropped me off at my apartment?
Developing a crush on a man I knew essentially nothing about had turned out to be a gamble that so far worked bizarrely well. After all, I’d only viewed him as a grumpy grinch before. Now I knew he had a lake house that he hosted family reunions at every summer. I knew he liked to golf and swim. I knew he preferred classical music and blues and that he loved to drive up the coast in an old car I’d already forgotten the name of. I knew that he missed the East Coast sometimes, especially during fall and winter.