Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 26712 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26712 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
“Don’t be embarrassed.” His thumb stroked the small of my back. “That’s a smart call since you just finished your degree and are looking for a job.”
I appreciated that a man as successful as Ames didn’t judge me for being at a different place in my life. “Thanks.”
“C’mon, I’ll drop you off.” I was about to argue, but he shot me a look and added, “I insist.”
I couldn’t believe he was willing to take a cab ride all the way up to my parents’ place and then back to Midtown. But since I didn’t want the night to end, I was happy for the extra time it would give us.
“Okay, thank you.”
The attendant at the cab stand blew his whistle and a taxi pulled up at the curb in front of us. Ames helped me inside, then slid in after me. It was a roomy back seat, but he was practically plastered to my side, sending butterflies swirling in my stomach. Unfortunately, there wasn’t as much traffic as usual, so the drive to my parents’ house didn’t take long.
Since I’d never really done the dating thing, I was full of nervous energy over what happened next. I wasn’t sure if I should straight out ask him if he wanted to go on another date…and I couldn’t help but wonder if he was going to kiss me.
My thoughts were whirling, and my fingers trembled as I unbuckled. Ames asked the driver to wait and exited the cab, then helped me out and onto the sidewalk. I stared up at my parents' apartment building, unsure what to do next. Ames wrapped his hand around my wrist, and I turned to look at him.
He pulled me around until I was facing him, then cupped my cheeks. Tilting my head back, he lowered his mouth to brush his lips against mine. “Thank you for having dinner with me.”
“And thank you for the best first date a girl could ask for,” I whispered, butterflies swirling in my belly.
“I bet I can do better on our second.” His thumb brushed over my cheekbone. “What’re you doing tomorrow?”
I smiled up at him. “Going on another date with you to see how much better you can do.”
“Good girl.”
His raspy praise sent a delicious shiver up my spine that only intensified when he captured my mouth, his tongue sliding between my lips when I gasped. Then he kissed me until I was breathless, blowing away that first brush of his lips by a wide margin…and leaving me certain that he’d do the same with our second date compared to tonight.
4
AMES
“So?” Dempsey leaned his shoulder on my treadmill and watched me with a raised eyebrow.
“What?”
He rolled his eyes. “You know what, asshole. What happened last night?”
I hit the cool down button and grabbed the towel hanging on the bar to wipe my face. “Honestly, I have no idea. I overheard Dakota talking to the host about her blind date, and I just knew I couldn’t let her have dinner with another man. Then she mentioned the guy was tall…” I shrugged and stepped off the treadmill. “I just sort of went on instinct.”
Dempsey folded his arms over his chest and grinned at me. “I figured it was something like that.”
“Is that why you ran interference?”
He nodded. “The guy showed up right after you were seated. Skye heard him ask about your girl and pointed him out. I pretended we were there to make sure the date went well—from afar, of course. Thankfully, Skye had overheard her name. I told him Dakota was sick and asked us to pass along the message.”
“Thank you,” I said gratefully.
I grabbed my water bottle and took a long drink, then we made our way to the locker rooms to shower and change.
“The night went well, I’m assuming?” Dempsey urged as we walked.
“Very.” A wide smile split my face. “She’s perfect. Sexy, funny, sweet, adorable, incredibly smart, and so easy to talk to. We shut the place down before I finally took her home.”
Dempsey laughed and slapped me on the back. “Doesn’t seem so crazy when it happens to you,” he ribbed.
Yeah, I deserved that.
“When are you seeing her again?”
“Tonight.” I’d been counting down the hours all day.
“And you’re going to tell her that you weren’t her date, right?”
I sighed and shot him an annoyed glare. “Yes, mother.”
Dempsey snorted. “If I were your mother, I’d be telling you to get your ring on her finger before you admit the truth. Or even knock her up first.”
“I wish I could say with one hundred percent certainty that you were wrong,” I replied. Only half joking. Then the last part of his comment reminded me about the purpose of the night before. “Speaking of knocked up. I’m such an ass for ruining your plans. What were we celebrating?”
“We found out that we’re having twin boys,” Dempsey murmured, smiling ear to ear.