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“Will you be ready in about an hour?”
“I think I can manage that.”
“Okay.” He looks down and smiles. We make it to our rooms, and I pull my key out of my bag. “Can I do something?”
“What?”
“This.” He steps up and takes my face in his hands. Lifting my face toward him, he leans down and presses his lips against mine ever so gently. When he’s finished, he rests his forehead against mine. “I’ve been wanting to do that for years. I’m sorry for not asking. I figured if I had given you a choice, you would have said no.”
“Well, I think considering the most recent events of our lives, I wouldn’t have said no so quickly.” His smile lets me know he’s satisfied with my response. He grabs my key and opens my door. “One hour,” he whispers.
“One hour,” I repeat. We say our goodbyes and once the door is closed, I begin getting ready.
“So.” Sherry wiggles her eyebrows while sitting on my couch.
“So.”
“One hour for what?”
“Dinner?” I sit next to her. “You don’t mind if I miss dinner with you tonight, do you?”
“Of course not. Some of the P.A.’s are planning on going clubbing. I was going to break it to you easy, but now…” She shifts and now she’s on her knees facing me. “What’s the scoop? What’s the sudden change? You go on some mysterious boat ride with your writing partner and now you’re going on a dinner date with him.”
“Yeah.” I try not to give anything away. Nobody knows about that night aside from myself and Ryan, and I plan on keeping it that way. I push myself off the couch and give her a swift kiss on the cheek. “We’ll have breakfast tomorrow. Have fun tonight and be safe.” I giggle as she tips herself on her back in defeat, knowing I won’t break.
CHAPTER THREE
“Callie, you look divine,” Ryan says the moment I walk up to him ready for our dinner date. I’m wearing a noticeably short halter dress that is simply being held with the knot around my neck.
“Way to use fancy words,” I tease him. We were working on strong synonyms earlier today.
“I had some great inspiration.” He takes me by the elbow with one hand and with the other, he lifts my face to meet his. “You really do look amazing.” I was waiting for him to kiss me. Instead, he kisses me on the cheek.
“Thank you. You look exceptionally good, yourself.” I reach up and caress the stubble on his cheek.
“We should get going if we want to make it on time.” He guides me by placing his hand on the small of my back. It’s not a far walk to where he has a car waiting for us.
“So, where are we going?” I try to pry some information out of him.
“You’ll see.” He lifts my hand and kisses the back of it.
After a short drive, he’s taken me to one of the nicest restaurants on the island. We have a private view of the water from our table. We’re finishing up our main dish while enjoying Pinot Noir, their house special. We’ve talked about our lives and the changes in our lives. He’s admitted he’s gone on a few dinner dates, but his heart wasn’t committed, so they ended there. I’ve admitted to him the same thing I mentioned on the boat. I haven’t been with anyone since him from years ago.
“Aren’t we a pathetic pair?” He takes my hand while we wait for our dessert.
“I know I am.” Our fingers are dancing to their own beat.
“No, you’re true to yourself. And I adore you for that.” He fills our glasses up with the remaining of the bottle. The server delivers a small flight of desserts for us to share, which we both decide that the cheesecake is the best one.
After dinner, we decide to walk it off by walking on the shoreline. He wants to take us to a nightclub down the road.
“Mr. Hayfield,” the hostess says. “Your table is just this way.” She motions with her hand but smiles in the most flirtatious way. He notices it at the same time as I do and makes eye contact with me before rolling his eyes.
“Yes, Mr. Hayfield. Right this way.” I flirt with him as well in a more teasingly manner. The only difference is, I’m hoping to go a little further than an eye roll.
“After you, Miss Winters. I’d much rather follow behind so I can admire the view.” He escorts me to follow the hostess. When I pass him, his hand lands on my rear and remains there as we follow her. “And what a view it is,” he leans in and says in my ear. The music is loud enough so only I can hear. We make it to our table, and he orders a Mai Tai for the both of us and a round of shots. She delivers our drinks in no time and before we know it, we’ve downed our shots and he’s lead me to the dance floor.
Our bodies are moving to the beat. His hands are all over me and mine on him. It feels nice to finally let loose for once. Ryan really knows how to dance, which makes it convenient to follow. We dance to a few more songs before heading back to the table for more drinks. I excuse myself to freshen up.
