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“What about you? What was your favorite thing to do as a child?” Carvin asked.
Alexis searched her mind for an answer that wouldn’t invite further questions while discreetly checking her phone under the table. She was getting a few texts from her assistant about their recent marketing campaign.
“Probably catching fireflies,” she said, scrolling through them quickly.
“Everything all right?” Carvin asked, arching an eyebrow.
“Oh, yeah, sorry. Just a work-related emergency. I’m so sorry, but I’ve got to go. Thank you for a lovely time,” she said, grabbing her purse. “I enjoyed myself.”
“Shit, I’m sorry. I hope I wasn’t keeping you,” Carvin said, standing, too. “I’ll see you out.”
“You don’t have to,” Alexis said, giving him an awkward smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “You should stay and enjoy your dinner.”
“Sorry we couldn’t spend more time together,” Carvin said, leaning in for a hug. Alexis allowed a quick hug and then pulled away, shifting her bag onto her shoulder.
“I’ve got to go,” she said, nodding at him. “See you around, Carvin.”
She ducked out of the restaurant as quickly as she could manage, tapping her phone screen to order an Uber to take her home.
While in the car, she texted her friends about how her date with the man from the masquerade went, letting them know it was a disappointment.
Carvin was a bust. He was honestly kind of self-absorbed and shallow, she texted the group.
That sucks. At least you didn’t hook up with him and then find that out, Chloe texted.
True. I guess I’ll just let what happened at the Full Moon Masquerade be a happy, distant memory, Alexis replied.
Once she was home, she got out of the car and stuffed her phone back into her purse before fumbling for her house keys.
“Hey,” a voice called from the shadows. She shrieked, nearly dropping her keys before realizing it was Magnus, the other man from the Full Moon Masquerade. Memories of their time together rushed to the forefront of her mind. She recalled his powerful hands on her body and his alluring tongue at her core.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, holding her keys out like a weapon. Her heart was racing from shock, and she tried to breathe steadily to calm herself down. “How do you even know where I live?”
“I know how to get the information I need,” Magnus said, standing from where he was leaning against her building. “How was your date with Carvin?”
Alexis’s eyes widened, and she took a step back. “How did you know about that? Are you stalking me?”
Magnus chuckled but maintained a safe distance. “Nothing like that. Carvin and I are friends, and he told me about your date.”
She felt herself relax, relieved to hear that Magnus wasn’t following her around or bugging her phone.
“Sorry for just showing up like this. I didn’t mean to scare you, but when Carvin told me he was taking you out, I may have acted without thinking and found myself heading here hoping to see you again. I couldn’t stop kicking myself for leaving the masquerade without getting your number,” he admitted, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck.
“So you just came here hoping to find me?” Alexis asked, raising one brow.
“I was hoping that I could make it up to you for the way we parted at the masquerade and show you that I’m more of a gentleman than I came across that day. I even planned a grand romantic gesture and everything, just on the off-chance it would help give me another shot.”
Alexis laughed, the last of the tension dissipating from her body. “Okay, bigshot. What is this grand romantic gesture that’s supposed to win me over? I hope it wasn’t showing up at my apartment to scare the shit out of me.”
Magnus grinned. “Wait here,” he said, jogging to his car. He retrieved something from the backseat, stepping away from the car to reveal an enormous bouquet and an equally impressive-sized box of chocolates.
Alexis made a noise in her throat, startled by their size. They were both so big that she didn’t think she could even carry them up the steps and into her apartment. When he said grand romantic gesture, Magnus wasn’t kidding.
“Those are way too big,” she said, shaking her head. “I could never get them upstairs on my own.”
“I could carry them for you,” Magnus offered. Alexis eyed him, conflicting emotions rising inside of her.
On the one hand, their night together was almost criminally hot. If she invited Magnus up, things might get steamy between them again. She could go for another round of passionate sex.
