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“I do.”
It took me twice as long to open the damn bottle since my kitchen counter faced the living room where Bianca was staring off. I couldn’t stop looking at her. She was gorgeous—a man would have to be blind to not see that. But it was more than that. I felt a pull to her that was there the first time I’d met her, even before the lights turned on in that dark elevator. We were connected in some way; I was sure of it. I just needed to show her it was more than physical.
“Here you go.” I handed her a glass.
“Thank you.” She turned back to the window.
“You look pretty deep in thought there.”
She sipped her wine. “I suppose I am.”
“Well, I’m de-bulged and all ears.”
Bianca glanced down and sighed. “Such a shame to have wasted it.”
Trying my hardest to be on my best behavior, I bit my tongue. “Why don’t we go sit, so we can talk?”
After we sat, I waited for her to speak first. The key to getting Bianca to forgive me was going to be patience, so I figured I’d start practicing with the easy things. She traced the rim of her glass a few times with her finger and then said, “My date was a nice guy.”
I closed my eyes briefly and then opened them. “I suppose if you’re dating someone other than me, I’d like them to at least be a nice guy, for your sake.”
“Thank you.”
I couldn’t help myself. “To clarify, just because he might be a nice guy doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to beat the crap out of him right now.”
She shook her head, but smiled. “You don’t have to worry. I’m not going to go out with him again.”
I sipped my wine, watching her over the brim of my glass. “I might have just lost some of my urge to beat him senseless.”
We were sitting on the couch next to each other, and Bianca twisted her body so that she was facing me straight on. “I wanted to like him. I wanted to have the tingles as he spoke during dinner, and I wanted to want to go home with him after we ate, to have mind blowing sex.”
I know I probably deserved for her to feel that way after the shit I’d pulled, but hearing her say that really hurt. “Well that makes one of us.”
“I don’t want to want to be with you.”
“Yes, I’m getting that loud and clear.”
She set her glass down on the coffee table and then looked me in the eyes. “But as much as I don’t want to feel a certain way, I do. I’ve tried to force myself to stop thinking about you, and I’ve tried to distract myself with another man. Yet here I am at the end of my date tonight.”
I set my drink down next to hers. “Listen to me, Bianca. I fucked up. I know I did. I’ve apologized, and I’ll keep apologizing over and over again. But you can’t deny that there is something going on here that is worth taking another chance on.” I caressed her cheek. “Take a chance on me, Georgy Girl. Take a chance.”I finally admitted to myself that I was more afraid not to take a chance than I was of getting hurt again. Sometimes the reward is worth the risk.
I looked into Dex’s eyes. “You’ll always be honest with me?”
“I swear on it.”
I bit my bottom lip. The truth was, I couldn’t imagine never seeing this man again. He was right. Something was there between us. Something I’d never experienced before. Our connection was so strong; it was impossible to move on. “Okay.”
Dex’s face lit up, like I’d just flicked the lights on Christmas morning and he’d found a room full of presents. It was really adorable. “Okay? As in you’re giving me another chance?”
I needed to be serious, but couldn’t help but smile at how happy he seemed. “Yes. But…we need to slow down. I want to start over.”
“I can do that.”
“Starting over means dating. Getting to know each other. I want to know the real Dexter Truitt.”
He inched closer to me on the couch. “I’m an open book.”
“Good. We should probably start with a date.”
“I’d like that.” He inched closer again so that our knees were now touching. I was wearing a skirt and when his hand went to my bare knee, I felt it all over. His thumb gently rubbed at my skin.
Goosebumps were prickling from his touch, yet I managed to say, “I don’t have sex on the first date.”
He leaned in. “What do you do on the first date?”
My mind may have wanted to slow things down, but my body had other ideas when he began to wind my long hair around his hand. “Not much.”
