AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Okay, fine, not jokingly at all.
She hesitated, tipping her head adorably to the side. “Take them…in what way? Are you going to lock them in your basement and keep them as collateral? Sell them on the black market?”
“Of course not,” he said immediately, heat flushing through his veins as he laughed uneasily. “I’d just…borrow them. I have a dinner later on, and it’s with Chinese men who are interested in possibly endorsing me, but I can’t speak their language. I’m trying, but incapable of wrapping my head around it. I just wish I could have learned fast as a sign of friendship or whatever. Greet them in their own tongue.”
She blinked at him.
He shifted his weight on his feet.
Had he sounded like an incapable idiot?
’Cause he was one.
When she remained silent, he forced a smile and said, “Honestly, though, it’s not a big deal. It’s just a vase.”
“What time?” she asked slowly, her chest heaving erratically.
“Huh?”
“What time would you need me for this dinner?” she asked, her cheeks almost the same shade as her lips.
“You speak Chinese?” he asked, his heart picking up speed for more than one reason.
She nodded hesitantly.
“Fluently?”
If she was the answer to his prayers, not only would he be able to attend this dinner with someone who could carry on long conversations with his potential investors, but he’d get more time with this bewitching beauty that called to him like no other woman had before.
She nodded once, jerkily. “Mao mao lin.”
“Yes.” He caught her hand excitedly, his fingers rough against her much smoother skin, caught up in the excitement of the possibility of greeting his potential sponsors properly. The biggest thing in this game was respect, and what better way to say it than mao mao lin? “Are you sure you don’t mind? Please don’t feel like you have to. I was just kidding.”
Mostly.
“Please. It’s the least I could do,” she said, waving a hand dismissively. “What time, and what attire?”
“Eight, and you could wear that if you want,” he said, grinning because he’d lucked out when she knocked on his door today, in more ways than one. “It’s…fetching.”
She crossed her arms again and stared at him.
Dead ass stared.
He cleared his throat, losing the grin he’d been wearing since she spoke Chinese. “Uh…wear a dress, I guess?”
“Got it.” She tucked her hair behind her ear nervously, glancing at him then lowering her gaze. “Like, ball gown, sundress, or cocktail dress?”
Shit. He had no clue what kind of dress was what. Ask him how best to throw a fifty-yard pass in an easterly ten mile-per-hour wind, and he’d be golden. “Like, one that goes like this…” he ran a line down his shoulders, showing a tank top, “and maybe stops like here?” he touched his thigh above his knee. “Pretty fabric, but not, like, diamonds, or anything like that.”
Her lips curved into a smile. It was the first time she’d smiled since walking into his life, and it was breathtaking. There was no other word for it. “So…cocktail?”
“Sure, yeah. Cocktail.” He ran a hand through his hair, laughing uneasily because he couldn’t understand what it was about her that kept throwing him off balance. He’d been around a lot of women, most of them beautiful, but this one…she was different. Why? “I’ll be wearing a black suit and a tie.”
“Got it.”
Forcing his eyes off her, he crossed the room and picked up his phone. “Can I have your address? I’ll pick you up on the way there.”
She hugged herself. “I could just meet you there, if it’s easier.”
