He whistles through his teeth. “Wow. That’s, uh, a dress.” He swipes his thumb across his jaw, and he seems pleased with my outfit choice. “We could maybe skip dinner.”
“Or not. Let me just get these in a vase, and then we can… Wait, what are we doing?”
“You’re going to put the roses in a damn vase while I wait here so I don’t rip that damn dress off of you and order in dinner.” He props his arm over his head against the door. I remain in a stoic expression, and he cracks his signature grin. “A dinner surprise. And excuse me, it’s been a day.Envisioning you under me aside, you really do look beautiful.” He’s sincere.
It causes me to blush, and I need to speed us along, otherwise I will give in too. He waits for me at the door, and I quickly pop into the kitchen to fill the flowers in a vase, then return, grabbing a coat in the process.At the elevator, he steps to the side to let me go in first, and this is my sign that many doors will be opened for me tonight. A man of manners.
In the elevator, I quickly glance at my phone. “Sorry, I haven’t heard from Savannah yet. Everything okay with dropping Lola off?”
He punches a button on the wall. “Yep. No need to worry.”
“Are you sure?”
He observes me and lets out a laugh. “Completely.”
I glance at a message from Savannah.
Savannah
Your kid is the worst. I need her to misbehave, otherwise Julian will want to speed up our family-planning timeline. Enjoy tonight.
Swiping my screen closed, I ease it back into my purse, but I still feel the fluttering in my stomach. “It’s silly. I’ve left her alone with them before. I’m just…”
Hayes steps forward and touches my elbows. “Nervous? Never left her because you’re on a date? Nervous because of us?”
I look away, my smile straining, because he has me figured out. “Something like that. But my phone is away now, and I promise not to look again.”
He holds out his palm. “Give it to me.”
“What?”
His fingers indicate that I should hand it over. “Your phone. Give it to me.”He steps forward, causing me to lean against the wall. I already feel the heat between us intensifying. Then his lips nuzzle against my forehead. “I want your undivided attention, and trust me, you won’t want to be distracted either.” His murmur is pure swelter.
I lift my nose, our faces inches apart as I give him my phone. “Is that so?”
“Very.”
We’re saved by the elevator opening because my instinct is to kiss him, and not a peck, either. We create space again, and already my body is heightened for the night ahead.
He stuffs my phone into his coat pocket. “Good girl.” Those two words and his low voice cause goosebumps because it is hot as hell. We’re not even ten minutes in, and I’m already fanning myself.
The driver is waiting for us when we exit the building, and even though I’ve been in this car a handful of times now, tonight feels different. It’s not part of a routine. Hayes opens my door and waits for me to slide into the back seat, and he follows.
When the car moves, my curiosity is at its peak. “The plan is?”
“You’ll see.” The corner of his upper lip snags as he seems pleased with himself.
“Hmm, a man of mystery.”
He gives me a wide-eyed facial expression. “Let’s not tie me to a mystery considering how that panned out for us last time.”
“True.”
The rest of the short drive, we chit-chatted mostly aboutour day at the office. Hayes didn’t want to give any clues away.
With the car now at a stop, I barely notice when Hayes gets out and holds the door open for me. I’m too engrossed in studying where we are. It’s basically a back door at the beginning of an alley.
“Okay, now I’m really lost.” I accept his hand and get out of the car.
