“Is that a lot?”
He laughed. “It’s enough that I thought I might have spotted a pattern, that’s all,” he said. “I apologize for underestimating you. You’re right. You did tell me that you were familiar with the game, and I completely set that aside in the moment. I didn’t give you enough credit.”
“Well, I suppose you were only trying to be helpful,” she said with a chuckle. “I can let it go. But don’t do it again.”
“On my honor,” he pledged. “From now on, I’ll assume you know everything until you tell me otherwise.”
“Good,” she grinned. “That’s a good rule of thumb.”
“So tell me more about yourself,” he said.
“You already know all about me. I’m an entrepreneur and I know the rules of basketball.”
“Oh, that isn’t all,” he protested. “Tell me something I don’t know yet. What do you do for fun?”
“I read. I spend time with my dog.” She paused. “Mostly I work, if I’m being honest with you. I know how boring that makes me sound.”
“Not boring. Passionate. You have a dog?”
She pulled up a picture on her phone and showed him. “This is Bruno,” she said. “The real love of my life.”
“He’s a cutie. I’d like to meet him sometime.”
Her eyes flicked to his face, and Elijah was confident that she had picked up on the fact that it was a line—a way to talk about going back to her place together without his actually having to say the words. But if she was bothered by it, she gave no sign. “Maybe you’ll get to meet him,” she said simply. “He’s friendly to strangers, so he’d like that, especially if you brought him a piece of steak.”
Was she implying that they’d go back to her place together tonight? His heart missed a beat. Maybe this date was going even better than he had thought it was. That seemed hard tofathom. It was easily the best date he’d had in months already. But if she wanted it to end behind closed doors…
The food arrived. For a few minutes, conversation disappeared into eating and exclamations about how good the food was. The wine was poured and sipped, and Elijah began to sink into the familiar relaxation that went along with a great night out.
Stephanie turned the conversation to him, to what he did for fun, and he outlined the high points of his life—mornings at the gym, afternoons on the beach, evenings at ball games or new restaurants or clubs. He intentionally asked her nothing at all about her work. She had made it clear, he thought, that she wanted to keep her work life and her personal life separate. He would support her in that. There was no reason he needed to know anything about what she did for a living.
And then, at last, the food was finished and the bill was paid and they were back out on the street, arm in arm once more and moving in the direction of her house. Elijah could hardly believe his luck. That this night could be ending in such a fashion…
“This is me,” Stephanie said, stopping in front of a condo.
“You’re so close to the beach.” He could hear the waves crashing from here.
She nodded. “That was important to me. The place itself is a bit of a mess, because I had to choose between a really nice apartment or a really great location. And I’m very happy with the choice I made.”
The wind blew through her red curls, whipping them up on either side of her face.
She’s beautiful,he thought, and reached up to cup her cheek.
She let him do it—but only for a moment. Then she turned her head away. “Thank you for walking me home, Elijah.”
He thought his mind was going to burst. He’d been so determined that he wouldn’t be turned down again, and here that was happening anyway. He sucked in a breath.All right. So it isn’t going to be tonight. That’s fine. I can wait. I can wait as long as she wants me to.
“Thank you for a lovely evening,” he said.
She leaned in, and for a moment he thought this was going to end in a kiss, and God, he’d have taken that. He would have made the most of it.
But she pecked him lightly on the cheek, offered him one last smile, and then turned and disappeared into the house, leaving Elijah feeling as if his insides might burst into flame.
He couldn’t recall the last time a woman had had him driven mad like this—but already, he was itching to take her out again.
CHAPTER 8
STEPHANIE
