Within reason, of course.
My phone buzzes with a text, and I try to pretend my heart doesn’t skip a beat when I see his name on the screen.
Mateo:I’m outside.
I let him know I’m coming down, drag in one more preparatory breath, and haul myself up again.By the time I reach the bottom, the numbness from the ice has faded.But I have some experience in schooling my expression, so I don’t let the building discomfort show as I push out the main door and find Mateo waiting on the landing.
He’s standing in nearly the same spot I had been before my tumble.It’s almost laughable.Or perhaps I shouldn’t have taken pain medicine on an empty stomach.
Mateo smiles at me, his brown eyes twinkling under the building’s artificial lighting.“Hungry?”His gaze drops over me, but the motion is quick.His eyes don’t linger anywhere that makes me want to retreat from him.
Except I realize I forgot the other thing.The thing about how I turn into a mess of raging hormones the moment I get close to him.As soon as we’re alone on the landing, close enough I can almost smell him, I’m fighting the urge to reach out and touch him.And I don’t think I’d have run away—or wanted to—if his gaze had lingered.
My breathing is shaky for all the wrong reasons, and again, I have to tell myself this is not a date.That it’s some kind of verging-on-chauvinistic form of repayment from a man who can’t simply accept money from a woman.
Is there such a thing as a half-date?I don’t know what to think.
So, I smile back.“Famished.”
Chapter Six
Mateo
Seven Steps Too Far
She is stunning.Herdark hair and tan skin are a perfect accent to the powder-pink dress she is wearing with her denim ballet flats.The bodice is fitted and shows a tiny glimpse of her cleavage, while the skirt is flowy and reaches just above the knees.The entire outfit doesn’t do a single damn thing to hide each and every one of her curves.
I wasn’t prepared to see her all dressed up, and it has robbed me of any semblance of sense I had left.I’m salivating for a bite of her, but I need to behave, at least for now.
“You look beautiful, Harlow,” I compliment her once she reaches the bottom of the steps outside her apartment building.
“Thank you.”The smile she gives me is enough to have a knot forming in my throat, but I don’t let it hold me back.
“The restaurant is three blocks from here.With it being such a beautiful and warm night out, I thought we could walk.”
“That sounds perfect.”Her words don’t align with the frown marring her beautiful features.
