Page 29 of Never Let Go

“Fine, but if my boobs fall out and he somehow senses it, I’m going to die of humiliation and then come back to haunt you.”

She laughed. “I’m willing to take the risk. Go on and get dressed. You don’t want to be late.”

I clutched the dress and nodded, rushing into my adjoining bathroom to change before coming back out and grabbing my purse. Ashley was sitting at the edge of my bed and she beamed at me when I turned to face her.

“You look stunning.” She got up, put her hands on my shoulders, and smiled. “Knock ‘em dead, honey. Be safe and have fun, okay?”

I dragged in a deep breath and nodded. “I won’t knock him dead, but I will have fun and you assured me this whole process was safe.”

She giggled and rolled her eyes. “Smarty pants. Just have fun. I can’t wait to hear more about Tyler when you get home, so call me?”

“Cross my heart and hope to die.”

Seeing me off with an indulgent smile, she walked to her car, I went to mine, and we parted ways. Tonight’s date had been set up at a dessert restaurant, so it was a little different than what we’d done before, but I was also stressed about eating desserts in the dark—wearing Ashley’s dress.

On the other hand, I was so excited about seeing—or not seeing—Tyler again so soon, that I’d wear a sundae with pride and replace her dress if I had to. As it turned out, however, Sight Unseen had thought about everything.

“Everything will be served in bite-sized chunks,” the waiter explained as he walked me to the private room. “It’s mostly cakes and pastries, so you won’t have to worry about forks, spoons, or anything too sloppy.”

I nodded, my heartrate speeding up more with every step I took that carried me closer to Tyler. These last couple of days since our first date, he’d been on my mind constantly. Even more so than Foster had.

I’d chalked up the resurgence of my crush to the unexpected surprise of seeing him again after so long, but I refused to let it get in the way of having a good time with a guy who certainly seemed to be interested in me as well.

When the waiter showed me inside, Tyler spoke and I heard the smile in his voice. “Hey, Amanda. Is it weird that I’ve been looking forward to not seeing you again so much that I got here a few minutes early?”

A girly giggle tore out of me and the waiter led me to a seat, but it didn’t seem to be at a table. Instead, it felt like a comfortable, padded armchair, and once the waiter was gone, Tyler filled me in. “All cards on the table, I looked this place up to get a lay of the land after I got the notification with the location of the date. All the private rooms are set up like lounges. There’s a coffee table in front of us with the first platters already laid out and there should also be a glass of wine to your left.”

“How do you know that part? Was it on the internet?”

He chuckled. “No, I asked the waiter to let me be the one to tell you. I wanted to sound knowledgeable and impressive.”

A strange, fluttery warmth invaded my chest. “You wanted to impress me?”

“Yes, I did.” He paused for a beat. “How’s your anxiety?”

“Better,” I said sincerely. “I wasn’t actually nervous tonight at all. I mean, obviously I was nervous about going on another date with you, but it wasn’t that same panicky feeling from before.”

“You were nervous about going on another date with me? Why?”

My eyebrows rose even though he couldn’t see it. “Why? Uh, maybe because it’s only our second date and you… excite me.”

“I like the sound of that,” he said. I heard the amusement in his voice, but unless I was imagining things, there was also an edge of heat. Lust.

Another giggle tore out of me as I shook my head at myself. I had to be imagining things. There was no way he was lusting after me after only one date and when he didn’t even know what I looked like.

“Should we try the desserts? I looked the place up too, but I didn’t think to check what it looked like. I just took a peek at their menu and the reviews. People rave about the cakes.”

“Let’s find out if they’re worth the fuss.”

I leaned forward, and as I reached out blindly, hoping to find one of the promised platters in the dark, my fingers suddenly met his, grazing over long, warm, slender-feeling fingers. My face exploded with heat and sparks flew through me.

“Uh, sorry. I’m sorry. I…”

He chuckled, moving his fingers forward to twine around mine for a moment. “What are you apologizing for? I know it was an accident, but I think it’s a happy one. You have very soft hands.”

“You have very strong hands,” I blurted out as my heart raced. “They’re dry too. Mine are clammy, aren’t they?”

“No, they’re not.” He scoffed and chuckled. “Besides, I’d have taken it as a compliment if they were.”