Page 19 of Score Her Heart

I set my phone on the bedside table and got up off the bed. I went over to my suitcase and pulled out the extra suit I had brought. I hadn’t been sure which one to bring for Fi’s wedding, so I brought two. It was good to have a spare sometimes. I took the iron out of the closet and ironed out the wrinkles, then hung it up in the closet. I checked my watch; we still had plenty of time, and I heard Fi tapping away at her keyboard, so I didn’t want to disturb her. I rubbed a hand across my face and felt the annoying scratchiness of my beard coming in, so I went into the bathroom to shave and fix my hair.

By the time she padded into the bedroom, I was suited up and adjusting my tie in the mirror.

“Oh, should I dress nice?” she asked.

“I guess so. It’s Vegas, sweetheart.”

She put a finger on her chin, as if in thought, but then went into the closet and rifled through some clothes she had hanging up in there. She pulled out a black dress with thin straps and looked over at what I was wearing before changing into it. The dress hugged her in all the right places and showed more cleavage than was normal for her. My mouth watered, and I knew if I didn’t unclench my jaw, we would never even leave the suite tonight. I watched her slip on a pair of heels before shaking her bright red hair out of the messy bun.

“I think I need to straighten my hair and do my make-up. Can you give me like twenty minutes?” she asked.

I straightened my tie again. “Sure.”

She eyed me from across the room. “Are we even going to make it to dinner?”

“What?”

She smirked. “You’re looking at me like you want to throw me down on the bed.”

I coughed into my hand, and she laughed again before coming into the bathroom to plug in her straighter. She wasn’t wrong, so I got out of the way before I did anything too bold. I shuffled into my suit jacket and offered her my hand when she finally came out of the bathroom. Surprising me, she took it, and I guided her out of the suite.

“So, where are you taking me?” she asked when we stepped onto the elevator.

“Sushi.”

Her eyes lit up. “I love sushi.”

“I know.”

“You actually listen to me?” she asked with a surprised look on her face.

I rubbed my thumb on the back of her palm. “Of course I do.”

“Oh,” she said and looked down at her shoes.

My gut told me she was thinking again about whether we should call this thing off. The idea of her leaving and not giving me a chance to show her that I could be the right man for her gutted me. She didn’t try to wrench her hand out of mine, though, so I thought that was at least a good sign.

The silence filled me with dread, but once we got into my rental car, the music from the stereo made it not as noticeable. I focused on driving, even though I could tell that her mind was on something else.

I knew something was up when she was still quiet after we were seated at the restaurant. She sipped slowly on a glass of red wine, staring off at something behind my right shoulder. I reached across the table and put my hand on top of hers. She jerked suddenly and looked at me with a sheepish look.

“Sorry,” she offered.

“Where did you go?” I asked.

She shook her head. “I get in my own head sometimes. I’m trying to figure my way out of this plot hole.”

The waiter brought our dinner, and I smiled at how happy she looked once she started eating. Huh, maybe she was just hangry. I took a sip of my wine and speared a California roll with my chopsticks.

“Oh my God, I was pretty hungry,” I admitted.

“Oh, me too,” she agreed and took a huge gulp of her wine. I poured her some more from the bottle on the table. We clinked glasses, and I loved seeing the sweet smile across her face. “This is really nice, Aaron. Maybe too nice; this place is fancy.”

I couldn’t help the grin spreading across my face, especially at her using my first name. “I’m kind of surprised you’re gonna let me pay for dinner.”

She stuck her tongue out at me. “Usually I would fight you, but you know I can’t afford this place.”

“You know you don’t have to worry about that. I’m—”