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I leaned on the counter as I spoke. I didn’t know what was going on but until I got answers from him, the pounding in my heart wasn’t going to go away.
“The reason I called you was to tell you we didn’t have to pretend to date anymore. I wanted to do that over the phone. I needed to keep it professional and keep my distance from you, at least in that regard.”
“Okay, mission accomplished. I get it, we don’t have to date anymore. What do you need to do now?” I asked.
“This,” he said.
He did invade my space then, along with my body, my mind, practically my soul as he cupped my face in his hands and brought his mouth down and kissed me. It wasn’t a soft kiss. It was demanding and raw and so incredible my knees almost gave way under me.
I reached up and dug my hands into his arms as he intensified the kiss. His tongue pushed against my mouth, demanding entrance. It took me a second to register what he was doing, what was happening. It was all too surreal that I couldn’t comprehend it, and yet it felt so wonderful that I never wanted it to end.
With a soft moan, I opened my mouth and Mac dove his tongue inside. His hands moved around my face bringing me closer to him. I ran my hands up his arms and to his shoulders as we continued to kiss. Deep moans came out of Mac’s mouth as his hands ran up and down my back.
I pushed into him as my tongue danced around his. My mind went blank to anything but him and what he was doing to me. He was without a doubt the most skilled kisser I had ever been with and as he ran his hand down my back and cupped my ass, all I could think was that I wanted more, so much more.
We kept kissing and running our hands along the other as if we both couldn’t believe that we were that close, that we were kissing, and we needed to feel the other. Eventually, Mac broke the kiss and slowly moved away from me. He gave me a sheepish smile as he looked down at me. I was sure I looked a mess with my hair slightly rumpled and my eyes heavy with desire.
“I didn’t want to wait another moment before I kissed you. I can’t tell you much or how long I’ve thought about doing that.”
“You did?” I asked.
I could feel myself blushing and I couldn’t keep the smile from coming to my face.
“Very, very much. But I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. It wasn’t right to do it before. But now, things are different. Things can be different.”
“Like you’re going to kiss me some more?” I asked.
Mac laughed and gave me a quick kiss on the lips.
“Yes, a lot more of that. There’s so much I want to do with you but first, I want to ask you out, officially, on a date. Not one that you feel you need to go on, because you’re doing a favor for me, or because it will make your life easier, but because you want to. I very much want to take you out and I hope you want me to.”
I couldn’t keep the smile off my face or the butterflies from flying in my stomach as I looked at him and said, “Yes. Yes, I want that very much.”
Chapter 17
Mac
I couldn’t stop looking at Hope. I kept expecting it to be a dream. At any moment I would wake up alone in my bed. But as I reached over and took Hope’s hand in mine and she squeezed it back, giving me a brilliant smile, I knew this wasn’t a dream. This was very much happening, and I would make the most of it.
We could have gone on our date the night I came to her place, but I wanted to make it special. I wanted to make reservations at a nice restaurant, get dressed up a little, and bring her flowers. I wanted to show her I could and would do date night right.
“How did you manage to get a reservation at Parkers?” she asked as we waited for our table.
“I know people,” I said with a smile.
Actually, it was JD who knew the pastry chef and was able to get us a reservation. I wasn’t sure what favor he called in, but when I saw how pleased Hope was about having dinner there, I didn’t care.
“Of course, you do,” she said with a laugh.
Parkers was a small, quaint steakhouse located in the middle of a row of houses in Chelsea. It was owned by a husband and wife, by the last name Parker, who decided to make their house a restaurant a few years back. They were known for the family style meals and intimate settings that were both romantic and fun.
I wanted to take Hope to a place where we wouldn’t be disturbed, and where we could talk and be ourselves and wouldn’t be seen. The date before had been all about making a show, but that wasn’t what I was looking for or wanted for us now. I knew that people would be interested in us, and we would get talked about, but that didn’t mean I wanted it in our faces.
Parkers seemed like the perfect place to accomplish all of those goals. A nice evening for Hope and me where no one would bother us, yet a place that neither of us would ever forget.
The house was typical of the long-shaped houses in Chelsea. The entryway had stairs that led up to the second and third floor and what I assumed was the family’s living area. Downstairs was elegantly decorated to look a little like a speakeasy and steakhouse from the prohibition era. The three tables were set in the large open space that I assumed had once been the dining and living room. They were now one large room with the tables set a good distance apart.
There was a soft glow coming from the small lights on the tables that were set for two or four people. The Parkers never allowed parties bigger than four and only one table accommodated that many. The tables were covered in a white tablecloth and the chairs were made of solid wood with velvet cushions. It had a classic, old school feel to it, taking me back when meals were meant to be savored and enjoyed. It was exactly what I would do that night.
