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“They’re for kids.”
“They’re forbeginners, Luc.”
“That’s what I mean—kids.Not thirty-eight-year-old men who have no business pretending they can skate on ice.”
“I appreciated the sacrifice though.I mean, youdidcatch me when you fell and tripped me up.It’s the thought that counts.”
“Right,” he grouses, making me laugh.“Tell that to my ass.”
“Aww, baby cakes.Want me to kiss it better?”I offer..
“Might be a bit scandalous for our fellow train passengers.I’ll take a rain check though.”He winks.
My mouth drops open before I catch myself and slam it shut again, turning my head to stare out the window as a giddy grin curves my lips and my cheeks burn.
Luc, being Luc, must sense my awkwardness because he just places his big hand on the middle of my thigh before sliding it slowly down to rest on my knee, the heat of his skin seeping through my jeans.
“So what’s next, dream-date giver?”I ask when I’ve cooled my jets and gotten my hormones at least a little under control.
He tilts his head, scanning my face.“How am I doing so far?”
“What do you mean?”I ask with a frown.
“As far as the date of your dreams goes?How am I rating?Because I know I could’ve done better with the whole ‘looking cool while skating’ thing, but saving your ass for mine must’ve got me some brownie points.”
This isn’t him joking—this is Luc looking as sincere and caring as I’ve ever seen him.He’s genuinely asking me for feedback on the dateheplanned after recruiting his sister to grill me, then getting up on stage in front of his colleagues and superiors and all of their families, and selling himself to me ...in front of myfather, no less.
How can he not know that he was already hitting it out of the park when he yelled, “Sold to my best friend?”
I turn my body toward his.“This is already the best date I’ve ever had.”
“Better than Perfect Brock?”he asks without any hesitation.
“Luc, you could’ve taken me anywhere to do anything and it would have surpassed any date I’ve ever been on.”
He stills, his eyes wide.“No.Don’t say that.You’re saying I could’ve just rented all of your favorite rom-coms, ordered in takeout, set us up in a pillow fort on the couch, and we’d have been goldenandI would’ve saved two thousand bucks?”
“Well firstly, the pillow fort is not going to be your thing anymore.It’s a Gio thing.And you can’t try and be the swoony, knight-in-shining-armor type like Marco, who swooped in and rescued Renee from her bad blind date.”
“Well, IthoughtI was doing that at the restaurant.”
A giggle escapes my lips.“And look howthatturned out.”
He shrugs.“Okay then.What about the hopelessly infatuated single-dad type who stalks a restaurant and ends up saving the day?”he asks with a knowing quirk of his lips.
I shake my head.“Nope.That’s taken too.”
“Doesn’t leave me much room to be original and epic now, does it?”he says, rubbing his chin like he hasn’t already planned this date right down to the minute.
“Luca Rossi, look at me.”
“Iamlooking at you.”
“Okay.Now smile.”
He does, his eyes turning half-lidded and crinkling at the sides as he gifts me that warm, gentle grin of his that turns me into mush and has me smiling like an idiot right back at him.I fight the urge to grab his face and kiss him, the rest of the date be damned.
“Now will you tell me where we’re off to next?”I ask.
“Nope,” he says, just as his stomach grumbles.
I arch a brow.“I hope it involves food, because you’re like a bear with a sore head when you’re hungry.”
“It’s scary how well you know me sometimes.You know that, right?”
“That’s why you keep me around,” I say, making a decision then and there to stop trying to psychoanalyze every damn thing we both say and do.I’m going to just go with the flow and take whatever life—and this date—brings.
Luc mumbles something under his breath but I don’t get a chance to ask him to repeat himself because the train stops, and suddenly, he’s grabbing my hand and leading me out the doors.
That’s when I realize exactly where we are.And the prospect of what might come next has me near on skipping alongside him.
