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“I thought you were trying to pick me up in case Diane didn’t come to meet you.”
“Yeah, well, maybe I was.”
She stared at me disapprovingly, “Are you trying to tell me that my original opinion of you is the correct one?”
“Tell me what your original opinion was, and I’ll let you know if you are right.”
“I thought you were a playboy douchebag.”
I burst out a laugh, “You don’t hold back, do you?”
She shook her head and then propped her chin on her fist. How could a woman look sexy doing that? “No, that was not my intent. I sent the drink hoping to help sway your decision when you learned who I was. You don’t think bad of me now, do you?”
Her light green eyes sparkled in the lights of the tavern, and she slowly shook her head. “No, but I still can’t take you on as a client. Maybe in a few months, but not now.”
“Maybe you could just give me a few ideas, and I could try to run with those.”
“I guess I could do that.”
“Would you mind if I saw your place?”
“My place?” She laughed, “Why do you want to see my place?”
“Because it will be just like mine. I could tell you what I’m thinking, and you could maybe refer me to places to get things. I’d like to get new furniture ordered soon.”
“You aren’t bringing your current stuff?”
“Some of it, but I got a promotion, and I’d like to upscale most of my furnishings.”
“What do you do?” She asked as she leaned forward on her elbows, looking genuinely interested.
“I’m in marketing. I work for a large technical manufacturer, and I just earned the position as general manager of marketing.”
“That’s great!”
For the next few minutes, I told her more about what I did and what my company was responsible for manufacturing. Not once did she seem overwhelmed with the technical details or bored with what I explained. She even asked some great questions, and we ended up talking and laughing for another hour before her phone buzzed on the table, and she looked at it and winced.
“Sadly, I need to get home.”
“You have someone waiting for you?” I asked, hoping like hell she was single.
She shook her head, “No, but I promised a client I would email them some information, and I can’t do that from my phone. It’s on my laptop.”
She stood and pulled her jacket off the chair. When she turned on the ball of her foot, she lost her balance slightly, and I caught her as she started to fall toward me. My hands spanned her waist, and the two of us stared at one another for a long moment.
I was so lost in her pretty green eyes that the noise of the tavern had melted away. I was just about ready to lean forward and take her lips with mine when she laughed and pushed on my chest, “Sorry, I lost my footing.”
“You can fall into me anytime,” I told her, and even though she was standing upright now, I hadn’t removed my hands from her waist. “Did you walk here?”
“I did.”
“Then let me walk you home.”
“You don’t need to do that, Zeke.”
“I’d like to.” I stepped closer, my hands slipping a little further around her back, “Besides, I’m still trying to convince you to work with me, Shelby.”
She stared up at me, and I was pretty sure she was tipsy-to-slightly drunk when she breathed, “If you keep that up, you’re going to convince me to do all kinds of things, Zeke.”
I leaned forward, brushing my mouth over her ear as I replied softly, “That’s what I’m hoping for, Shelby.” I shifted one of my hands higher on her ribcage, and my thumb brushed the underside of her breast as I began to pull away.
I heard the sharp intake of breath rush through her lips, and the two of us stared at one another for a few seconds before I pulled out my wallet and yanked out a wad of cash to pay for the bill. Had I not done that, I would have taken the woman into my arms and kissed her senselessly.
