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Snickering, she shook her head. “I was just hoping to avoid complete emotional devastation that will take months to get over.” She watched him shake his head with disappointment. “What?”
“Sweetheart, that is not the vibe we want to cultivate.” He stepped back. “There are a lot of benefits to dating me, and concentrating on those would be a lot better use of your time.”
“Benefits?”
“Yes.” He lifted his forefinger. “The first benefit is that I will never say that I’m not hungry and will always have a suggestion for where we can eat.”
She bit her lip. “I guess a man with a good appetite could be good.”
Narrowing his eyes, he let out a huff. “You don’t seem that impressed.”
She folded her hands together. “I’m awestruck with the possibilities.”
“Nice try.” He lifted two fingers. “The second benefit is that I have quite a few lovable quirks, like laughing at my own jokes and always being five minutes late.”
“Stop before I’m too enthralled to speak.”
“Fine, I’ll keep going. I will respond to every single one of your texts and never leave you on read.”
“That is a good one.”
Linc rolled his eyes. “Maybe the best benefit of dating me is that you can easily persuade me to do anything.” He crowded Lucy against the counter. “You can bribe me with tacos or pizza or just a promise of a kiss.” Running his mouth over her neck, he took a small nip. “I want to build something together. A relationship.”
Not able to stop herself, she wound her arms around his waist. “What kind of relationship?”
“The chosen kind.” He leaned away and swept her hair away from her face. “We both deserve to be enthusiastically and definitively chosen. And right now, I’m choosing you with no ambiguity and mixed signals. I’m here and am interested in seeing what we can create.”
“I have long believed that I have a better chance at winning the lottery than finding a worthwhile partner, but….”
“I’m changing your point of view?”
“Yes.” She looked out the window. “You communicate well, appear ready to commit, take responsibility for your actions, and possess a decent amount of emotional intelligence.” She shook her head. “It’s so rare, and I keep wondering when the other shoe will drop.”
“What you see is what you get, and there is no upside to selling you a false narrative.”
“Alright, Mr. Hawker. I will take you for a spin.”
“I know you won’t regret it.”
Swallowing her concerns, she kissed him with enthusiasm. Maybe leaping into the void would finally net a decent outcome.
Several hours later, Lucy stood with Gigi and watched the women flutter around Linc. “It’s like they’ve never seen a man do a sun salutation before.”
Gigi snorted. “Don’t kid yourself; watching the man practice yoga is as close to a spiritual awakening as many of these women will get.”
“It was kinda captivating, wasn’t it?”
“Absolutely.” She hip bumped Lucy. “I’m guessing your perma-smile is a result of the Stern Brunch Daddy delivering.”
“I won’t tell you details, of course.” She looked around to make sure the more active gossips were nowhere near. “But I will say it’s not a myth.”
“You’ve never been so circumspect.” Gigi huffed. “I seem to remember you freewheeling a few gory details about Ken’s appetites.”
“I offered amusing antidotes, satirical snippets. Nothing specific.”
“Okay, if that’s how you’d like to remember it, far be it from me to change it.”
“All the delicious details of my tryst with Linc will be kept under lock and key.” She busied herself with refolding her blanket. “If word got out about how talented the man is, there would be a feeding frenzy for sure.”
