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Adam growled. “Then why are you torturing me?”
“Because it’s fun? And you’re so cute when you’re grouchy?” She batted her eyelashes at him. The man wanted to smile, she could tell, but he didn’t. Very impressive self-control. Instead he leaned forward, his eyes looking directly into hers.
“You, sweetheart, are going the right way for a—“
“Dessert?” Julia asked brightly, appearing at their table.
“I’m stuffed,” Angel said, glancing at Adam. “But I could share something if you wanted...”
“No, if you’re full then I’m not going to push more food on you,” he said, a little blandly for someone who, she was pretty sure, had been about to threaten to spank her. Heck, she heard those words from Mike often enough, and they always gave her a little thrill when she could tell he meant it, but that wasn’t anything like the shiver of excited apprehension that had trickled down her spine when Adam had pinned her in place with those bright blue eyes and started in with his deep, threatening tone.
It wasn’t threatening in a way that made her feel frightened though. Well maybe a little. But that only added to the excitement it aroused.
Her response to him was a little unnerving. Sometimes initial attraction could fade, especially in the face of easy-going camaraderie, and she couldn’t imagine any other guy saying something similar without her laughing at them. With Adam, she had absolutely no urge to laugh and she could feel her nipples hardening inside her bra.
“Okay then, here you go,” Julia said, setting the check down on the table and clearing away the last of the dishes in front of them.
“Thanks, Jules,” Angel said, automatically reaching for the little black book.
It disappeared from underneath her fingertips. Angel looked up and scowled at Adam to absolutely no effect.
“In case it was unclear, this is a date,” he said, a little dryly, tucking a credit card into the book’s pocket.
“I usually go Dutch on first dates,” she replied stubbornly, resting her elbow on the table as she held out her hand.
“Usually, meaning not always, and this is one of those times.”
She sighed, recognizing there was no way Adam was going to give in on this one. “Well, thank you for the lovely dinner.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, looking pleased she wasn’t going to argue even though his voice was firm. Arguing wouldn’t have done her any good anyway. And now she knew she’d have to be sneakier if she wanted to pay for things in the future.
She liked the whole being paid for thing, it made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside and taken care of... but she also didn’t think the guy should have to pay every time. She knew very well from her friendships that guys could get kind of fed up with always paying, especially if the girl they were dating had expensive tastes or took the gesture for granted. It was something to be appreciated, not expected.
“I brought you something,” he said after Julia had picked up his card to run it. He reached into his pocket and set it down on the table. Angel blinked and picked the book up, studying the gorgeously illustrated cover.
“Robin Hobb… the author you were telling me about.”
“I thought you might like to borrow it. And if you like it, you can borrow the other two afterwards.”
Strangely, her eyes ached a little bit, the way they did when she wanted to cry. Probably because this was one of the most insightful things a guy had ever done for her. Most of them understood she loved to read, but even if they shared her love they wouldn’t have thought to bring by a book they thought she’d like. It was better than flowers or candy or… well… anything he could have brought her.
“Thank you… I… thank you.”
Angel felt a little twinge of regret. Maybe she should have said she wanted dessert, even though she hadn’t been hungry... just because she didn’t want tonight to end. But Julia was already returning with the check and then Adam was helping her into her coat. As he captured her hand in his, she thought this was one of the nicest first dates she’d ever been on.
“What are you doing tomorrow?” he asked, once they were comfortably settled in his car with the heat blasting on them. They’d gotten a good parking space, near the entrance to the restaurant, but now that the sun had gone down there was even more of a bite to the air than usual.
“I usually spend Sunday hanging around the house, trying out recipes. I like to bake.”
“A little domestic goddess, aren’t you? Baking, sewing... do you crochet too?”
“Knit. Sort of.” At his questioning look, Angel shrugged. “I can only do scarves. I haven’t figured out how to do anything else yet.”
He smiled at her as they pulled out of the parking lot. “My friends are coming over tomorrow if you’d like to join us. The girls should be there too.”
“On Valentine’s Day weekend?”
“This is the first year it’s affected anyone other than Jared,” he explained. “Normally we get together and hide out. This year it’ll be a more like a party—but without Lexie’s decorations.”
