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“I’m talking about the bet.” He runs a hand through his curls, but they bounce delightfully back to where they were before he touched them. “You’re trying to be more difficult than you really are to prove you’re undate-able.”
I snort. “Like you’d honestly bring your girlfriend coffee and flowers in bed every morning. You’re cheating by being extra romantic and it’s false advertising.”
He leans across the table and lowers his voice. “I wouldn’t have to bring you coffee and flowers in bed, because I’d still be in bed with you and if I was still in bed with you, I’d find much more creative ways to wake you up. With my tongue on your clit and my fingers—“
“I get the picture,” I shout, much louder than I mean to, because I am melting. From my temples to my panties, I am a puddle and if he keeps talking, I just might burst into flames. I’ve never heard Noah say these kinds of things before and I really, really like it. I suck in air and press my legs together. “But we aren’t there yet. We just started dating. You’re lying if you sayyou’d wake up someone you just started dating with coffee and flowers.” My voice sounds rough and breathy to my own ears, but hopefully Noah doesn’t notice.
He shrugs. “Maybe. But I know you don’t like to do anything before you have coffee in the morning.”
“And you take all your first dates to breakfast?”
“I do when I can’t wait another moment to start dating her.”
He looks so damn sincere, and my chest gets tight, my heart aching. This can’t be real. And if it is real, it won’t last. “Ordering for my dates is something I do. I’m impatient and bossy, and I can’t stand indecision. Many men have dumped me for it. If you’re going to date me, you’ll have to get used to me choosing your meals.” I’ve never ordered for a man in my life, therefore no one has dumped me for it. Lying seems to be endemic - once I start, I can’t stop.
Noah smiles, like he knows I’m full of it. “Good thing I like impatient, bossy women who order for me.”
“Well, good.”
The server places our food in front of us. My blueberry pancakes look like heaven and Noah isn’t my real date, so I don’t hesitate to dig in.
I realize my mistake when, mouth full of food, Noah leans across the table to whisper. “Every time you lie to me, Daisy. I’m going to have to be compensated.”
It’s not what he says, but the way he says it that makes lust race through me like an electric current. I forget to finish chewing and cough for a good three minutes before I get my air and food tunnels untwisted.
I take a long drink of orange juice. “Compensated how?”
“PDA or another date, you choose.”
I stare. “That’s not fair. Compensation isn’t part of our agreement.”
His smile is devious, his eyes heated, and he’s never looked sexier. “When we shook, I expected you to play by the rules. You want to take this to the committee?”
The committee is anyone in my family over the age of seventy who is no longer able to physically compete in our annual family competitions.
“No. We are absolutely not getting the committee involved in this.”
“Good. So, which is it, PDA or an extra date?”
I stare him down, hoping to intimidate him through sheer force of will.
He smiles and eats like he’s completely unaffected.
I huff. “Fine. PDA.”
His eyes widen, and he chokes on his orange juice. He sets his glass down. By the time he’s recovered, he’s smiling again, all confidence. “I knew you wanted to kiss me.”
I hold up a hand. “Hand holding. A peck on the lips. That’s it.” And it’s done in less than a minute. More time for me to work on edits and tracking down Cynthia Bennett.
He studies my face, a smug smile on his. “Those are the sorts of things we’d do anyway, sweetheart. If we’re going to be fair, I’ll need more than that.”
My cheeks heat and I shift in my seat, uncomfortable because I’ve never felt this way before with a man. I’m usually the one calling the shots. That’s the way I like it. “I’m not going to make out with you in public, Noah. I wouldn’t do that with a real boyfriend.”
He winces. Is it the idea of making out with me? “More dates it is, then. How about a stroll in the park after breakfast?”
“Fine. You get two extra outings, then we stick to one public date every four days.”
“Or,” he says, like I haven’t spoken. “We could check out the bookstore where Dani works. Holiday Books? I know how you love to visit bookstores.”
