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“Relax, baby,” I crooned as I leaned down and nibbled on her earlobe. “Serious girlfriend, remember?”
Talia’s breath caught in her throat when I licked the shell of her ear, then she exhaled slowly and let her tension bleed away.
I took in the shocked and curious faces of my teammates and grinned. “Guys, this is Talia. My girlfriend.”
There was an awkwardly long silence, then Prentice narrowed his eyes and asked, “When did this happen?”
“Around six months ago,” I lied, hoping no one would dig too deep until I had a chance to get to know Talia a little better. “We didn’t want to go public until it was serious.”
I volleyed a barrage of questions for ten minutes—only getting a short reprieve when the server showed up with a kiddie cocktail for each of the women—then shut it down. My friends took the hint and backed off. We sat with them, laughing and shooting the shit for another hour. Talia clearly enjoyed herself, which made me even more certain she was the one for me. However, I’d thrown a lot at her, so I bent my head to whisper in her ear, grinning when she shivered. “Are you ready to go, baby?”
She nodded.
I caught Dakota’s eye and canted my head toward Talia. “I’ll take her home.”
Dakota smiled and waved at my girl. “See you at work! And let’s do this again. But without the testosterone butting in next time.”
Talia laughed, and we said goodbye before I took her hand and guided her out of the bar.
“I can take the train home,” she said when we walked out into the chilly October air.
“No fucking way,” I grunted.
“But I live all the way out on Long Island. I’m sure it’s far out of your way.”
Damn, this was turning out to be my lucky night. I smiled and squeezed her hand. “Actually, I just moved there. So no more arguing.”
“Okay then,” Talia giggled.
Since I lived out of the city, I’d driven in and parked in the garage Axton owned next to The End Zone. I gave the ticket to the valet, and while we waited, I tucked Talia under my arm. She looked up at me in surprise, and I shrugged. “You never know who’s watching.”
“Oh. I suppose you’re right.” There was something in her tone that I couldn’t interpret, but the car arrived before I could ask about it. I opened the door and helped her inside, then shut it and stalked around to the driver’s side. Once I settled behind the wheel, I had her plug her address into my phone.
I wanted to take her home with me, but I knew it was way too soon.
“Add your contact info while you’re in there,” I instructed as I pulled out and turned left.
As I maneuvered the busy streets of Manhattan, I asked, “So you work with Dakota at the investment firm?”
Talia laughed. “Definitely not. Numbers are not my thing. I work at the K-Corp daycare.”
I could hear the smile in her voice and glanced over to see her face had gone soft. “You like kids?”
“I love working with children. They are so amazing.”
I wanted to ask her if she wanted kids, but we’d have more time to get to know each other on our next date.
Talia yawned, then chuckled. “Sorry. It was a long day chasing after those rambunctious little ones.”
The drive to Long Island was only an hour this time of night, and I’d been happy to spend more time getting to know her. However, while I was fighting traffic to get out of Manhattan, she’d fallen asleep.
She looked so sweet and peaceful, and she had clearly been exhausted, so I let her sleep. I turned on some music, keeping it low, and reached across the console to lace my fingers with hers. Talia smiled as she shifted in the seat, and something squeezed my heart.
When we arrived at her home, I hated to wake her…and leave her. But I was consoled by the fact I would see her tomorrow even though I hadn’t told her yet.
I parked on the curb in front of her house and cut the engine, then got out and went around to open her door.
Her pretty red lips puckered just a little, and I couldn’t resist the temptation. I leaned over and brushed my mouth over hers. “Wake up, baby,” I murmured as I pulled back and ran a fingertip down her cheek.
