Page 12 of Without Apology

“That’s a good way of putting it. Now, how about your asshole?”

“Ah. The owner’s nephew. Lazy arse who sometimes likes to fancy himself in charge. I enjoy reminding him he’s not.”

She laughed. “Gotta love nepotism in the workplace. So, enough about work. Tell me, how long have you lived in the States?”

“Over ten years now. I went to university in New York, then stayed.”

We continued to trade questions and stories throughout the meal.

As I studied her over the rim of my glass, I realized she couldn’t be more my opposite, nor was she like anyone in my world. It was nice, for a change, to meet someone who wasn’t obsessed with their career or its trajectory. She seemed to be more interested in life questions and actually getting to know me.

I took my last swallow of beer and realized I didn’t want this evening to end. Normally, I found the more I got to know a woman, the less I was interested. Call it the thrill of the chase or the realization that expectations were greater than reality. But with Peyton, this wasn’t turning out to be the case. So far, the fascination from yesterday was growing stronger. She was anything but boring and, even more surprising, made me forget about my job. I hadn’t checked my phone once during the date.

Perhaps I was already addressing my lack of work/life balance simply by being in her company. Although this week would be crazy, I hoped she might be available this next weekend, so I put it out there.

“The next few days will be quite busy for me with work, and depending how it goes, there could be late nights.”

She looked amused. “Either you’re making an excuse as to why I won’t ever hear from you after tonight, or you’re telling me not to take it personally if we can’t get together until next weekend.”

“Definitely the latter, as I’d love to see you again. I should be free by Friday, at the latest. I only wish my team wasn’t coming in tomorrow.” As it was, I’d be up to my eyeballs in paperwork.

Her face lit up, and I realized the chemistry was mutual.

“Are you asking me out on a second date?”

“I am, but in all fairness, there’s a chance that in a few days I could be on a flight back to New York. On the other hand, I could be here another few weeks. In case you’d rather not invest your time with someone who won’t be staying.”

She laughed. “Oh, I don’t know. The longer you’re here, the higher the likelihood you’ll uncover all of my flaws. So perhaps this is the best strategy for keeping you from finding out all of the crazy.”

I found myself wanting to get to know her well enough to find some flaws. “I somehow doubt that, but since it sounds like a yes to another date, I’ll take it.”

After we finished dinner, I drove her home, parked in front of her house and went around to open her door. Taking her hand, I assisted her out of the car. Not that she needed the help, but I used the excuse to touch her, keeping her hand in mine as we walked up to her porch.

“Thank you for dinner. I can’t remember having such an enjoyable night in a very long time.”

Her sincerity caught me off guard. Stepping into her once we’d reached her front door, I cupped my hand around the side of her face. “Tell me, Peyton. Are you the type who likes a man to ask permission to kiss her, or do you prefer when he simply goes for it?”

“What do you think?”

Not needing any more encouragement, I ducked my head down, meeting her lips. Warm, soft, with the hint of chocolate from our shared dessert, it wasn’t long before what started out a gentle kiss good night morphed into something more powerful. My tongue swept into her mouth and when hers met mine, everything ignited, threatening to undo me. From a simple kiss that had nothing simple about it.

My free hand wound in her hair while her arms came up around my neck, and she pressed her body into mine. I moved my hands down her back, skimming her curves with my fingers, down to her ass, gripping there and pulling her tighter against me even as I deepened the kiss. I lost all sense that we were standing on her front porch and visible to anyone watching.

Suddenly, we both jumped back when a loud woof came with a bang on the other side of the front door.

She was the first to speak as I hadn’t quite recovered the ability. “I forgot to mention Cooper is armed with an uncanny ability to be a cock block.”

I couldn’t help it; I started laughing. Her humor was so unrehearsed and unfiltered. When she started giggling, we both went into hysterics. Finally recovering, I stepped forward and kissed her once more, this time only a peck to keep my equilibrium intact.

“I’ll talk to you this week. Maybe via text? Then we’ll plan on Friday, yes?”

“Yes. Good luck on your acquisition.”

“Good luck with the promotion.”

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