Page 25 of Boarded Hearts

I can see the pulse thrumming in his neck as he waits for my answer.

“Haven’t you got practice tonight?” I reply.

“Nope, night off.”

“Meetings?” I have no idea why I’m making this so difficult.

He quirks a brow. “Meetings? No. I haven’t got any meetings, Felicity, and even if I had, I would cancel them. Stop searching for obstacles.”

I check my watch and shift from one foot to another. I’ve lost so much time this morning, and I’ll have to work late to get everything done I need to today. “I’ll need to work late to make up time,” I explain. “I won’t have time to go home and get changed and then come to yours.”

“You drive a hard bargain, Felicity Thompson,” he chuckles. “In that case, I’ll come pick you up tonight and take you out to dinner. I’ll be here at six, out front.”

“Dinner? Like out? In public?” I parrot back at him.

“Yes, Angel, dinner, at six.”

“Seven.”

“Okay, seven.”

I nod in agreement, all common sense and caution firmly out the window. It’s only dinner.

We walk through the office, and I try not to let my paranoid brain run away with thoughts of what the observant faces are thinking as we pass. It’s unusual for prospective clients to simply waltz in and have an appointment with anyone, but I suppose there’s nothing normal when it comes to Jon Morgan.

As we approach the elevator back down to the lobby, he turns to me, stepping slightly closer. I can feel Margo’s weighted stare on the back of my head and, clearly, so can Jon, who casts a quick glance at her over my shoulder. Returning his eyes to mine, he gently smiles, and I feel his knuckles lightly trace the back of my hand which I’m sure isn’t accidental. “Tonight, at seven,” he confirms again.

I pull my bottom lip between my teeth, glancing down to my shoes, which really are not date-worthy.

Wait. Is this a date?

But I decide not to ask; I’ll find out later tonight. I think Margo and Co. have had plentiful entertainment for a Monday morning. “Okay, but nowhere posh.” I flick my hands up and down my body then feel a tinge of embarrassment at my apparent assumption that he would take me anywhere fancy.

“Chick-fil-A it is then,” he teases.

“Fine by me,” I retort. “Drive-through would be preferable.”

Jon pushes the button to call the elevator and then turns back to me, edging only slightly closer, reserving a professional distance between us, but the heated look in his eyes says differently. “Felicity, there’s only one reason we’d use a drive-through, and it’s got nothing to do with your outfit and everything to do with me keeping you all to myself. See you later.”

With that, he steps inside, leaning against the back rail as the doors close between us.

CHAPTER TWELVE

FELICITY

Ican’t take my mind off tonight.

Apprehension and excitement eat away at me as the hours tick by to seven p.m. I’m nervous to go out in public with Jon. I’m a private person, and the thought of having my face plastered across the web and labeled as his latest conquest gnaws away at me.

Not just that, but what about my family? Jack would likely be delighted but Darcy. Seeing her mum being cast across media outlets with a world-famous athlete known for his playboy ways? Shit, this is a bad idea, and I need to squash it, fast.

I need to cancel.

I quickly grab my phone to text Jon and explain but see the time is now six-thirty. Double shit.He’ll be on his way by now.

So instead, I scroll past his number and land on Kate’s. Thankfully, at this time the office is mostly empty, and other than a few cleaners and Mark, who’s tucked away in his office, the coast is clear.

Kate answers on the second ring. “Missing me already?” she purrs down the phone.

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