Page 21 of Doll Face

Embarrassment burned through her. “Probably not.”

“All right,” he said. “New plan.”

Matteo abruptly did a U-turn in the middle of the street, cutting off an oncoming car. The driver laid on the horn, but Matteo just ignored it. Macy gripped her seatbelt as he sped off.

“New plan? What plan? You have a plan?”

A smile lifted the corners of his mouth. “My place.”

She studied the side of his face, admiring him as the streetlights flashed across the broad plains and sharp angles.

“I have to be at the coffee shop at half past five tomorrow morning.”

He spared her a quick glance. “You want to spend the night?”

Now she was confused. “Wasn’t that what you’re implying?”

He was silent for a moment. They quickly exited from the shitty neighborhood and rolled through something more upscale. Past shops with expensive clothing. Restaurants closed for the night. She never really came this far uptown because she had no money to visit the area, let alone go shopping. As he pulled into the underground parking structure of a ginormous building, she suddenly had doubts. How could poor little her keep a man like Matteo interested? Was he just slumming it?

When he cut the engine, he went to exit, but she grabbed his arm.

“What?” he asked.

“Um, I’ve never … visited with a man.”

Nerves burst through her, and the tightness in her chest got a little more pronounced.

“Hey,” he said, using a finger to lift her chin. “Nothing will happen if you don’t want it to. You have all the power here.”

“But that’s not what you want.”

“Doesn’t matter what I want. All that matters is what you say. Besides, I thought we could talk.”

“Talk?”

“Yeah.”

“About what?”

“About whatever we want to talk about. Stay right there.”

He exited the car and walked around to the passenger side, opening it, and holding out his hand. She placed hers in his and he helped her out. As they walked to the elevator, he entwined their fingers.

Macy looked down.

“Is this okay?” Matteo asked.

She nodded, smiling. Her heart raced with excitement and she hoped her palms weren’t damp. She’d rub them on her jeans but she didn’t want to break contact. It was rather nice holding hands with a man. Especially this man.

They rode the elevator to the top floor, where it opened to a hallway. Matteo led her to the only door and used his thumb pad at a panel to unlock the door. Then he typed in a password.

“You don’t have an ordinary key?”

“You can never have enough safety.”

“Uh huh,” she muttered as she walked into the biggest apartment she’d ever seen.

Sleek and luxurious, decorated in shades of grey and white. The open floor plan highlighted the kitchen, which had an oversized center island with a breakfast bar, plenty of counter and cabinet space, and what looked like a walk-in pantry. Windows took up one wall, overlooking the city below to the river curved as it wound its way through the metropolis. The sparkling lights of the riverwalk created little, glittering pinpoints on the surface. The height made her slightly dizzy so she backed up.

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