Page 28 of Ravished By Her

“Well, I had thirty, but I figured five was better to start with,” I said, feeling my face go red.

Lacey arched an eyebrow at me. “That’s quite a list you made. Must have taken some time.”

“Not really,” I said, wishing I hadn’t told her about the full list. Should have just sent the five and shut my mouth.

“Seems like it to me,” she said and smirked at me. My blush was quick and fierce, and I wanted to climb under the table.

“I just really value customer service,” I managed to say.

“Customer service,” she said.

“Yes. Going above and beyond,” I said, wishing our server would pop up and check on us so I could get out of the hot seat.

“Uh huh,” she said, and we both knew I was full of shit, but she didn’t push. “Well, thank you for being so diligent.”

“You’re welcome.”

I finished my pizza after Lacey, and I felt like I didn’t want to move when I’d swallowed the last bite.

“Feel better?” she asked, finishing her beer.

“Yes, but now I’m stuck here,” I said, laughing. “I don’t think I can move.”

“We don’t have to go anywhere,” she said, leaning back as our server came back and asked us if we needed anything else. Lacey got another beer and I decided to hold off on a second drink and switched to plain Coke with lime.

“Dessert?” our server asked, and I shook my head. There was no way I could fit anything else in my stomach right now.

“We’re good, thank you,” Lacey said and grabbed the bill before I could even think about racing for it.

“I’ve got this,” she said, pulling out her wallet and sliding the card into the pocket.

“I’m fine with splitting,” I said, holding my card out.

“I’m not,” she said, pushing my card away. “I’m paying. The end.”

I huffed out a breath and put my card away.

“Was that so hard?” she asked, amusement flickering on her face. “Don’t pout.”

I glared. “I’m not pouting.”

Lacey sipped her beer and I watched her throat work as she swallowed. It was an effort not to imagine running my tongue down her neck. Every single thing about her turned me on and it was getting harder and harder to ignore. Being around her was a challenge, that was for sure.

“How did you get into making jewelry?” I asked, which was something I’d been wanting to know. Talking about her other work seemed like a safe bet.

“I studied art in college and got into metalworking. It just kind of happened naturally, I guess. I was always making things when I was a kid. My parents weren’t so happy, but they were never really happy with anything I did.” She never talked about her parents. Lacey gave me a grim smile.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

She put her hand up. “Not your fault. Anyway, I started out doing craft fairs and farmers’ markets and so forth and sold online and it’s worked out. I had no idea if it would or not.”

I swirled the ice around in my drink.

“If you have any tips about running your own business, I’m all ears. This is all new for me,” I said. I didn’t mind admitting to her that I had no idea what the hell I was doing. Sure, I could research my ass off and make spreadsheets and plans but at the end of the day, I didn’t know what I didn’t know.

Lacey adjusted her hat as she thought about that.

“Get a good accountant. Be careful what you outsource, but don’t be too stubborn to ask for help when you need it. What else? Oh, get really clear about what tasks will directly lead to making more money. It’s easy to get bogged down in stuff that feels like you’re doing something, but really you’re just wasting time and spinning your wheels.”

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