Page 24 of One Hot Moment

"That's right. Are you disappointed?"

She shakes her head. "You should know by now that I'm up for anything."

"I'm well aware of that fact." I hesitate before asking my question. Why? Because it's been a bloody long time since I did this with anyone. "Would you have dinner with me tonight, Tabitha?"

Her lips stretch into a beautiful smile. "I would love that."

"Shall I pick you up at your home at seven o'clock?"

"That sounds perfect. What's the dress code?"

"You can wear whatever you like, though this is a moderately formal restaurant."

She lifts her brows. "Are you trying to impress me? No need for that. I've been impressed since the moment we met."

"And you have captivated me since the first time I saw you." My gaze flicks to her raised foot. She has begun to wriggle her toes while rocking her foot, and I can't wrench my focus away from her toes. "I'm looking forward to this date more than I've ever looked forward to anything in my entire life."

She laughs again. "You're the cutest, Spencer. Even your hyperbole is adorable, and it makes me want to kiss you."

"Why don't we save that for tonight?"

"Good idea." She sets her foot on the floor, scooting forward in her chair. "Was that all you needed right now?"

"Yes, that's all. Thank you, Tabitha."

She stands up and turns toward the door, then pauses to glance back at me over her shoulder. "I can't wait for our date tonight."

"Neither can I."

Tabitha blows me a kiss and walks out the door.

I spend the remainder of the day struggling to concentrate on work. The memory of Tabitha waving her pink-painted toes at me keeps rushing through my mind. It's distracting, to say the least. But I manage to negate the distraction by playing music on my computer, the sort that would wake up a dead man. When I walk out the door at five o'clock, my assistant is there waiting for me.

She sets her hands on her hips. "Not sure I can have dinner with you, Spencer. You're a fan of heavy metal."

"It's not what it seems. I like a bit of hard rock now and then, but the ear-melting type of heavy metal is not my style."

"Then why were you blasting it in your office?"

Because you distract me so thoroughly that I can't think about anything else. But instead, I tell her, "It keeps me awake. Poring over financial data can be mind-numbing."

"You do that every day without the heavy metal pick-me-up. What's different about today?"

I shrug.

She puckers her lips in the sweetest way.

And I take her hand, leading her to the lift. She still seems rather peeved that I played heavy metal music for an hour and fifteen minutes. I don't like annoying her, so I feel as if I need to make amends. Fortunately, we are the only ones in the lift.

I step in front of Tabitha, clasp her face with both hands, and kiss her.

She doesn't even pretend to be upset with me. Instead, the wonderful woman sags against me, relaxes her jaw, and lets me plunge my tongue between her lips. We devour each other with abandon during the whole trip down to the underground parking garage. Then I need to summon all my willpower to peel my mouth away from hers. Tabitha's lips curl into a soft, sweet smile.

Maybe I should have suggested we try dating before we shagged, but my brain shuts down every time she smiles at me. For the first time ever, work seems less important than my life beyond the office.

I walk Tabitha to her car.

She opens the driver's door but hesitates.

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