I wish I liked him. Maybe if I said I did, it would push me in the right direction. “He’s nice.”
Trevor gasped. “Oh no.”
“What?”
“Niceis a boner killer.Niceisn’t sexy.Niceis friend-zone.”
He had a point. “What’s wrong with me?”
“Do you want an itemized list or….”
I rolled my eyes. “I have to go.”
“Find out if Mr. Nice swings both ways. I could use a little nice in my rotation.”
I grinned and hung up the phone. I didn’t think that Neil played for both teams, but if he did, he and Trevor would be adorable together.
No. I shook my head. I was not going to try and set up my date with my assistant. I was going to go back out there and try to wake up my hormones, which had apparently gone on a prolonged vacation.
I took a deep breath and when I turned around, I ran straight into someone. Someone with a broad, muscular, strong chest who wrapped their arms around me in the collision. A familiar fragrance drifted up my nostrils that my body recognized before the rest of my senses. When I lifted my eyes and saw what the tingles that had spread through me already knew, I was in the arms of Ben Whitaker. Flutters of arousal danced low in my belly.
It was official, my hormones had officially been activated.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
A brief fantasy played out in my head that he was here to tell me not to stay on the date with Neil. He was there to tell me that he couldn’t stop thinking about me and thathewas the man I should be matched with. He was going to pick me up and carry me out of here and into the sunset.
“My friend’s in town. We're here having dinner.”
“Oh, right.” I realized then that my hands were clinging to his chest like a cat on a screen.
I took a step back and lowered my arms. He did the same.
I immediately missed his touch.
“Are you here on your date with Neil?”
I nodded.
“How’s it going.”
“Good.”
He waited for me to say more, I didn’t.
I knew he had no idea the scenarios that had been playing in my mind, but I still found myself feeling a little embarrassed that I’d had them. “Well, I better get back.”
For a brief second, I thought I saw a flash of disappointment in his eyes. But then it was gone.
“Right, okay… well have fun.”
“Thanks.” I smiled and walked around him.
As I approached the table, all of the butterflies, tingles, and heart palpitations subsided. But maybe that was good. Neil was nice. Maybe nice was better.
I hated feeling out of control. Ben was the kryptonite to my control. And—I hated to keep reminding myself—he wasn’t interested.
“Everything okay?” Neil asked as I sat down.