Page 39 of Encore

I sigh as I open the door. “What is it?”

“I was wondering…”

I cross my arms. “No, Dave. Just no. I can’t keep doing this. I can’t be your escape every time something is bugging you. I thought I could. But I can’t.”

He grins, and it’s jovial…like the old Dave. “I came here to ask you to have dinner with me.”

I stand there blinking for a solid fifteen seconds before speaking. “Oh?”

“Yeah.”

I scratch my arm. “Why? Because Brock and Rory are having a date? And so are Jesse and Brianna?”

He shakes his head. “Of course not. I thought… I mean, we could have dinner together here in the hotel, as friends, or friends with bennies, or whatever, but I actually thought it would be nice to have an actual date with the woman I…”

I roll my eyes. “With the woman you…what?”

“Damn it, Maddie.” He grabs me and kisses me. Hard.

I can’t help myself. I open for him, sweeping my tongue into his mouth and tangling it with his.

Is he feeling something?

Am I feeling something?

Or is this just a childhood crush?

No.

Not a childhood crush. Jesse thought that’s what Brianna was feeling for him, and it wasn’t.

We kiss hard for a few minutes until I pull back, releasing the kiss with a smack.

“Does that convince you that I really want to have dinner with you?” he asks.

“Not really.” I touch my lips. “It convinces me that you want to come back to my bed.”

He shakes his head. “Christ, Maddie, what do I have to do to convince you?”

I frown. “What, all of a sudden you have feelings for me?”

“I’ve had feelings for you since the beginning,” he says. “Despite my reputation, I’m not completely indiscriminate when it comes to the people I have sex with.”

“Not completely,” I scoff. “Wow, that makes me feel better.”

He draws in a breath. “You know what? Just forget I asked. Maybe I’ll see you down in the hotel dining room for dinner. Maybe I’ll just go to fucking McDonald’s and have a French Big Mac with French fries. Or do they just call them fries here?”

Despite myself, I can’t help smiling. “For God’s sake, David, don’t do that. We’re in Paris. culinary capital of the world. Don’t get fast food.”

“I already made reservations, Maddie. I want to take you out for an amazing French feast. Why would I do that just to get you into bed? I’ve already been in bed with you.”

He’s not wrong. And I probably will let him back in my bed, because he’s an amazing lover, and we seem to have awesome physical chemistry.

I have been crushing on him for a long time.

So why am I fighting this?

“Look, Dave,” I say. “I like you. I like you a lot. And we seem to be great in bed together.”

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