Page 74 of Wanted Beta

I study his face as I wait for his answer, trying to tell if he’s playing it cool or if he actually doesn’t mind that I’m blowing him off. He was interested enough to ask me out in the first place.

Does he really not care that I’m ending the date?

“I don’t need to be there,” he tells me. “You’ll think about me anyway.”

Of course.

He definitely knows he’s gorgeous, and, apparently, he’s prepared to wait for me to want to date him.

Why is that so damn sexy?

“Oh, you think?” I ask.

“I know,” he says, giving a little hint of a smirk.

My stomach flutters, and I know he’s got me.

Whatever happens next, I’m going to have a hard time saying no.

“You said you have someplace to be,” he reminds me. “It’s late. You should let me walk you.”

It sounds like a perfectly innocent offer, and it might not come with any strings attached, but I can tell the more time I spend around him, the harder it’s going to be to say goodnight.

Add my growing attraction to the fact that my ex is out there somewhere in the city tonight and it’s not hard to make a firm decision.

“When you put it like that, how can I refuse?” I ask, letting him lead the way out of the arcade.

It feels good to say yes and mean it.

Having a clear sense of certainty about anything is foreign territory to me. I’m so used to never being sure and going ahead and leaping right in with both feet regardless, hoping for the best.

Gio waits for me by the escalator, and even as I smile his way, I realize it’s not just him.

He’s new and I like him, sure. I don’t want to deny that.

But something more happened to me tonight.

It’s like I found me again, after it had been so long I’d forgotten I was even lost.

I’m ready to let the past go. I want to find what makes me happy.

Time will tell if the guy standing in front of me now is a part of that.

Either way, I know things are going to get better.

And I’m so damn ready for that.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Gio

As much as I dislike the mall, I’m grateful for the endless row of escalators and their overly complicated layout when it allows me more time with my future mate.

Beth seems happy to talk about anything and nothing as we descend to the ground floor, and I’m enjoying listening and encouraging her random musings and questions.

Her eyes are bright as she hugs the pink plushie she won from the arcade to her chest.

She uses her free hand on the railing as she steps onto the last escalator.

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