Page 42 of Fierce-Dane

“Do we get to go on a third date?” he asked.

“I hope so,” she said. “You’re getting your kids on Friday?”

“And on call next week starting Saturday.”

She pulled her phone out. “My last appointment on Thursday is at five.”

“Can I pick you up at six?” he asked.

“How about you come here for dinner?” she said. “Then if you’re running late, no worries.”

“I can do that,” he said. They were on her front porch. “Thanks for being accommodating.”

“Oh, that’s me,” she said, winking.

She’d made the first move with the kiss days ago and he wasn’t going to let her do it again.

He put his hand around the back of her neck, dropped his head down, their lips touched and he wasn’t going to keep it light.

She’d said days ago she hoped for more and he was going to give it to her.

His mouth opened, hers followed, his tongue slipped in and they stood there making out for a solid minute, maybe more.

He might have felt like a teen, but it was a good feeling. One that maybe he should have more of in his life.

When he leaned back for a break, she reached up and pulled his head down for another.

Yeah, this was what Team Dane felt like and it was one hell of a boost that he definitely needed.

12

OPEN FOR ANYTHING

On Thursday, Sloane left the spa at a little after five, asking Heather to close for her since her employee would be there until eight.

Since Heather had heard about her going on a date on Monday, she’d confessed that she was cooking for Dane tonight but asked that no one find out.

It wasn’t unheard of for her to go home for a few hours and come back to close.

They could just assume she was going to do that, but she said not to plan on her return to Heather only. She didn’t want to push Dane out of the door if she could avoid it.

To her, she wanted the night to go as it would. That meant being open for anything.

It was a nice night to grill and she enjoyed doing that. Less mess and quicker too. They both had to work tomorrow anyway so it’s not like it’d be a late night.

She figured Dane would appreciate that thought even if she felt it was an old person’s thought for two young single people.

She got the filets she’d bought and would let them sit atroom temperature. The red potatoes were cubed up and mixed with butter and seasonings and put in foil. They’d roast quicker that way on the grill. She cleaned and cut the asparagus and that would be set right on the grill. Done for now.

Dane had talked about loving chocolate but not having too much in the house because the kids would go nuts so she mixed up a batch of brownie batter and threw that in the oven too with some chocolate chips on top for extra richness.

At six she got a text that Dane was on the way. She’d told him to just come when he could and she’d start dinner then.

There was anticipation in her blood like never before causing her to run to the bathroom and look in the mirror.

Her hair was down and brushed and shiny. She didn’t do much more to it. No reason to be obvious.

She’d showered and washed her face, then applied a thin layer of makeup like she did every morning. Since they weren’t leaving the house, she opted for tan shorts that probably were meant to hit mid-thigh but on her were higher. She had a purple T-shirt on with it. Nothing fancy. Most of her wardrobe was like this and bought on sale racks.

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