Page 42 of Five Alarm Kiss

How many people has he dated?

“I hate to cut this short…” Emery pushed back from the table. “But I’m filling in for Marty tomorrow, and it’s way past my bedtime.”

“Emery hosts the morning show on KISS FM,” Gage explained, “so she’s usually in bed by now.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize we were keeping you up.”

“Seriously,” Emery assured her, “I’ll be fine. Marty’s show’s a breeze. Saturdays are way more mellow than weekdays. Besides, I wanted to meet you.”

“I’m glad we met.” She really liked Emery.

“I’ll see you next Thursday,” Gage confirmed.

He was coming to class again, as promised, to “deputize” her students. That’s all they’d been talking about for the last week. They were so excited. “See you then.”

The couple headed to the front to pay their bill. Peckamoo was family-owned, and one of the rare restaurants that didn’t have you pay at your table.

“They’re really nice,” Laurel said.

Jake nodded. “Yeah, Em’s great. And Gage treats her well, so he’s okay in my book.”

Now that the two of them were alone, Laurel’s nerves started to creep back. She grabbed her drinking straw and swirled it around in her glass. It was a poor substitute for a stress ball, but it’s all she had. She was nervous, and when she got nervous, she turned fidgety.

Jake’s gaze locked on the movement, and his brows pinched.

Odd.

She dropped the straw and put her hands in her lap. “What time is it?”

He looked at his phone. “Almost nine-thirty.”

“Wow. It’s that late already?” They’d been at the restaurant two hours, even though it sure didn’t feel like it. “I should probably get home too,” she said. “And you have to work tomorrow.”

“Sleep is overrated.” His suggestive look made her stomach quiver, and her mouth go dry.

“Well…” She wet her lips. “I need my beauty sleep, and?—”

“Hardly.”

She glanced at him before continuing like he hadn’t spoken because how did she respond to a comment like that? “It’ll probably take forever to get this stuff off my eyes.”

“You don’t need it.”

“What?”

“The makeup. You’re beautiful without it.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, an easy grin curving his lips.

Laurel fought back one of her own. “Has anyone ever told you you’re a flirt?”

“All the time. You ready?”

She nodded and removed the napkin from her lap. After folding it into quarters, she placed it on the table, horizontal to the edge, and pressed it flat. He was watching her when she looked up.

“What?”

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