Page 30 of Vas

“Thank you?” She replied hesitantly, her confidence bubble popping.

His face relaxed, and he apologized, “Sorry, you do look beautiful, it’s just…” His frown returned and his voice rose a few degrees in volume. “What happened to your freckles?”

Anna felt her face flame. “Oh, they’re still there. Just covered with concealer.”

The line between his brow grew deeper. “Why?”

Why? Because the standard of beauty is clear, flawless skin. She didn’t say that of course, instead sounding even more ridiculous while trying to fumble an answer. “Well, um, because—” His thumb coming up to brush along the apple of her cheek stopped her words in their tracks. When the line between his eyes sharpened, she supplied, “It, um, won’t just rub off.”

His thumb brushed her cheek one more time before he said, “Shame. I like looking at them. They’re a unique part of you.”

She stood there still feeling the ghost of his caress, completely enthralled, while her heart pitter-pattered in her chest. After a full thirty-second stare down, she cleared her throat. “I better go put these in water.”

She hurried into the kitchen and aimlessly opened and closed cabinet doors looking for a vase, not really seeing anything as thoughts swirled through her head. So far the date was not going anything like she’d imagined. For one thing, she hadn’t been expecting flowers. Having never received them before, it hadn’t even been on her radar. To be fair, she hadn’t been on many dates and always with boys, never men, but it had still thrown her for a loop. And then, she wasn’t even sure how to feel about the freckle comment other than… gushy.

Not to mention how handsome Vas looked. She kind of blocked that out for fear of a brain explosion. Crisp black shirt, dark slacks and dress shoes, she’d never seen him in anything but jeans and tee-shirts and, not to sound like a cliché, he cleaned up very nicely. Not for the first time since being in his company, she felt completely out of her league.

“Can I help you with anything?”

Startled by his sudden appearance, she slammed the cabinet door too hard and it bounced right back, dinging her on the forehead. Her hand automatically flew up to the spot, making more of a production than was necessary, more out of startlement than because it hurt.

“Are you okay?” He closed the gap that separated them. “Let me see.”

He reached for her and she took a hasty step back. The way she was feeling, if he touched her she’d probably end up a puddle of goo at his feet. “I’m fine. Really.” She dropped her hand. “Maybe we should just get going.” Right, because leaving her small apartment to get into an even smaller car was awonderfulidea. She barely stopped her eyes from rolling.

“What about the flowers?”

“Oh, um, I’ll just fill up the sink for now. I couldn’t find a vase.”

He waited patiently as she found the stopper and filled one half of the sink with lukewarm water. “Ready,” she said, maybe a little too brightly after wiping her wet hands on a paper towel.

His frown was back. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes. Of course.” She took a deep breath, trying to pull herself together. “Sorry. I don’t date a lot. I guess I’m just a little nervous.”

“Then that makes two of us.”

Her brows flew up. “You’re nervous too?”

He took the step she had retreated and captured her face in his hands, tilting her head back and looking down at her with blazing eyes. “No. I’m petrified.”

She’d been wrong. She didn’t melt into a puddle at his feet. But she did melt a little inside.

“Now, come on. Let’s get out of here and see how badly we can fuck this date up.”

His unexpected comment startled a laugh from her. It also went a long way to easing her tension. She grabbed her purse and they headed out the door.

He took her to a pizza parlor. A fancy, upscale one, but still just a pizza place, nonetheless. She felt like weeping with happiness in the parmesan cheese. Even with Tiffany’s reasoning, her biggest fear had been he’d take her someplace chic and elegant. Two things she definitely was not. But once their food arrived, it became quite clear why he’d chosen the place.

“This is the best pizza I’ve ever tasted,” Anna said around a mouthful of gooey cheese and tangy sauce.

Vas wiped his mouth with a napkin. “I discovered it a few years ago. Won’t eat pizza anyplace else now.”

Her lips quirked. “Even when you go out of town, like say, New York? I’ve heard they have really good pizza.”

He nodded, taking another bite to polish off his slice. He swallowed before answering. “They do. I’ll amend my answer. I won’t eat pizza anywhere else when I’m home.”

“Well, you’ve spoiled me. I won’t be eating pizza anyplace else now either.”

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