Page 71 of Play Book

Frankly, I’m expecting him to be insulted.

I would be if he’d said that to me.

To my surprise, he throws back his head and laughs.

A real laugh.

Like from his gut, almost bordering a belly laugh.

And I’ve never seen him laugh before. Not like this.

“What’s funny?” I demand after a moment, though I’m chuckling too.

“Sorry.” He’s still shaking his head, a gorgeous smile on his face.

Why doesn’t he smile more often? It’s freakin’ breathtaking.

“It’s just… we’re complete opposites. I can find good sex anywhere. Seriously, sex is good for me because as the guy, I can almost always make it good. But finding a woman I like, who listens and isn’t desperately trying to wife me up or is after my money, is like a God damn unicorn. Meanwhile, I’m sure you have no trouble finding guys who want to date you, be with you, marry you—but you can’t find a guy who knows how to make you come.”

There is a fair amount of irony and humor in this.

“So, what does that mean?” I ask. “For us.”

“It means we could potentially make something really good together.”

My breath hitches.

Is he yanking my chain?

He can’t be opening up like this because he wants to get laid.

Hell, if he’d made a move, we’d already be naked.

So this is something else.

“You want to date?” I ask. “For real? Beyond what we talked about before you called me your girlfriend?”

He hesitates, his eyes never leaving mine. “I can’t make you any promises, babe. But yeah. I want to date. For real.”

I narrow my gaze. “You know that the press will potentially be all over this. We’ve been under the radar so far because it’s been late nights and some private events with our friends. But if we start going places as a couple, the paparazzi will find me. They always do.”

“That’s all right. I’m not hiding anything.”

“What about Ally?”

I see the first flicker of doubt. “It’s going to be complicated. I mean, she already hates me, and didn’t seem overly impressed with you either. The only person she likes so far is Stevie, and she’s civil with Autumn.”

“You could date Stevie,” I suggest playfully.

“No thanks.” He leans forward, his lips grazing mine. “Not my type.”

“No? She’s more your age.”

“Boring.”

“It would make things easier with Ally.”

“Ally doesn’t get to dictate who I care about.”

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