Page 84 of Dark Love

“Just a meal?”

She’s not getting away from me that quickly. “And a movie afterwards.” Which is going to happen on my bed.

“Will you try not to be too perfect? It’s intimidating.”

Good to know I affect you as much as you affect me.

“Ignore that. I didn’t say that.”

Dahlia is cute, even on the phone.

One of my other phones rings. Who is calling me this early? It’s not Payne or anyone close to me or they’d be calling on the phone in my hand. But it’s not a work call either. That’s the other phone.

“Do you need to get that?”

“Probably.” But they can wait.

Her sweet little laugh hits me hard.

The phone keeps ringing. “Where do you want to go for dinner?” Why did I leave that one in the living room last night? I push up and out of the bed.

“I’m not picky.”

“Seafood, sushi, steaks…” Where she asks to go will tell me volumes about her. Is she a fancy girl on dates?

The phone rings again, and I want to throw it into the wall.

“You eat sushi?

“I will if you want to.” It would hardly be the worst thing I’ve ever eaten.

“You’re too sweet.”

Not even a little bit. “That’s not a term I hear often.”

“I’ve gotta go.” Her voice changes. Gone is the soft and sweet. A slight waver replaces it.

“Everything okay?” Is someone scaring her? I don’t like this job one little bit.

“Fine. I just need to get back to work.”

Dahlia is safe at work. “See you Friday.” Where I’m going to work on convincing you to quit and spend all your time with me.

I grab the other phone and answer without looking to see who it is. “WHAT?”

“Well, aren’t you cheerful today?”

What does The Vincenti Heir want this early in the morning? “What do you want Max?”

“A meet.”

“You called me early in the morning to arrange a meet.”

“If you checked your phone, I called at a reasonable hour yesterday, but you never answered.”

And I wish I didn’t this morning. Not that Vincenti is a bad guy. His do-gooder family just doesn’t jive with my life. “I was busy.”

“Do you have time this morning?”

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