Page 17 of A Little More

He leaned down until their noses were a few inches apart. She smelled so sweet. Like his mom’s baking. Vanilla. Sugar. Her brown eyes locked with his. He struggled to sound nonchalant when he really wanted to throw every ounce of charm her way. “It’s a really good burger, but it’s not a major life decision.”

Lexi’s voice became stronger but remained lower than usual, like it was a fight for her to speak. “I wasn’t considering the food. I was thinking about you and my job.”

He straightened. That was interesting. “I already said we can call it a business lunch. Although, I’m not sure it would be any different if we did call it a date.”

Except they couldn’t outright acknowledge the attraction between them on a business lunch. Because, even though she’d tried to cover it up, he’d recognized it in her eyes.

She began walking, slowly scanning the area. “Going out with you, on a non-business lunch, would be different than going out on a regular date with, let’s say, Charlie.” She glimpsed at him and then turned away. “Very different.”

Cool. Calm. He could play that game. “If Charlie was a date, and you want to make sure the two aren’t the same, then I’ll just do everything opposite. Starting with the food. Burgers. The only salad on this menu is a side salad that comes with one slice of onion and three cherry tomatoes. And ranch. They’ll say they’re out of all the other salad dressings, but they never have any. Just ranch.”

She looked a little intrigued. “Okay.”

“Did you meet for dinner or did he drive you there?”

“We met, of course.”

Of course? Had the dating rules changed that much in the past ten years? “Works for me. I’ll drive us there. After my shower. Despite my track history, I don’t stay dirty all the time.”

“That’s really unnecessary.”

“The shower?”

“Driving me.”

He wasn’t meeting a woman for a date. Or non-date. “Consider it lessening our carbon emissions.”

With a half-laugh, she said, “You care about carbon emissions?”

“No. I assumed you did since you drive that little car.”

She bumped her shoulder against his in a playful way. “Pegged me.”

“What else didn’t Charlie do right?”

Her lips pursed together. Nash had wondered if Charlie had managed a goodnight kiss or not. He’d approach that subject later. If Charlie had kissed her, then Nash didn’t have a choice but to make sure he kissed her longer and better than anything old Charlie could have mustered up.

“Did he pay for your meal?”

Lexi shook her head.

“Seriously? The man asks you out and you pay for your own food?”

She looked a little embarrassed. “Most dates I’ve been on we split the check. I thought that was common. Maybe Atlanta is different than down here.”

Nash crossed his arms and considered her a moment. “Amuse me. How is Atlanta different when it comes to dating?” A bit of moonlight and privacy might be harder to find, but he was pretty sure he had the rest of the logistics down.

Lexi blew out a breath and set her hands on her hips. “Well, let’s see. It’s probably a little more modern. Most women have jobs and make their own money. I like to think I go into a relationship as an equal partner and maintain that—”

“That’s crap. Most women down here have jobs and would knock the stew out of their husbands if they implied they weren’t equal. My mom worked at the bank. Cameron’s mom was a school teacher. Dewey’s mom, Ms. Clara, was a legal aid. One doesn’t have anything to do with the other.”

“Are you an expert on dating?”

“No. But I do know how to provide for a woman’s needs far beyond earning a living.” He did allow himself to brush away a curl from her face, her skin like velvet under his finger. He let it trail down her cheek as he said, “And that has nothing to do with gender equality or money.”

Her wariness shifted her a step beyond his reach. That’d been pushing it, but every time they got close, he had to touch her.

She tilted her head to the side, watching him like she was trying to figure him out. “Are we still talking about food?”

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