Page 40 of Fireworks & Forehead Kisses

His face broke into a smile, and I realized in that moment that I was in deep, deep trouble.

Oh, boy.

I’d thought that I’d been exposed to the full potential of this man’s sex appeal, but I could not have been more wrong. His true power was his smile. It was lethal. Deadly. No woman or man who played for the Y-chromosome team would ever be able to resist it. Between the deep dimple in his left cheek and the way his smile reached his eyes, it was positively fatal. He could get away withanythingby flashing that smile.

“What?” I asked, wondering what had brought on his dangerous grin. I tried to remember what we’d even been talking about, but my mind was a total blank. That smile had erased my thoughts like an Etch-A-Sketch in a paint-mixing machine.

“You surprised me,” he explained. “I don’t get surprised easily.”

“Isurprised you?” No one had ever told me I surprised them. Well, besides me showing up on Skylar’s doorstep when she moved across the country when I literally surprised her, but that was different. I’d never surprised someone just being myself.

“Yes. You never say what I think you’re going to say. It’s cute.”

“Cute.” I took another drink as disappointment flooded me.

“You don’t like cute?” he observed correctly.

“I was going for sexy or mysterious,” I admitted. I thought that’s what he meant when he’d said I surprised him.

His lips curled at the edges once again.

“Your smile is back,” I pointed out.

“Sorry, you did it again.”

“Great,” I sighed, feeling sorry for myself.

Garrett had always called me cute and look where we ended up. Maybe that’s why Fatima said he wouldn’t want to go up to my room because I wasn’t his type. He probably dated supermodels or CEOs or women who weren’tcute.

“Yes,” Big stated firmly as he lifted his glass and took a drink.

“Yes, what?” I asked.

“Yes, I was going to ask you up to my room.”

A warm flush rushed through my body, and it had nothing to do with the fourth cran and vodka I was on.

I glanced over at him, but he was looking straight ahead. I took a moment to admire his profile—his strong jaw peppered in stubble, the long lashes that any woman would die for, his defined cheekbones and straight nose. I’d never seen such a perfect specimen of the male species before, and, unless I was hearing things, he’d actually just said he was going to ask me up to his room.

“You were?” I swallowed over the large lump of lust clogging my throat.

His head turned, and when his eyes locked with mine, my heart slammed into my chest. “Would you like to go up to my room?”

My cheeks heated, and I felt a lump form in my throat. I nodded and started to grab my purse to pay my bill. He coveredmy hand with his. I glanced down and nearly fainted when I saw the sheer size compared to my own. His hand dwarfed mine. It swallowed it up. Even his hands were sexy. How had I not noticed them before?

Probably because you were too busy noticing his forearms, face, lips, eyes, and height, a voice that sounded a lot like Nadia said in my head.

“I’ve got it.” With that he stood and walked to the end of the bar.

I watched as Big spoke to Lucas. I finished my drink and got up from the barstool. My legs were a little shaky, but so was my entire body. I wasn’t sure if it was from nerves or arousal. Big joined me, and as we made our way to the elevator bay, he rested his hand on my lower back. It was such an innocent touch, but it felt anything but innocent. Ilovedthe weight of his palm against my body and the way the wingspan of his fingers reached to the sides of my waist.

When we arrived at the elevators, I realized that I needed to do something. “I’ll be right back. I, um, forgot my phone.”

“Okay.”

I headed back to the bar and grabbed a twenty out of my purse. I’d worked in the service industry long enough to know that the more money people had, the worse tippers they typically were. And Big definitely had money. The watch he was wearing cost more than my car. Maybe Big had left Lucas twenty percent or more, but if not, I just wanted to make sure he was taken care of. Thankfully, the bar was out of sight of the elevators, so Big wouldn’t see what I was up to.

When I reached Lucas, I handed him the bill. “Thanks so much for handling that drunk.”

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