Page 17 of Found By Him

Ian nods, eyes shifting around the crowd. “Yeah, boss. You’re good.”

With a grunted goodbye, I stalk out of the venue anddown the street to the SUV. I pull out my phone one more time, wishing I had a notification waiting from a curvy goddess who confuses the hell out of me. I loved having dinner with her. While beautiful, listening to her talk about her childhood and how she volunteers because of her foster mother was more than I was prepared for.

Then it all changed.

One minute, I was talking to the waitress, and the next, Gisella was barely talking to me. Barely looking at me. And she seemed miserable.

And as I went to ask her out again when I walked her to the car, she cut me off like I was going to reject her.

As if that was ever an option.

As I pull away from the curb, I decide to call her this weekend. I gave her a couple of days, but that’s all I can do. I need to see her.

I park down the street from one of my favorite restaurants. Shoving my hands in my pockets as I walk down the street, I’m lost in my thoughts of Gisella. I move to the side as a couple exits the restaurant before stepping in.

My eyes adjust to the dim lights, and I have to blink to make sure I’m seeing what I think I am.

As if my thoughts made her materialize, Gisella sits at the bar. Her long, dark hair flows down her back, and she looks breathtaking as always.

My jaw tightens when the idiot next to her leans in to say something. When I see the expression on her face, I don’t hesitate and storm across the room. Satisfaction explodes at the grimace on his face when I slap a hand on his shoulder. But I can’t take my eyes off Gisella. At least the look of fear has slipped from her features. If it hadn’t, a hand on the shoulder isn’t all this guy would be getting.

“Time to go, buddy. She’s not interested.”

The man scoffs. “You don’t know that.”

What a fucking idiot.

I swing my eyes from Gisella to glare at the man. He winces as I tighten my grip. “Move. You’re in my seat.”

The man snarls, “Fine.”

I release his shoulder, moving to the side to allow him to do as I insisted. Standing behind Gisella, I can’t resist touching her. My hand finds her back. She sucks in a sharp breath that goes immediately to my dick.

As I take the recently vacated seat, the bartender starts to hand me a menu, but I wave him off. “I don’t need it. I know what I want. Just a burger and fries and whatever IPA you have on draft. And anything the lady wants.”

The bartender addresses Gisella with a smile that’s too friendly for my liking. “Another Chardonnay?”

“Sure, thank you.”

After the bartender leaves us, Gisella trains her green eyes on me. “What if I wanted to talk to that guy?”

I lean back, crossing my arms across my chest. Anger courses through my veins just thinking about her talking to another man. “Yeah, that look of terror on your face told me you were really into whatever lame-ass pickup line he was laying on you.”

Immediately, her cheeks flush. “I, uh, misunderstood him. I thought he said something else.” She releases a sigh and sits back. “But I wasn’t interested. So thank you.”

Thank fuck.

The bartender returns with our drinks. I take a sip of beer as she picks up her wine. Her eyes are on me, taking me in as if she’s memorizing every move.

Her chest rises with a deep inhale that draws my attention down. I shift in my seat, my jeans becoming tight.

“Jack, I want to say I’m sorry for the other night.”

I place my elbows on the bar, running my fingers around the frost on my glass. I clench the other in frustration at myself. “You don’t need to apologize, Gisella. I’m sorry if I did something to upset you.”

Lightning zips through me when her hand slides onto my bicep. “It wasn’t you at all. I’ve had a lot on my mind, and it got to me the other night.”

Usually, I would feel relief that it wasn’t something I did, but I’m too distracted by where her hand is on my arm. She moves to pull her hand away, but I’m not ready to lose the connection. I place my hand on hers to keep it in place. Our eyes meet until mine drop. Her lips part, and I have to stifle a groan when her tongue darts out to wet them. Before I do something insane like rip her clothes off in the middle of the restaurant, I clear my throat, release her hand, and put a little distance between us.

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