Page 53 of Up All Night

Kate opened the door, and there standing in a crisp tuxedo was West.

Holy hotness.

His tuxedo was tailored perfectly to his toned physique, his hair was styled just right, his jaw freshly shaven, and his blue eyes were looking at me like he wasveryhappy with the dress I’d bought.

I’m not sure how long we stood there staring at one another, but Kate’s voice interrupted my drooling thoughts.

“You two had better get going.” She didn’t even try to hide the know-it-all smile on her face.

Her words put me into motion. “Right.” I walked toward West, which finally had him snapping out of his daze.

“Yes,” he said, his voice sounding gravelly. “We’d better head out.” He held out his arm to me, and I looped my arm through his.

“Have fun,” Kate’s voice chirped behind us.

West helped me down the three flights of stairs in my high heels. We walked out to his car in silence. I assumed he was feeling the same way I was, neither of us knowing how to act. We were all dressed up, going on a date to an important event, but it wasn’t really a date. We’d never been in a situation like this together, and I was at a loss as to how to navigate it.

He opened the car door for me, and I got in as best as I could without falling or ripping the dress. West helped, making sure the dress was completely in the car before shutting the door.

Soon he was on the other side of me, starting the car. It purred to life, and it reminded me of the times he’d given me rides to the gym in the morning. Except back then, we’d both worn workout clothes and we hadn’t been going on a not-date date.

West turned to look at me before he backed out of the parking space. “Thank you again for doing this.” His eyes traveled over me again, holding a sense of awe. “You look gorgeous.”

My cheeks warmed at his compliment. I shouldn’t care whether West thought I was attractive, but this was the second time in a few days he’d said something like that. First, he’d told me the other day I was beautiful just the way I was, and then now calling me gorgeous. His words sent a rush of warmth flowing through my body.

“Thank you,” I said softly. “You look very handsome too.”

“This old thing?” he teased, gesturing to his tuxedo.

I chuckled, the pent-up nervousness finally gaining a release.

He smiled and started backing his car out of the parking space. “I’m interested to see what competition we are going to get into tonight.”

I laughed, grateful to him for getting us back to our normal. “I would have thought you were tired of losing by now.”

I had totally beaten him at guessing people’s drink orders at the coffee shop last weekend.

“Hey.” He threw a glance over at me. “I won the phone number competition.”

I pursed my lips. “Because you cheated.”

“I did not. I got your phone number fair and square.” He smiled as he looked out the windshield.

He had, but I still liked giving him a hard time about it. We were both competitive, and it was something I enjoyed about our new friendship.

The rest of the drive, we talked about how my business plan was going, and I told him I had set up an appointment with the bank to see if they would be willing to give me a loan. West had some great tips on how to present my plan to help sell my idea—and myself. I had hurried to type everything he said into my phone, knowing I’d need to look back at it later.

We turned onto Battery Street in the Financial District and pulled up to a stone building with tall pillars, the base of one showing a black plaque that read The Reserve. Expensive and flashy cars were pulled up along the curb, with elegantly dressed people getting out and heading up the stairs to go through the glass doors.

I took a breath, smoothing my hands along my thighs, the satin fabric soft against my palms as I continued to watch people arrive.

West turned off his car, but instead of getting out he turned to me. “Are you okay?”

I quickly nodded, working to swallow my nerves. “Yeah.” I wasn’t sure my voice portrayed the same reassurance, though. “I’ve just never been to something like this before or had to be someone’s take-me-seriously girl.”

“I know it’s easy for me to say that you have nothing to worry about, but I promise it won’t be too bad in there. All these people care more about themselves than they do anyone else.” He glanced out the window at the couples making their way inside and then back at me. “I wish I could say they won’t even notice you, but with the way you look in that dress, there’s no way that’s happening.”

A small smile pulled at the corners of my lips. He could tell me a hundred more times that he thought I looked beautiful tonight and it still wouldn’t get old. I didn’t know what that meant to the status of our new relationship, but I couldn’t help how much I liked it.

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