Page 33 of A Billionaire Gentleman

A deep midnight blue, it made her skin and eyes practically glow. Tasteful, it flattered her figure without being tawdry, and it managed to walk the line between casual and dressy perfectly. She’d put on low heels instead of the comfortable shoes she’d worn the last two days, and the attention it drew to her legs was nothing short of sinful.

“You look amazing.”

My compliment made her blush, and I had the sudden feeling that people didn’t say that to her enough, not without ulterior motives anyway. How foolish were the men in this city if they couldn’t see what was right in front of them?

“Thank you. You do too,” she said, gaze darting up to mine before sliding away.

“Thanks.” I held out my arm. “Shall we?”

The slide of skin on skin when she hooked her arm through mine sent a hum of electricity through me, a low charge that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

What was I getting myself into?

“Have you seen the show before?” she asked, her voice so even that I knew she was forcing it.

“No. You?”

“I haven’t, but I’ve had friends that have. It’s supposed to be really good.” Color flooded her cheeks. “If a bit…salacious.”

Dammit, Grandad.

“Thanks for the warning,” I said with a half-smile. “That could’ve been quite a shock.”

“Do you think that’s why your grandfather gave us the tickets? That it wasn’t the sort of thing he’d want to see?”

I shrugged. I wasn’t going to share my suspicions with her just yet. “Maybe it’s his way of apologizing for leaving the two of us to look at the last two properties yesterday.”

She tensed, and I wondered if she thought I was going to mention the kiss. I wasn’t, not now, at least. The last thing I needed was to make things between her and me awkward before sitting through a show. Unless she brought it up, I’d put it out of mind until the end of our date.

No. Not a date.

Dammit.

We chatted about nothing as we made our way to the show, taking a few minutes to stop for drinks at concessions. Grateful that I’d had a driver bring us, I ordered something stronger than what I usually drank. I had a feeling I was going to need the alcohol to make it through tonight.

Our chairs were close together, pressing her leg against mine with an intimacy that made my heart pound. When the music began, I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that I could concentrate on the performance and not be distracted by the heat of her skin, the subtle floral scent she wore.

I’d never been more wrong in my life.

I could barely remember what happened from one scene to the next, but I was achingly aware of every shift, every breath. The air between us was charged, and each passing second made it worse. By the time the show ended, I was wound tighter than I’d ever been before.

I was also a little drunk.

Not like staggering and slurring my words drunk, but buzzed enough that my brain had finally stopped going a million miles a minute. And buzzed enough that I finally allowed myself to acknowledge how attracted I was to Sofi.

I wanted to kiss her.

A real kiss.

As we stood up to go outside, I put my hand on the small of her back, and she leaned into my touch. She glanced over her shoulder at me, and her eyes were dark with the promise of everything I wanted. We walked in silence to where our car was waiting, and I wondered what she was thinking. She hadn’t drunk as much as I had, but I didn’t know her tolerance for alcohol. I needed to know before I did something stupid.

Like kiss her.

I couldn’t get that thought out of my head. I’d never wanted to kiss anyone this badly before, not even as a teenager.

Once we were in the car, I gave the driver her address as she leaned into me, her face tucked against my shoulder. I put my arm around her, and she sighed. Not a sad sigh, but a contented one.

Damn, she still smelled good. I never wanted us to move from how we were right now.

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