Page 11 of Adrian (Love Under the Lights 3)

But I didn’t regret my discretion at all. Once Casey was comfortable with the idea, she was going to be the first woman who meant anything to me who appeared on my arm on the red carpet. Knowing she’d be waiting for me inside, I hurried through my photos and avoided answering any of the questions tossed at me by the reporters. I didn't want to get caught up in an interview, not when I had my woman to get to.6CaseyWhere Adrian in jeans, a tee, and a ball cap covering his hair and obscuring his face was hot, Adrian in dress pants and a dark gray button-down dress shirt was a fire starter. When he helped me into the back of the Escalade for dinner, and I’d gotten a whiff of his cologne, I’d damn near combusted. He’d smelled good in the park, like clean laundry and soap mixed with his natural scent, but damn if the cologne didn’t make me want to swoon. What was it about men’s cologne that addled the brain? I had no idea, but the urge to snuggle into him and bury my face against his neck so that the scent would wrap itself around me was strong.

My sudden desire to be wrapped up in him had almost been strong enough to make me forget how much I was dreading being photographed with him. Almost, but not quite. The only reason I hadn’t chickened out was the fact that I didn’t keep up with gossip sites and celebrity entertainment shows, which meant I’d be spared from seeing the photos. A lifetime of hearing about all the things I did wrong when a camera came out had resulted in an aversion to being in front of the lens. No matter how hard my mother and sister tried, I’d never learned to “work my best angles.” It annoyed me so much that I avoided pictures altogether.

When Adrian said I could skip the press line, I almost kissed him. The fact that he paid attention and was cool with my hanging back made me like him even more, which was a heck of a feat. After a few lackluster and some downright horrible experiences, I’d given up on dating. Just a few minutes into our first outing, Adrian was making me glad that I’d taken a chance and said yes. It would’ve seriously sucked if the first guy I’d ever been seriously attracted to turned out to be a dud.

The best part was that the more we talked, the more I liked him. He wasn’t the jerk I thought he was when we met in the park. Instead he was smart, gracious, funny, down to earth, and he didn’t talk just to hear his own voice. The more time we spent together, the more I liked him.

There was a moment before he got out of the car in front of the restaurant when he’d leaned in close as though he was about to kiss me. I’d known I was attracted to him before then, but it was the disappointment I felt when he didn’t kiss me that told me just how into him I was. Never in my life had I been sad when a guy didn't kiss me. Granted, I’d been a late-blooming science nerd who didn’t really have guys chasing after me, but still.

Ten minutes after he got out of the car, Adrian was finished with the press line and came through one of the back doors of the restaurant to help me out of the car. Closing the door behind me, he took my hand and laced our fingers together. It felt natural, like something we’d been doing for years as opposed to seconds. The warmth of his palm against mine was equal parts electrifying and comforting.

On the way to our table, Adrian stopped to say hello to friends a few times. We first stopped at a table where two couples were sitting. Adrian explained that Gage Ryan and his girlfriend, Morgan Kelly, as well as Vaughn Corbett and his girlfriend, Allie Henderson, all lived in his new neighborhood as he introduced me. At the table next to the one we ended up sitting at, he introduced me to his agent, Dane Garrison, and the couple sitting with him, Garrett and Shaelyn Riordan. I liked that his friends appeared to be down to earth and kind, including the two who were so famous that even I recognized them. Gage and Garrett had each been acting for more than two decades, so I’d have to be living under a rock not to know who they were. When I said that to Adrian after the waitress finished filling our water glasses, he let out a hearty laugh.

“The fact that you didn’t recognize anyone else is epic. I like that you’re not well versed in the who’s who of the celebrity world.”

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