Page 27 of Relationship Goals

I shake my head, and before I can decide on an answer, the food reappears in heavy white paper bags.

God. I have to face the paparazzi. Sweat begins to bead on my palms, Luke squinting at me like he can see the anxiety written all over my face.

I don’t want to say the wrong thing or have them photograph me in the wrong moment. I don’t want to see a headline tomorrow morning claiming I was drunk or something.

I cannot jeopardize my career with a misstep that will get me canceled or worse.

“We didn’t even get a chance to talk about soccer.” There’s a thick lump in my throat that has nothing to do with anaphylaxis.

“We’ll have plenty of time for that.” His expression is fully focused on me. A prickling awareness of his proximity climbs across my skin.

My gaze dips to his lips, and I swallow hard. They’re good lips.

Kissable lips.

Suddenly, kissing him is all I can think about. He’d probably be a great kisser.All that muscle…I shake my head, like I can Etch A Sketch the idea from my mind, and finally register what he’s said.

“What do you mean, plenty of time? Tonight? I need to be up early.”

He shakes his head. “Tonight, tomorrow, the next time we go out. This is only the first date.”

“Oh?” I raise my eyebrows, delighted. I am completely into that idea. For as rude as Luke can be…I’m actually enjoying myself with him. I suspect there’s a squishy heart of gold under that hard facade he puts up for everyone else, and I’d like to see if I’m right.

I do love being right.

Also, there’s no denying Luke is hot. He’s fun to look at.

My attention slides to his mouth again, and I decide, once and for all, that he’s definitely a good kisser. A little sigh catches me off guard.

“Unless you don’t want to.” He says it casually enough, but he’s still watching me carefully. Like he wants me to say yes, like his feelings might be hurt if I don’t say yes.

Heart of gold, I see you under there.

“Depends on how you play the game—” I start to tease him, curious just how far I can push.

“I’m a pro at playing the game,” he interrupts, heat flaring in his eyes. “I always get what I want.”

My thoughts have officially jumped the track, way past kissing. Yep. They’re headed straight for the gutter. The deepest of gutters. The Mariana Trench of gutters.

The way Luke’s looking at me? He knows it, too.

Why is that so hot?

I clear my throat, trying to refocus on our immediate situation, and not Luke’s sincere innuendo.

Although…maybe…An idea strikes me, one foolproof way to test my theory about Luke being a good kisser.

I stifle an evil laugh.

“They’re going to want us to pose when we walk outside. Maybe you could bring the car around back,” I say. “You know, if you want this to be…private?”

Luke is clearly a private person. Very private.

“We could go out the kitchen. Or we could stagger when we leave, you know, I go first, you go second…or we could give them something to talk about.” I bat my eyelashes, biting my lower lip.

“Give them something to talk about.” He repeats the words slowly.

“You want to do that?” Glee ripples through me. I waggle my eyebrows.

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