Page 38 of The Dating Dare

“All right. Enough of that.” She had a point there. Heat rushed up until his cheeks and neck were pulsing with it. Maybe his ego really was a bit inflated. “Look, I was just trying to make sense of why you seemed so nervous every time things got heated.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She averted her eyes again, the merriment dimming slightly. “I don’t need a reason to not sleep with you.”

“Fair enough.” He got to his feet, swatting dirt off his pants. “But what more reason do you need to sleep with me?”

“I have a reason to sleep with you?” She raised a perfectly arched eyebrow.

“You want me.” He smirked. “Desperately.”

“Fair enough.” She smirked back at him with as much ego as he’d exhibited. “But what’s the rush? We’ve only had one date so far.”

“As you well know, I’m leaving in little over three weeks. I’m in a rush,” he said with a subtle growl. “I’m losing my fucking mind from wanting you. You do realize that, don’t you?”

“Yes.” A lovely pink blush blossomed on her cheeks.

God, she is so beautiful.

Then she glanced at her watch and genuine regret washed over her expression. “As fun as this was, I have a little thing called a job.”

Seth shoved his hand through his hair. “Of course. I’ve taken up too much of your morning already. I really appreciate your help. I got some amazing pictures today.”

“I’m not sure if it’ll be much help for the restaurant website,” she said shyly.

“Don’t worry. I got some shots of the flowers, too.” He paused. She’d asked to see the photos, but he wasn’t ready to show them to her yet. “Oh, and I’ll go through the pictures I took of you, so you can see them the next time we meet to work on the website.”

But more important than the nondates, he needed to schedule their second date, so he could seduce the hell out of her.

CHAPTER EIGHT

He’s leaving.

Tara reassured herself every time her heart tripped on the peaks of her anxiety. No matter what happened between them, her autonomy was safe. She had nothing to fear. So what was holding her back? Nothing. Nothing at all. It was a go. Green light to show Seth the time of his life.

Wait. Time out.

Why was she giving herself a pep talk to have sex with Seth? She was starting to annoy herself. If it happened, it happened. She should just be in the moment and go with the flow. When it came to Seth, she second-guessed herself at every turn. The beauty of the dating dare was the uncomplicated simplicity of it all. But she was ruining it by overthinking her every action.

“Stop being such a loser,” she chided herself.

“What was that?” Jack looked askance at her.

Shit. Did I say that out loud?

“Oh, nothing.” She sighed. “Just talking to myself like a lonely old lady.”

“Just the usual then.”

From his crouched position, her brother shot her a teasing smilebefore returning his attention to the table he was holding up with one hand. She felt a twinge of envy at how fit he was and surreptitiously flexed her arm. The barest definition showed up. She made a face and lowered her scrawny arm back to her side. But then again, that was why Jack was the one fixing the wobbly tables in the hall and not her.Thank you, scrawny arms.

“Are you almost done with that?” she asked, walking around the bar to stand over him.

“I think I have just one more to fix after this.” He squinted up at her. “Are you offering to help?”

“Sure, I’ll help.”

“I was just testing you. You passed.” He stood to his full height and stretched his back, twisting left and right. “How about I get the last table and you make us some food?”

She pulled out her phone from her back pocket to check the time. It was past four. She noticed a text from Roger, but after a split second of hesitation, she deleted it. Texting with him while she was with Seth didn’t feel right. She didn’t analyze why she felt that way.

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