Page 18 of Giddy-Up
The dimples were back, making her knees weak and waking up those blasted butterflies again.“I’m glad you like it, petal.Here...”He pulled out a chair and ushered her to sit.“Take a seat and I’ll start bringing the food out.”
Good.A minute to herself.Maybe she could use it to get her shit together.No chance.Yeah.That’s what she thought.
She’d been on edge all day and she was blaming Wade’s jaw.The moment her mouth met stubble; she’d been feeling him on her lips ever since.
Reaching into her jean pocket, she carefully pulled out the paper from earlier and placed it on the table.Yes, she’d brought her notes.Just in case.She hadn’t got to read out her whole speech earlier and if the subject came up again, she wanted to be prepared.Speaking of which, she had time for one last pep talk.
Okay, Riley.Remember to ask questions.Fill silences.Maintain eye contact.Oh, and try not to say anything weird.
She totally had this.
Wade didn’t take long to return, and with him he brought two plates piled high with what looked like lasagna.
Amen.
“I figured you can’t go wrong with pasta, right?”Riley’s gaze was pasted to Wade’s smile as he lowered her plate to the table.
He was right.You can’t ever go wrong when there is pasta involved.
“Did you make this?”
Look at you asking questions and shit.
She was killing it.Not a stutter in sight.
“Yeah,” Wade said as he took his seat opposite her.“I actually really love to cook.I don’t do it as often as I’d like...mainly because it’s not as fun cooking for one.”
“You can cook for me anytime,” she declared as she took in the sight of cheesy delicious goodness and began filling her fork.
“Oh, yeah?”Her eyes shot up, just as she’d shoved a huge amount of pasta in her mouth.His voice had dropped an octave again.It was back to the scratchy sexy pitch from the stable.“Does that mean I’ve already earned a second date?”
“What?”she muffled as she tried her hardest to swallow quicker.
“You just invited me to cook for youanytime.”He chuckled.“I take it that means the date is going well?”
Of course.Multi-layered meanings.She was bad at spotting sentences that could have multiple interpretations.You’d think someone so anxious would think before she spoke, over-analyse everything she said, but no.Riley did the opposite.Especially when she was trying her hardest to speak in full sentences.She usually went with the mantra all words are better than none.
This time she finished chewing before she spoke again.“I, um, I...”Damnit.It was going so well.Suddenly, she remembered the letter.Picking it up, she was about to start reciting it when Wade interrupted.
“You brought notes again?”
She nodded.
“Can I?”His hand stretched across the table as she hesitated.“Please?”
She gave in.Paper passed; she waited anxiously as he read every word.But she didn’t need to worry.When his eyes met hers again, all his features had softened.
“Thank you for sharing this with me,” he said, passing her back the paper.“I don’t want to ever do or say anything that makes you feel uncomfortable, darlin’, so promise me you’ll tell me if you ever feel that way?”
“Sometimes it’s hard to say it,” she whispered, her gaze dropping to her plate.
“I get that.Maybe we should come up with a sign then, like, if you bite your lower lip then I know you need to get the fuck out of wherever we are.”
That made her giggle.A full-blown girly giggle.Her eyes were back on him now and she was forgetting to be nervous.“Does that mean I get a second date?”she teased, throwing his earlier comment back at him.
Wade’s throaty laugh was glorious.And she couldn’t help but feel proud she’d caused him to convulse.
I’m a goddamn dating master.
