Page 14 of Raise The Bar
“Right now, I’m between your apartment flooding, or your doctor calling to say they’ve finally found a kidney donor for you.”
She throws her head back as a wave of laughter washes over her and it’s everything. I’ve never known someone who uses every part of their body to laugh. She looks so happy and so full of life that my heart swells in my chest. I did that. I made her laugh.
“Let’s hope you don’t have to use either,” she dabs gently at her eyes as her laughter quiets.
I pull my phone from my pocket and open it to my contacts. “Here,” I say after I’ve opened a new contact. I pass her the phone. “Enter your phone number.”
She accepts the phone and smirks when she sees I’ve labeled the contact Lois Lane. She quickly adds her number and hands it back to me. I’ve gotten a lot of women’s numbers over the years but this one feels like a special unlocked achievement.
“So,” I gesture to the seat across from me and casually turn the conversation back to the task at hand. “Tell me about Bachelor Number Two.”
“Sebastian,” she says simply, sliding into the other side of my booth.
“Is he a Caribbean crab with an ear for music?”
“If only,” Maggie snorts. “He’s a cardiothoracic surgeon.”
A heart surgeon? Seriously? I was hoping he would have a less-impressive career. “Fancy,” is the only response I can think of.
“We’ll see.” She shrugs and I realize that what I mistook earlier for nervous excitement is just plain nervousness. She’s not looking forward to this at all.
“Do you want to call this off?” I ask quietly. She looks up at me through her lashes and shakes her head.
“No, I wouldn’t cancel now. I’m sure he’s already on his way. But I can’t help but wonder if this entire hare-brained scheme I’ve come up with is crazy.”
“Most hare-brained schemes are,” I grin. While I don’t love the idea of her dating all these guys, I like that she got an idea and went after it. It takes courage to put yourself out there and I’m beginning to think that Maggie is much braver than she knows.
“Tell me about it. Especially ones that are inspired by a dirty romance novel.”
I’m sorry, what? Things just got more interesting.
“You got the idea from a romance novel?”
“I did,” she admits. “It seemed like a good plan at the time.”
“How dirty are we talking?” I’m not entirely sure if I can handle the answer. Maggie’s eyes widen and her mouth curves into a sexy little smile as she leans forward in the booth.
“Filthy.” Her voice is low and I’m semi-erect. And at that she slides out of the booth and starts to back away from me. “How about here?” She’s pointing to a table about twelve-feet from me. “Can you keep an eye on me here?”
I want to keep both eyes glued to her for the foreseeable future. To evolve past the need to blink so I don’t ever have to lose sight of her.
“That will work fine,” I say thickly, then clear my throat and sit up straighter.
“Do we need a signal?”
“A what?”
“A signal. If things are going poorly and I want to get out of here. Like—” She touches her index finger to the side of her nose twice before moving it to her ear and giving the lobe two quick tugs.
“Are you trying to tell me you want me to steal third-base?” I’m barely managing to keep a straight face.
“Maybe,” she laughs, taking her seat at the table. “It is one of my favorite bases.”
Fuck me.
“Mine too.” I don’t realize I’ve said it out loud until her expression goes from playful to heated. I’m no longer semi-hard: I’m all the way there. We stare at each other, not speaking, not moving. I know I should look away, but I can’t. I don’t want to. Our eyes remain locked on one another for what feels like ages, but like all good things it comes to an end.
“Good morning! Can I get you anything?” The teen trainee asks Maggie and she looks up at him, breaking our connection.
