Page 8 of Pumpkin Patch Cutie
He smiled. “I know so.”
There was something incredibly sexy about his confidence in me, and it made me blush. “Thank you.”
There was a second of silence, then he looked around. “Is Madison with not you?” he asked with a wink. “Or do I need to find her again?”
Oh that bit of playfulness was dangerous, and it turned my insides to goo. Surely it had to be illegal for a man to be both so handsome and charming.
“I gave her back to her parents about an hour ago.”
He leaned in, his delicious scent washing over me. “You know you don’t need to borrow a child to visit the pumpkin patch, don’t you? Plenty of couples make it a date.”
I bit my lip. Even I recognized a fishing attempt when it was so obvious. Which meant—that for some reason—this gorgeous man was flirting with me on purpose.
“That would require somebody to go on a date with,” I found myself replying before my brain had fully decided on what it wanted to do.
Welp, guess I put that ball right back in his court.
He trailed his fingers along the side of my cart as he came closer, then he was right beside me.
“I’d ask if you’ve eaten,” he started. “But the chicken there says that you haven’t. How about you let me take you to dinner.”
My breath caught in my throat. While clear that I could refuse, the inflection hadn’t been that of a question. His tone suggested that our sharing a meal was more a matter of when rather than if, and while I usually found it cocky, it was still charming coming from him.
“Ok…” I heard myself reply, my mouth once more getting ahead of my brain.
“Shall we put this back?” he asked, motioning to the chicken.
I licked my lips, then nodded. The practical part of me didn’t want to have to return to the store the next day, but the part of me that had been alone too long didn’t want to pass up the opportunity for a date with him. Not when my thoughts had drifted to him during any spare moment for the past day and a half.
He stuck his hand out. “I’m Dominic, by the way. But everybody calls me Dom.”
“Scott,” I replied, accepting the handshake and noting how warm his fingers were against mine.
He kept the contact for a few seconds longer than necessary, and it sent a shiver up my spine. Maybe it was because it had been so long since my last date, but the simple touch made me want to curl up in his arms.
“Excuse me,” griped a nasally voice. “Some of us would like to get to the salad dressing.”
We jumped apart as a pinched-faced woman elbowed between us to grab a bottle of dressing. “Kids these days…” she muttered as she shuffled off.
I glanced at Dom, and we shared a nervous laugh. Then he reached into my cart and grabbed the chicken and salad greens. “I’ll run these back for you. Wait for me at the exit?”
I smiled. “Ok.”
A sort of giddy happiness settled over me as I pushed the cart to the front of the store and waited for Dom. Maybe it was the normal pre-date jitters, just compressed since everything was happening so fast. Or maybe it was the fact that he was by far the best looking man who’d ever asked me out.
I grinned as I saw him striding towards me.
“Ready?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Anything you want to eat?”
I glanced around the parking lot, not wanting to push my luck when things already seemed too good to be true. My eyes landed on a chain Italian place. I turned back to him. “Pasta House?”
He blinked. “Are you sure?”
I shrugged. “It’s right there.”
