Page 21 of Close Encounters of the Sexy Kind
“Oh, man, I’ve got to go,” she said, genuinely sorry that she did. “I have to work in the morning.” She was happy to see that he looked disappointed, too.
Ryan tried to squeeze her feet back into the shoes she had surreptitiously slipped off under the table, wincing when they pinched. Thankfully, it was a short walk to where she’d left her car at Betty’s, because it was going to be a painful one.
“What is wrong?” Tiberius asked the moment they stepped out into the street.
“My shoes,” she admitted. “They are blinged-up miniature torture devices. I’m tempted to take them off and walk barefoot.”
He frowned as if displeased by the idea. “Where is your vehicle?”
“About two blocks that way.”
Before she could say another word, Tiberius leaned down and lifted her smoothly into his arms.
“Oh! I didn’t mean ... You can’t possibly carry me that far.”
He glanced down, looking almost insulted. “I can, and I shall.”
“But—”
“I assure you, having an excuse to hold a beautiful woman in my arms is not a hardship.”
She opened her mouth to respond, but Ryan didn’t know what to say to that. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck and accepted the kindness. To his credit, he didn’t seem to strain at all as his long legs ate up the distance. In fact, she didn’t particularly want to let go when they got to her car.
“I had a lovely evening, Ryan. May I see you again?”
She couldn’t think of a good reason to say no, nor did she want to. The last few hours had flown by, and she had enjoyed his company. Usually by this point in an evening she would have compiled a mental list of annoyances, but so far, she had nothing. Tiberius was kind, intelligent, funny, and seemed to share the same old-fashioned values she did. It could be an act, and appearances could be deceiving, but what if they weren’t? One thing she did know, she would regret it if she didn’t at least give him a chance.
“I’d like that,” she said honestly then did something she rarely did. She gave him her phone number. Even rarer – she wanted him to kiss her so badly she could practically taste it.
When he leaned down, she thought he was going to do just that. Her heart started racing, and she licked her lips in anticipation. However, he simply took her hand and brushed a light kiss over her knuckles.
“Until we meet again, sweet Ryan.”
She had read about swooning females in some of her romance books, and each time, she had rolled her eyes in disbelief. She wasn’t rolling them now, not since her own knees had gone weak and her head swam as if she had just pounded a couple of those Island Affairs in quick succession.
He grinned as if he had read her thoughts, and then stepped away. He waited until she was safely fastened in behind the wheel.
As she drove away, she kept glancing in the rearview mirror until she could no longer see him. Her smile, however, remained all the way home.
