Page 37 of A Man for Mia

Not sure how to answer, she waited, letting him continue.

"So, I promise not to ask you any more questions about … about her if you just stay out here with me for a little while longer."

Temptation seized her. Caught in his blue gaze, she admitted, "She’ll be home within the hour." Then he’d be forced to discover more information about Piper … or leave.

"Let’s go out then. We’ll just act like everyone else doesn’t exist for a few hours. Let’s pretend this is our first meeting."

She bit her lip. "I don’t know."

His blue gaze seared into her. "Do you like pizza?"

After she gave a silent nod, he smiled and held out a hand. "It’s almost supper time. If you come with me, we can be two people sharing a meal together and engaging in pleasant conversation."

Noticing how careful he tried not to make a big deal about it, she said, "But we won’t call it a date, huh?"

"A date?" His brows lowered. "What’s that?"

Rolling her eyes, she couldn’t help but grin. But a split second later, indecision consumed her. He’d lied to her once and actually admitted he still wanted to spy on her roommate. Plus, there was that whole acceptance problem she needed to overcome but didn’t want to try to overcome. She didn’t know if she’d be able to make it through a date anyway. The whole idea screamed problems. But she was tempted. Oh, yeah, she was very tempted.

"I promise I’ll keep my hands to myself," he added, raising his palms in surrender. "It’s just eating. Everyone has to eat. Right?"

Mia licked her dry lips. "Okay, but we have to drive separately. And you can’t follow me home afterward."

His eyes narrowed at the stipulations. But he gave a brief nod and said, "Deal."

•

"Could you please pass the parmesan?"

Realizing the bottle of grated cheese sat next to her elbow, Mia slid it across the restaurant table toward Drew.

"Thanks." He shot her a grin and shook out seasoning over the three slices of pizza sitting on his plate. And he continued to shake, covering the entire surface until barely any topping could be seen underneath.

She wrinkled her nose. "Would you like some more pizza to go with your cheese?"

He lifted his face, his expression completely innocent. "What?"

Swallowing her amusement, she said, "Nothing."

He motioned his finger toward the bottle of red pepper seasoning next. "And that?" he asked.

Mia shook her head in disbelief. "No. You’re not seriously going to mix parmesan cheese and red pepper together, are you?"

"What? It’s good." He stretched forward, reaching past her to snag the pepper. Taking both shakers in hand, he hovered them above her single slice, threatening to tilt them. "Want to try it?"

"No!" She darted out her hand to stop him.

He chuckled and pulled the pepper and parmesan away. "Your loss." Then he proceeded to douse his supper again.

She wrinkled her nose. But a smile hovered over her lips, ready to turn into a full-blown laugh any second.

This was nice, she decided. Not at all nerve-wracking or frightening. She’d been afraid her first date after Ryan would be one of the most terrifying experiences of her life. In fact, she’d planned on never going through it … on being alone until she died. But Drew made dinner feel natural and relaxed. There was no panic at all. Contentment rippled through her. It was so surprising it felt foreign.

She could get used to being content, though, she thought. Yeah, contentment was definitely growing on her.

"Sure you don’t want a taste test?" Drew asked, holding up both shakers and waggling them in a persuasive manner.

When she shook her head, he tsked in disapproval and set them on the table, nudging them her way to let her know they’d be right there in case she changed her mind.

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