Page 20 of Love You Like That (Excess All Areas 4)

Zoe stopped and looked up at him. “No.”

“Why?”

“Because that would be even weirder than asking a stranger out.” She reached up to his pearls. “Your clasp has fallen around the front.” Her fingertips were cool, their gentle movement made the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. “There. Better. And fine. Yes. Show me that I won’t make a total turnip out of myself.”

Two hours later, after a never-ending delivery of delicious tapas and beer, Alex tipped his bottle in the direction of a guy who’d just entered the building.

“What about him?” he asked Zoe.

“He’s trying too hard to look like Elvis. Where’s the originality?”

As Alex studied the guy, he realised Zoe’s list of rules was protection. If he couldn’t find a guy to meet her rules, she wouldn’t have to put herself out there. “Take a leap, Zoe. Realise that what people wear, who they are, and how good they are in the sack are three different things completely unrelated to each other.”

“I didn’t catch what you said.”

Alex quickly typed it out on his phone and then showed her. The bar was noisy. She’d taken her hearing aids out. And they settled on writing some things down to keep the conversation flowing.

When she rolled her eyes, he grinned. “Own it, Zoe. I mean…” He gestured up and down her outfit. “You’re a lot more interesting than your clothes reveal.”

Zoe narrowed her eyes. “You just contradicted yourself.”

“I didn’t.”

“You did.”

“How?” he signed. It was one of the signs he knew.

“You basically told me to ignore what Elvis was wearing and see the person beneath. Shouldn’t men do the same to me? Ignore the fact I’m in baggy jeans and a loose shirt and get to know me.”

He opened his mouth to respond but realised she was utterly right. “You win that round.”

Zoe lifted her drink, clinked her glass to his, and finished the last of her wine.

“What were you two deep in discussion about?” Ben asked, stealing a shrimp off Chaya’s plate.

“The difference between how you approach finding someone for a night versus forever.”

Chaya struggled to swallow her wine for laughter. “Like either of you two know what finding a forever person looks like.”

“Fair point,” Alex acknowledged, banking the twinge of hurt that came with admitting it. “But a one-night stand doesn’t care whether you like serial killer podcasts and voted Labour. One night is about one thing. Sexual chemistry. No one is going to take the time to get to know you well before they hook up.”

“I like how Luke got to know Willow in the cab on the way to the hotel,” Chaya said.

“Yeah, but I’ve got to get Zoe in a cab with a guy to even have that conversation.”

Zoe rolled her eyes. “I think I’m glad I missed half of that given the facial gestures. I think you should go up to him and show me.” She pointed to a guy at the bar. Olive skin. Dark brown eyes.

“Yeah?” He was cute. If he were here alone, he’d likely have approached him anyway. “You sure about this?”

“I want to see if your approach works before I trust you.”

“Okay, watch and learn.” He pushed back his chair and walked to the bar, leaning on it as if ordering, then turned to the guy. “I’m sorry, were you speaking to me?”

“Holy shit, you’re Alex from Sad Fridays. I’m Antonio. I love your music. Would you let me buy you a drink?”

Crap. So not the response he needed, but he had to follow through to prove to Zoe you could just walk up to a guy at the bar without feeling like a…what word did she use? Ah, right. Turnip. At the thought of her name, he felt a ripple of…something. Emotion, definitely. Guilt, maybe.

“How about I buy you one?”

---