Page 14 of Taking

Since I no longer participated in social media platforms, I told Ciarra to just give Leo my private cell number to get in touch with me.

He texted within a matter of hours, and we agreed to meet at the pizzeria close to the university. While we shared a couple of classes, I’d never taken note of him, though I never chatted up with anyone who attempted conversation.

I honestly didn’t remember who he was—even after Ciarra showed me a picture of him on her Chit’n Chat friends’ list.

Cute. Blond hair and hazel eyes.

The guy wasn’t intimidating in the least, and his smile suggested he really was the sweetheart Ciarra claimed. I trusted her, and if she’d said he was a good guy, he was.

I hadn’t dressed up for our date, hadn’t worn clothing that would attract his gaze or attention. Jeans and a frumpy sweater that hid my thin body and boobs that refused to deflate. Zero makeup as usual—and Ciarra had given me shit for not even adding a touch of blush to make me look less like a corpse.

Baby steps put me in a booth at the restaurant regardless of how I appeared, hands twisting atop my lap while waiting for him.

Another baby step forced a smile on my lips when he showed up a minute later, grinning and flushed.

“Sorry I’m late,” he rushed to say while sliding onto the booth across from me.

“I was too.”

His grin widened, and he stuck his hand out across the table. “I’m Leo.”

Baby step number three included touching his hand rather than eyeing and dismissing him like I usually would have done. No zing of energy like I’d only ever experienced with Gideon raced up my arm as our palms slid together, and I realized I’d secretly been hoping it would.

“Addilyn,” I said, praying my disappointment over our lack of connection didn’t show on my face.

Obviously a glass half-full type, he oozed an upbeat nature with his permanent smile and the light in his eyes. “So.”

I raised an eyebrow.

Chuckling, he leaned forward, his hazel eyes rimmed with gold—but they did nothing to my insides like the hooded blue eyes I still dreamed of. “You’re beautiful, and I’m the luckiest man alive right now.”

Barely holding in my snort, I glanced down at the menu. “Flattery won’t get you in my pants.”

Nothing would, actually.

“Like most men, I’d rather get you out of your pants,” he said with another chuckle, “but that’s not what I’m here for, Addilyn.”

The waitress arrived, drawing Leo’s attention off me. “Love your hair,” he said to her.

Spikes of purple crowned the waitress’s head, odd for a forty-something woman, but whatever floated her boat.

“Thanks.” The rasp of her tone indicated a cougar lay waiting to pounce, and her wink solidified the thought in my mind.

As far as I was concerned, they could have each other. While cute, Leo lacked in the areas that turned me on. A rough hand, a commanding presence, and a hint of danger that would send a tingle between my thighs.

He tossed out another compliment—even joked with the woman before she walked away, adding a little extra sway to her hips.

Leo didn’t notice. He’d turned back to me.

“Do you always flirt with the waitresses?” I asked, but only to make conversation. Zero trace of jealousy tightened my belly.

“Nah…but my IT buddy did the other night when we went out. Failed miserably—but it wasn’t the first time he couldn’t connect to the server.” Leo waggled his eyebrows, smirking.

It took me a few seconds, but I got it.

A rare, real grin emerged for someone other than Ciarra for the first time since I could remember.

“Ha!” Leo sat back. “I knew you’d have a gorgeous smile.”

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