Page 38 of Seeking Two Lovers

“I see that.” Her focus slid down over my black T-shirt and jeans. “Tall, dark, and handsomer.” She winked, and I swallowed a laugh, my insides twitching.

“Hungry?” I asked, nodding toward the pizzeria rather than point, which would betray my shaking fingers.

“Starved.”

I thought about offering my arm but shoved my hands in my pockets instead. “How was work?” I asked, as we fell into step beside each other.

“Long. Boring. I watched the door all morning long, bummed when no gorgeous landscaper came in to see me.”

My cheeks went ten shades of red. “I, uh, started at a new jobsite today on the other side of town.”

“So, no more butterflies and breathlessness for me?” she asked with an exaggerated teasing sigh.

Goddamn, this woman.

“I, um…”

She bumped me with her shoulder. “You aren’t used to compliments, are you?”

“No.” I pulled open the oceanfront restaurant’s door, the heavy scent of garlic and baking pizza hitting my nose harshly enough that my mouth flooded with drool.

A hostess sat us in a booth beside the front window, and I buried my still-hot face in the menu.

“Blaine.”

“Hmm?” I lifted my focus—barely.

Lily smiled at me from across the table, her eyes kind. “Do I make you uncomfortable when I state my mind?”

“Not uncomfortable, no.” I cleared my throat, glancing out the window. “I’m just…not used to this. I’ve never dated before.”

She didn’t respond, and I turned my attention back toward her.

I’d expected her to look at me like I had two heads or some such shit, but she simply smiled without a trace of teasing or discomfort over my weirdness. “So you said the other day.”

I’m repeating myself like a moron who has nothing else to talk about.

“That’s the best compliment I’ve ever received,” Lily stated, her glossed lips in a sweet curve that eased my embarrassment.

My grin felt crooked, and I shrugged. “You seem pretty special.”

“Is it too soon for me to swoon over you?” she asked with light laughter, fanning her face with her hand.

Seeing as how she’d pretty much done the same to me the second I’d first laid eyes on her, I didn’t think so.

I shook my head and relaxed in my seat, knowing I was going to have the time of my life on our second date.

12

GREYSON

I had ten minutes to shower at the office that morning, thankful yet again for how Meryl insisted I keep clothes on hand.

It wasn’t the first time I’d arrived late for work in the same clothes I’d worn the day before. Meryl had simply rolled her eyes and promised to get me coffee. While quickly washing the scent of sex off my body, I replayed the night in my head.

Lily’s candor, her lack of fake-assed bullshit like I experienced with most female hookups, had been refreshing as fuck. Others on their best behavior, trying for perfect in their looks and manners, hadn’t impressed me one bit.

But a woman with a level of confidence and inner happiness that sparkled through her eyes without feigned emotions? Toss in her sweet spirit that gave me warm fuzzies inside like only Blaine could do, and yeah.

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