Page 42 of My Secret Bandit

“There’s a sushi pl—“

He scrunched his nose up at that suggestion.

“You don’t like it?”

“I barely like fish cooked. Raw?” He shuddered.

“It’s not all raw, you know.” I laughed, “What about the salad bar place? We can take them home and cuddle up on the couch?”

“Cuddling!? Say no more.”

Settledonthecouch,I pulled out my phone to read the incoming message.

Sierra:How’s Lover Boy? My vicarious love tank needs filling. Anyway… we still on for tomorrow?

“Shit.”

“What?” Mateo asked, looking up from his dinner.

“I forgot I told Sierra I’d go to the new pilates place tomorrow morning before we go to work.” I stared at him with conflicting emotions. I didn’t want to cut our time together short, but I didn’t want to cancel on Sierra last minute either.

He sat back and watched me with a funny side-eye. “Stop it!”

“Stop what?”

“Giving me those sad puppy dog eyes. You don’t need my permission to hang out with your friends.”

“I know. I just—“ My sentence faded.

“You can’t stand to be away from me. I get it. I’m great company.” He shrugged.

Grabbing one of the throw pillows, I swatted his leg before a mental lightbulb went off.

“Hey! You wanna come?”

“Ahhh.You’re killing me.“ He threw his hand over his chest and clutched it dramatically. “As much as I’d love to watch you sweaty, doing whatever pilates actually is, I can’t. We’re going to the children’s hospital. Gotta pass out a few jerseys, make some new friends along the way.”

“That’s sweet,” I said, wondering why the hell Jeffrey didn’t mention it. This was theexactkind of heartwarming stories that deserved exposure and sent fans into a frenzy of swoon and undying devotion for their team.

Dinner finished, I snuggled into Mateo’s side. His long arm snaked itself around and his hand tucked into the back pocket of my jeans. He turned his head and kissed mine. After I replied to Sierra’s message, we spent the rest of our night watching movies, occasionally interrupted by lust-filled kissing and heavy petting that left us both breathless.

“God, Jameson,” Mateo groaned, “let’s go to bed before I run out of self-control and fuck you on this couch.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” Breathing hard, I moved from under him. A wildfire spread over my body at the crassness of his words.

“It’s not your fault. Well, it kinda is, but I don’t mind.” He hovered over me for one last kiss. As he stood to adjust himself, I tried not to remember how good he felt beneath my palm.

Stupid five-date rule.

I mentally facepalmed.

Not stupid. It’s important to him. That makes it important to me. We’re so close to our fifth date it would be crazy to break the promise now. Right?

“What’s going on in there?” he asked, tapping my head, smoothing his hand down my hair.

“Still thinking about this promise of yours.”

“The one I’ll happily break this second if you want me to.” He moved closer, and I laid my hand on his chest to keep some space between us.

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