Page 40 of Token

He’d talk to her about it later. Right now, his gaze remained riveted on the sight of her walking toward him. She wore a fitted pale green minidress that flared at the hips. Flimsy spaghetti straps left her arms and shoulders delectably bare.She looked beautiful. But then again, she looked beautiful no matter what she wore. Sans clothes, she took his breath away.

Her short walk from the curb to where he stood near the entrance of the restaurant attracted a number of double takes and a grunt of appreciation so loud he turned and leveled a cold stare at the offending individual—a young Black guy who didn’t appear to be waiting to go inside.

Unable to avoid his glare, the guy regarded him and tipped his chin at Kennedy. “She with you?”

Nate’s nod was curt.

“Sorry, man.”

Nate didn’t acknowledge the apology, returning his attention to his date as she reached his side. She smelled good, a delicate, floral scent.

“You look lovely,” he said, trying to express the right amount of admiration without coming across as too effusive.

Kennedy beamed a smile at him that traveled to his groin on the southern rapid express. “Thank you, kind sir.”

He placed his hand on her lower back and kissed her lightly on the cheek. It was subtle, but he felt the slight tensing of her body and the hitch in her breath, proof she wasn’t as immune to him as she would have him believe.

Bringing his mouth close to her ear, he quietly informed her, “Next time, I’m picking you up. No more of this arriving separately shit.” On his drive over, it had occurred to him that ferrying her to and from their dates would be the only chance he’d get to be alone with her, an opportunity he was determined to seize.

“You do understand we’re not actually dating and this is all for show, right?” There was a note of teasing in her whispered response.

“You’re doing this for me. The least I can do is provide your transportation,” he argued, continuing to keep his voice low as he opened the door to the restaurant and carefully guided her in.

Once inside, they joined the line for the hostess and Kennedy turned to him. “I get the feeling you’re a man used to getting your way. Tell me I’m wrong.”

Nate gave a low chuckle. He hadn’t exactly gotten his way with her. Not the way he’d wanted. “First you demanded my firstborn. I’m giving you transportation instead. That seems like a fair trade. Anyway, it’ll look better if we arrive together, right?” He said nothing about the benefits his presence would have at deterring the kind of crude remarks she unfortunately tended to evoke from men like her young admirer.

A smile, slow no doubt due to its reluctance, spread across her face, lighting those gorgeous blue-gray eyes of hers. “Fine, you win. But when this whole thing is over, if I end up so spoiled I start turning my nose up at public transportation, it’ll be allyourfault.”

When this whole thing is over.

If he had his way, the lawsuit stuff would end right now. But their relationship was another matter. He didn’t want it to go back to the way it used to be, especially now that he was home for good.

“You want a car for work? Because that can be arranged.” He kept his tone light, but he was serious as a heart attack. All she had to do was say the word.

“Okay, now you’re just playing with me.”

Nate suppressed a smile.If only.

“Kennedy?”

The sound of her name stopped them short. Nate turned to find a tall Black man wearing round wireless glasses staring intently at her.

“Kennedy Mitchell? Hi, it’s Sam Morgan.”

One thing was clear—the two didn’t know each other well or hadn’t seen each other in a while. Maybe someone she knew from college?

Kennedy’s eyes flared in recognition. “Sam. Oh my goodness, it’s so good to see you. How have you been? You look great.”

In Nate’s impartial opinion—unhindered by his own feelings for her, of course—the guy was more Eddie Murphy inDr. Dolittlethan Idris Elba injust about anything. He reminded him of a staid college professor.

At her welcoming smile, Sam strode over. “The second you walked in, I knew it was you. You haven’t changed a bit. You look great.” He darted a glance at Nate.

“Nate, this is Sam. We met a few years ago.” She turned to Sam and asked, “How long has it been? Two years?”

“It was right after I got tenure, which was over two years ago.” He directed his next remark to Nate. “We went out on a blind date.”

Bingo.He’d been right about the guy’s profession.

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