Page 8 of Finding New Dreams

Those tempting red lips spoke. “You want to kiss me.”

I could’ve played it off. Made a charming, flippant remark—I had dozens of them. And maybe I should’ve.

But instead, I slowly lifted my gaze to meet hers and held it there. “More than anything.”

Her lips parted. Her eyes darted down to my mouth.

I envisioned knocking the tiny table out of the way, hauling her up against me, and finally getting a taste of her.

But then she said, “My point.”

With maximum effort, I mustered my most charming smile and nodded. The game, the game, keep playing the game. “This wasn’t your first stop tonight,” I guessed.

Her dark eyes crinkled at the corners. “Yours either.”

I saluted her with my near-empty glass. “Win-win. I just got off a plane. You?”

She hesitated for a moment. “Dinner date gone bad.”

My grip around the glass hardened. “How bad?”

Waving her hand so a few of her sparkly bracelets clinked together, she made a dismissive noise. “Just your typical dating-app fiasco. He was only out for an easy hookup—didn’t even bother to read my profile. He was more invested in his rare steak than me.”

“Hmm, vegetarian?”

She laughed. “Yes, fine, I’ll give you that point as well. Was my disdain so obvious?”

“For the offensive cow, or the food?”

Clutching her ribs, she kept laughing. I couldn’t help chuckling as well. Her bright spirit was infectious.

So much so that a switch flipped inside me, illuminating the creative parts of me that had been gathering dust for months now. I wanted to capture her essence. But how? How? That creative light flickered and dimmed.

I hid my frustration with a final swallow of my drink. When I set my glass down, my smile was back in place.

But Rose hadn’t missed a moment. “Are you in town for something unpleasant?”

I had to chuckle a bit at that. Chloe would probably have a meltdown if I ever hinted her wedding was unpleasant.

“No, I’m here for something good.”

“Ah, then you left an unpleasant situation behind, and it follows you.”

My chest clenched, and I had to look away from her inquisitive gaze. “Yes.”

She was quiet for a moment. The pounding music and rumbling crowd filled the air around us.

Then: “You got into a lot of trouble at school.”

Grinning, I told her about a few of the scrapes I’d gotten into as a kid.

Time eluded us as we went back and forth in easy conversation, taking and losing points about siblings, pets, favorite foods, and hobbies.

At some point, her hand had made its way over to mine on the table. I’d been caressing her soft skin until I couldn’t sit still any longer.

“Okay,” I said, “we’re even now, and you get to make the last move. Get it right, and you win. Get it wrong, and I win. Ready?”

She took a deep breath and nodded. My heart thundered in my chest while she studied me with an inscrutable expression.

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