Page 20 of Love In Print

“I’m heading to Los Angeles this coming week for a photo shoot. Can you pick him up on Monday instead?”

Rhys turned slowly. He had so much to say, mostly about how she spent very little time with their son. He was calling his attorney Monday morning to request a hearing to modify his child support and custody agreement. “Of course. When will you be back?”

“By Friday,” she told him. “This could be my big break.”

“For what?” he regretted asking as soon as the words came out.

“You know I want to be a model.”

Rhys sighed quietly before responding. “Have a good trip,” he said before he left. He couldn’t indulge her current fantasy. Celeste was his biggest mistake. Trey wasn’t. Unfortunately, they were a package deal.

Rhys couldn’t get back to Brenton Island fast enough. Thankfully, the traffic leaving the city wasn’t as congested as usual and he was on the island in record time. He parked near Maisie’s apartment and took the stairs two at a time. He barely knocked when the door swung open.

“Fuck,” he muttered appreciatively as his eyes roamed over Maisie. She wore a red dress, with matching fuck-me heels. If he wasn’t mistaken, her skin glittered and she smelled like sunshine and roses. Maisie had her hair down in loose curls. Curls that begged to be wrapped around his fingers. The diamond pendant that hung from her neck caught his attention. He wanted to know who put it there. Rhys reached out and touched it and then let it drop back into place. He caught her staring at him and licked his lips. He wanted her.

“Hi,” she said breathlessly.

Had this small interaction affected her like it had him?

Rhys cleared his throat and held his arm out. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah,” she said as she stepped outside, pulling her door shut behind them. “You are very handsome. I’m curious to see what you look like in jeans and a T-shirt, though.”

“Maybe tomorrow,” he said.

“Tomorrow?”

He shrugged and gave her a smirk before he led her to his car. Rhys held the door open for her until she was seated, and then ran around to the other side. “You know, I’ve had a hard time driving around these past few days after what we did in here.”

Maisie chuckled. “Sorry?”

“I’m not.” He reached for her hand and brought it to his lips. “Except, I’d swap the back seat for my bed.”

Maisie blushed and Rhys loved the new pink hue of her cheeks. Making her blush was quickly becoming a favorite habit of his.

They pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant in front of the valet station. Rhys buttoned his suit jacket as he waited for the valet to help Maisie out of the car. He smiled and held his arm out for her again. Rhys stepped forward, but Maisie didn’t move.

“What’s wrong?”

She looked at the name of the restaurant and then at him. Maisie sighed heavily and motion for Rhys to step off the black carpeted walkway. “I have steadfast rules, but they seem to go out the window where you’re concerned.”

“Rules, huh? What are they?”

“First, I don’t sleep around, and I never hook up on the first date. Clearly, I’ve already broken that rule. Second, I don’t eat at places I can’t afford. I never want my date to think I can’t pay my own way. And a subsection of number two is—I know who you are, but I didn’t when I took the ad out or when we met the other night.”

Rhys tried to smile but he was certain he grimaced. He inhaled deeply and contemplated what to say. He wanted to date Maisie and had to figure out a way to tell her this without looking like some overeager schmuck.

“Okay, well, if it eases your mind a little, I don’t sleep around either and have only had one one-night stand. Like I said earlier, the only thing I would change about the other night is the location. I would’ve preferred for us to be in bed. Mine, or yours, either, both. As far as who I am, you do not know how refreshing the other night was. I got to be normal, and I’ve never been normal to anyone and it was such a relief. Which brings me to your second point, if you’re with me, you don’t need to worry about paying for anything. Regardless of who I am, my parents raised me to pay for my dates.”

Rhys leaned forward and kissed Maisie. He didn’t care about keeping things chaste and definitely didn’t give a shit if people saw them. “Would you like to go somewhere else?”

She looked around for a moment and then shook her head. “I’ve always wanted to eat here.”

He chuckled and kissed her again. “Come on, we have a table waiting for us with a view of the water.”

* * *

“Do you need to go home right away?” he asked as he pulled out of the parking lot. Dinner had gone very well. They feasted on filet mignon, creamed spinach, crispy brussels sprouts, and mashed potatoes. For dessert they shared crème brûlée. After dinner, Maisie declared she wasn’t ever eating again. Rhys agreed.

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