“Yeah, it definitely is.” Grabbing the stuff, I stepped backwards and used the bottle of wine to point inside my apartment. “Come on in. I’ll put the ice cream in the freezer and grab a pair of shoes.”
“I should’ve tried bribery sooner,” he chuckled, shaking his head.
A lock of his dark hair fell against his forehead, and my fingers itched to sweep it back. Instead, I tossed the carton of ice cream into my freezer, set the wine on the counter, and bent over to slip a pair of sandals on my feet. When I straightened, Trace’s eyes jerked up to my face. Glancing down at my shirt, I realized what he’d been staring at. “Enjoying the view?”
His gaze swept down the length of my body, pausing to take in the fluffy, white cat that’d strolled over to twine around my feet, and then back up to my face. His green eyes were filled with hunger...but definitely not for pizza. “Damn straight I am.”
I felt my cheeks fill with heat, but not from embarrassment. It was pure, feminine satisfaction at Trace’s unabashed interest in me. “You’re not going to try to deny you were staring at my tits?”
He shrugged his broad shoulders. “Why bother with games like that? I think I’ve already made it obvious that I’m attracted to you.”
“This is true,” I murmured as we left my apartment.
He waited until we were on the elevator to add, “And trust me when I tell you that any red-blooded man would find it damn difficult to tear their gaze away from the sight of your tits in that white, lacy bra you’re wearing.”
“Is it hot in here?” I tugged at the collar of my shirt. Then I pressed my hand against my chest when I realized that with his height, I was giving Trace a view straight down my shirt to my bra again.
“It’s definitely getting hotter,” he chuckled.
As soon as the elevator doors opened, I hurried out into the lobby. Trace didn’t let me go far before he slid his palm against mine and twined our fingers together. It felt so good to walk hand-in-hand that I almost changed my mind about our destination so we could do it longer. But the place around the corner from our building had the best pizza in town.
“That wasn’t even a two-minute walk. Are you trying to get through our date as fast as possible?” Trace joked as we walked inside.
I tilted my head back to look up at him and widened my eyes in pretend surprise. “Is this a date?”
“I asked you out, you finally said yes, we’re going to have lunch together, and I’m paying.” He lifted our hands and pressed a kiss against my knuckles. It felt like the touch of his lips sent a jolt of electricity through my skin. “This is definitely a date.”
“Well, then,” I sighed, gripping his hand more tightly while we followed the hostess to our table.
Since I was a regular, the waiter brought over an iced tea for me when he came to take our order. After he went to get Trace a glass and give the kitchen our ticket for the pizza, Trace grumbled, “Why am I not surprised that he remembered what you like to drink?”
“He’s served me like a hundred times before. Remembering that I order iced tea whenever I come in here is the bare minimum in customer service. It just means he’s decent at his job.”
“And what’s the cashier’s excuse?”
I glanced up at the young girl at the counter who took care of all the telephone orders and handled the payments for the wait staff. “Who? Her?”
“No,” he chuckled, his green eyes filled with humor. “The guy at the grocery store from the night we met. He noticed pretty much everything about you, right down to how often you come in and what you’re usually wearing.”
“That’s super creepy.” I shivered, thinking about some random guy keeping such a close eye on me without noticing it.
Trace waited until the waiter finished dropping off his iced tea to reach out and cover my hand with his. “Don’t worry about him. He and I had a little chat, and he understands that watching you like that isn’t a good idea.”
Even though I hadn’t known Trace that long, I could easily imagine how that conversation had gone. “You took care of him for me, huh?”
“I told you that I’m a handy guy to have around.”
I grinned, remembering his offer to help with Madison’s situation the night we met. “That you did. And considering how big you are, it’s easy to see how you were able to intimidate the guy at the grocery store.”
“My size was also helpful back when I played hockey in school.”
“Hockey?” With my elbow on the table, I leaned my chin into my palm. “I don’t think I’ve ever even seen a game before.”
“Say it isn’t so.” He pressed his hand over his heart like I’d wounded him. “How is that possible?”
“I’m more of a sun and sand kind of girl.”
“You’re killing me here, angel face,” he groaned. “Now all I can think about is you, on the beach, in a bikini.”
I winked at him. “Maybe you’ll get the chance to see it in person someday.”
“How does tomorrow sound? I had planned to go into the office to get some work done, but that can wait until Monday if it means I get to spend time with you.”
“In a bikini,” I added.
“Well, yeah,” he chuckled. “But also fully clothed if you had something else in mind.”
Of course, now the only thing on my mind was seeing him in swim trunks. I shook my head to clear the haze from my brain. “I don’t think I can answer that until you tell me what it is you do for work. What if I lure you away for a bit of fun at the beach while someone’s life hangs in the balance?”
“No lives are at risk,” he assured me. “Just contracts and money since I’m a sports agent. I moved here to open the West Coast office for my agency.”
“Your agency?”
“Yeah, I’m one of the founding partners.”
Damn, that was impressive. We chatted about our jobs until the waiter dropped off our pizza. By the time we’d finished devouring it, we were swapping childhood stories and talking like we’d known each other for years instead of just days.
“That was pretty good for California pizza.” Trace leaned back in his chair and rubbed his flat stomach. “Not as good as the deep dish back home, but I can definitely see myself becoming a regular here too.”
“If you’re thinking about becoming a regular, then you need to try the Nutella calzone. It’s crazy good.”
“Dessert sounds like a great idea.” He glanced at the stand at the end of the table that held the dessert menu and shook his head. “They don’t have what I’m in the mood for, though.”
“What’re you in the mood for?”
He flashed me a mischievous grin. “Ice cream.”
I knew exactly what would happen if I invited him back to my apartment for dessert. After how well our date had gone, it was tempting. Oh-so tempting. But if things went wrong, living right next to each other was a recipe for disaster. I couldn’t fall into bed with my neighbor, no matter how much I wanted to or how insanely hot he was. At least not yet anyway.
Chapter Four
Trace
Living next door to Melody was both a blessing and a curse. Being able to see her every day was great, but knowing there was just a thin wall separating us at night was wreaking havoc on my ability to sleep. It was more than worth the sacrifice, though.
Melody’s looks had originally caught my interest, but I’d quickly discovered that she was a flat-out amazing person. She was as kind as she was beautiful, smart as hell, and funny as fuck. Any man would be lucky to have her, and I was determined to be the one she picked. No matter how long it took…even though the clock was ticking on my time living next door to her.