I waved him away. “I’m fine really. That’s just the most…” I paused as I wiped away the few tears that had escaped. “You’re amazing. I would never have thought that you would be like this.”
“Because you’re ambitious and judgy,” he teased.
“Only because you’re arrogant and annoying.”
“Touché,” he said with a cocky smirk. “I knew I’d have you, Elizabeth. I just didn’t know it would be so soon.”
I admitted, “Me either.”
“To which part?” He cocked his head to the side, and his hair moved slightly with it.
“I didn’t think you’d get to me this quickly.”
“But you knew I’d eventually get to you?”
“Of course I fucking knew.”
“No one hotter…no one has ever been hotter than you are right now.”
“I kind of want to climb over this table and have my way with you.” I toyed with him, taking our flirtation to the next level.
He looked all around him before yelling, “Check, please!”
“I was kidding!” I swatted at his arm. I was so not kidding.
9.
DANIEL
“Don’t forget this.” I reached for the single white rose and handed it to her.
“I wasn’t planning on it,” she smiled before holding it with care.
With dinner over, I was torn between getting back on the plane or going to Elizabeth’s place, if she’d have me. I didn’t want her to think I was rejecting her in any way, but I had a six a.m. phone call, and I still needed to prepare for it. Girls tended to be touchy when they felt denied in any aspect, and I definitely didn’t need that after last night’s unplanned fiasco.
I started to call my driver before I turned toward her. “Do you want to call it a night?”
“Do you?”
Shit. After my idiocy last night, I needed to take control but also tread carefully. “I want to come over.”
Her soft brown eyes widened. “To my place?”
“Yes, Elizabeth, to your place.” My hands circled her waist and pulled her tightly against me.
“Okay.”
She smiled up at me, and I knew that tonight was going better than we both had expected.
“But I have to warn you that I can’t stay long. I have a six a.m. call.”
“Six? That sucks. Overseas?”
She understood. Of course she fucking understood. She dealt with this sort of thing in her job, too.
“Rome. It’s the only time we could get everyone’s schedules to work. Sucks for me, but I can take the call from home.”
“Ah, lucky.” She smacked my shoulder.