“I could say the same for you.” His words have me feeling all sorts of beautiful, and that’s truly a foreign feeling when it comes to me and men.
“My friend signed me up. I had no intentions of doing any blind dates, but she insists that regardless of how busy I am with this place, I need to keep my romantic life going.”
“Remind me to thank your friend, then. Because I’m feeling like the luckiest man on earth right now.”
Natural born flirt. I’m putty in his hands as his dark eyes meet mine. “But why Seeking Curves?” His stare rolls over me, feeling like a caress. I fidget in my seat.
“Well, my best friend Denise found it. She twisted my arm. I was kind of mortified when we had to fill out all those forms. The questions get really personal, don’t they? It seems obtrusive and silly, but now I’m starting to think they’re on to something.”
“I didn’t really read up on the agency,” he says, his gaze dropping down to my hands before lifting once more to look at me.
“So, you just threw your hat in the mix to see what happened?” I laugh, “It's okay. I was skeptical too.”
“Was? Does that mean you aren’t anymore?” he asks, surprise on his face.
“I’m having a good enough time right now to believe they might know what they are doing.” I allow, knowing I’m flirting more with him than I have with anyone in my whole life. Something about him pushes away all my fears and anxieties about doing this.
“Oh, shoot! It’s five already,” I mumble, looking at the clock on the wall. He frowns
“Is that bad?” he asks, looking a bit confused.
“Yeah, you said you have that meeting downtown at six in your email. With traffic, if you don’t leave now, you’ll be late,” I explain.
“I guess I better go then,” he says, but makes no move to go.
“I’d think so, at least if you’d like to be on time,” I murmur unable to keep the disappointment out of my voice.
“Can I have your number?” he asks.
A freaking million butterflies take flight in my stomach as happiness and anticipation fill me. I give him my number, trying to ignore the fact that the palms of my hands feel slightly sweaty. Once I give him my digits, he stands to leave, leaning down to brush a soft kiss across my cheek, sending heat to unexpected places. I bite down on my bottom lip, worrying it because the sensations just from that featherlight kiss catch me completely off guard.
“I'll be in touch,” he purrs, and his intense stare tells me he will.
“I’m counting on it,” I respond bravely, making him smile and give me a wink.
Four
Travis
“Next time you make an appointment and don’t show, I’m done with you,” I bark through gritted teeth.
“Now you know exactly what that feels like since you decided to disappear for a year, Travis.” Claire’s voice grates on my nerves.
“So, this is payback?” I mutter, having to admit—at least to myself—that it was a good play.
“No, but if it was you couldn’t have said shit. The truth is, I was called out of town for a family emergency, and I completely forgot about our appointment. My grandmother fell and had to have emergency surgery on her hip. I’m going to stay here with her while she recovers, after that my sister can take over while I rearrange some more of my schedule. I should be back in town in two weeks. We can have our meeting then, unless you’re planning on disappearing yet again,” she says. I can hear the skepticism in her voice and I’m glad she can’t see me roll my eyes. You’d think I don’t pay her ridiculously good for what she does. It feels like I’m two and being scolded.
“Fine. I'll meet you back at Wallflowers two weeks from today, same time,” I snap, getting even more pissed.
I hang up the phone, annoyed as hell. When I realize what I’ve done I hold my head down. I’m such an idiot picking Wallflowers for the meeting. How in the hell am I going to meet with my agent when Lee thinks I’m some I.T. guy named Eugene?
Christ. What in the hell am I doing?
I want to go back and see Lee. Everything about her attracts me. Her laugh is like music to my ears. My time with her filled me with this contentment that I can’t explain. I felt relaxed, and that hasn’t happened in longer than I can remember. I can’t put my finger on why. I’ve thought about calling her since I walked out, but I keep talking myself out of it. I mean, she doesn’t even know who I am.
How will she react when she finds out?
Her thick body with all its luscious curves, her bright blue eyes, her smile, her laugh and attitude… Fuck if I don’t want it all. But I know I need to call her and tell her I’m not the man she thinks I am. I don’t know what came over me to sit there and act like I was some idiot named Eugene—and he has to be an idiot to stand up a sexy blonde like Lee. I know I never said I was him, but I definitely led her to believe it—and that’s just like lying.