Her lips curled up the moment she noticed me, her eyes checking me out as she turned to face me. I could see that she liked what she saw, her gaze flashing with something I could only define as lust. Good.
“Good evening.” Her voice was beautiful, sweet as her vanilla-rose scent. She smelled wonderfully.
“This is for you.” I put her cocktail in front of her, and her smile grew bigger.
“Why, thank you.”
“You’re welcome, gorgeous.” She smiled, which was dazzling. I found it difficult to look away from her sexy lips.
“I could say the same to you.”
A smirk formed on my face. “You think I’m gorgeous?”
She checked me out again, giggling. “Oh please. As if you don’t know. I bet you hear it all the time.”
“It doesn’t hurt to hear it again.” I raised my glass. “Cheers.”
“Cheers.”
I took a swallow of my scotch while watching her over the rim of my glass. The room was dim-lit, and the shadows playing on her face emphasized her delicate features. I wanted to run my fingers over her cheek and see for myself if her skin was as soft as it looked like.
“I haven’t seen you here before. Is this your first time here?” I asked her, observing her profile. She was sliding her finger over the rim of her glass idly.
“Not really. It’s one of my favorite places, but I haven’t been here lately.”
“That explains it. I’m sure I would have noticed you.”
She cast another stunning smile at me. “You’re flattering me.”
“I’m just telling you the truth. This night couldn’t get any better. Sitting here with you is like a cherry on top after a great day.”
“Well, aren’t you a charmer.” She winked at me. “I’m glad to hear that at least someone had a good day.”
I cocked my head to the side. “What do you mean?”
She sighed, still moving her finger over the rim of her glass. “It’s just that these days I’m completely out of luck.” She met my eyes. “Sorry. I don’t want to ruin your night.”
“No worries. If you want, I’m all ears. They say you can be more honest when you tell your issues to a stranger.”
“Oh, but you aren’t exactly a complete stranger.”
I stopped with my glass in mid-air. “What do you mean?”
“I know who you are, actually. You’re Merritt Dawson. The congressman everyone is talking about.”
“Are you interested in politics?”
“Very much.”
I leaned closer to her with a flirtatious smile. “Interesting. I don’t meet many women with the same interests as I me.”
“I bet.” Why did that sound bitter?
“I hope all you’ve heard is good news.”
She sipped her drink. “So-so.”
“So-so?”