I turned away so I wouldn’t have to watch him.
“Lexi.”Leo put his hand on my shoulder and the thrill of his touch on my bare skin hit me again, but this time I shrugged him off.“Okay, I deserved that,” he said.The humor was gone from his voice and he sounded sincere.I turned.
“I'm sorry,” he said.“I didn’t mean to laugh at you.It's just, you look so damn cute when you’re trying to flirt with me.”
“Trying?”
Oh, great.
“I should rephrase that,” he said.“When you are flirting with me.It’s so fresh, and so...”
I really wanted him to finish that thought.He didn’t.
He reached to take my hands again and this time I didn’t pull away.“I feel like I’ve known you for years and you don’t really seem like the flirting type.”His voice lowered and he added, “I suppose it’s your turn to laugh at me.That sounded pretty dumb.”
I didn't laugh because it was exactly the way I felt.No matter how unreasonable it was.
“Itwaspretty lame,” I said.“But the thing is, I feel the same way.”
“You do?”
I didn't answer him.Instead, I scanned the street.All around us people were streaming by, laughing and shoving.And we stood in the middle of it all, having a conversation that sounded like it had been pulled straight out of a cheesy romance novel.It was ridiculous for me to be thinking of a man this way, let alone a man I'd just met.
“Nicole would love this,” I said.
“Love what?”
“We must sound so stupid.I don't think in my whole life I've ever had a conversation like this one.”
Leo's features smoothed out and he touched my cheek.His thumb slid across my face and I was afraid my legs might give out from the desire that flooded through me.“But you feel the same,” he said, “like there's something between us?”
I couldn't speak.I stared at him like an idiot.I knew I couldn’t blame the alcohol from earlier, but I wouldn’t act like this all on my own.
Would I?I was responsible and levelheaded.Nicole was the wild card.The one who could go off with a strange man and have a great time without a second thought about safety or sensibility.
Leo's hand was still cupping my cheek and I had to fight the urge to close my eyes and sink into my fantasies about him.Instead, I stared at the planes in his face, examining him for some sign that he might be a mass murderer or a con man trying to rob me out of my savings.If he were any of those evil things, his gorgeous smile did a good job of convincing me otherwise.
“Come on,” Leo said, breaking my trance.“I want to show you something.”He took my hand.I didn't offer any resistance as he pulled me into the crowd.
Leo led me down the Strip, pointing things out and telling me stories as we walked.We were in front of Caesars Palace when he suggested that we stop and sit for a bit to people watch.
“Did Nicole tell you?”
“Tell me what?”To his credit, he looked surprised, but Nicole must have told him that people watching was one of my favorite pastimes.
“You really want to sit down and look at people?”I asked.
He bowed his head a little.“I know it’s not very exciting, but—”
“I do it too.”
He didn’t laugh when I told him how I loved to choose people around me at random and make up situations and stories about them.In fact, he thought it sounded more fun than just watching them walk by, so we found a place to sit on the edge of a marble statue and jumped right into the game by choosing an overweight couple in their late fifties, dressed in shorts and matching Hawaiian print shirts.
“I think,” he said, “that this is their first time here.It was an unwanted present from their adult kids.”
I giggled and took over.“They didn't want to come, but the tickets were paid for and now that they're here—”
“They love it,” Leo continued.“In fact, they've embraced Vegas life and have decided they're never going to leave.”