She was aiming for graceful but at this point anything short of Bambi-on-the-ice would be a win. It wasn’t helping things that ever since Grady had given her his bad-boy grin her legs had felt like spaghetti noodles.
When they made it to Grady’s truck without her tripping or faltering she wanted to do a victory dance, but that would probably end in her flat on her rear which would really defeat the purpose.
Grady held open the passenger side door and offered his hand to help her climb in. The moment her fingers touched his palm a current of tingles raced up her arm. She sucked in a shaky breath as she climbed into the truck.
He shut the door and made his way around the front. She took the opportunity to admire him. He was wearing a suit that looked perfectly tailored to his broad chest and wide back. His frame was truly impressive, as was his square jaw, his deep brown eyes, his wavy hair, and his kissable lips.
When he got in and sat down next to her, she looked out the front window reminding herself it was not polite to stare.
“You really do look beautiful tonight,” he said as he started the engine and pulled out onto Lake Shore Drive which would take them to the castle.
Her lips curled in a grin as she dipped her head, suddenly feeling shy. “You look nice, too.”
Nice. She was a writer, a romance writer at that, and all she’d been able to come up with was nice?
“The suit’s my brother’s. Chrissy gave it to me. Most of my stuff is still in storage until I get a permanent place.”
“She mentioned that you’ve been here about a month.”
“Yeah, I moved to be closer to my mom. And Chrissy and the kids.”
Butterflies flitted in her stomach. Family had always been so important to her. Maybe it was because hers hadn’t been traditional that she appreciated it so much. Jordan never valued family the way that she did. Exhibit A: him breaking up with her because she moved in to take care of her grandad.
But she reminded herself that this wasn’t a butterfly date. This was a fake date. A date of convenience.
And was last night a kiss of convenience? Her Rasha inner voice asked.
They were both silent as they drove around the lake to the castle. She wondered if maybe she should apologize for mauling him last night and clear the air on the kiss thing. She also wanted to assure him that she would not be drinking tonight.
She realized today that he must think she has a problem since both nights he’d been around her she’d been happy, as her gran used to call it when she drank one glass too many. One thing was clear now though, her response to him was not intensified by alcohol. If anything, her tipsiness had dulled her senses around him. Because right now she was stone cold sober and her body was thrumming with arousal.
Which, at this point, she was doing her best to ignore so she didn’t embarrass herself.
“So what made you want to be a cop?” She asked as she glanced over at him. His eyes cut to hers and that same half-grin appeared on his face.
“What?”
“My usual response to that question is that I’ve always wanted to help people.”
By the way he phrased it she sensed that wasn’t the case. “Is that the reason?”
“It is…part of it.”
“What’s the rest of it?”
He pulled up to the castle and cut the engine. Liv could see that his cheeks were turning a little red. Whatever the rest of it was embarrassed him a little.
She shifted in her seat so that she was facing him. “Okay, now you have to tell me.”
He leaned his head back against the headrest as he gripped the steering wheel. “Beverly Hills Cop.”
“The movie?”
He nodded.
“You wanted to be a cop because of Beverly Hills Cop?”
“What can I say? I thought Axel Foley was funny and cool and he got the bad guys. When I saw it I wanted to be like him.”