“MacNiven knows how to win.” He sat forward, bending his head toward hers. “Want to know the truth?”
“Always,” she replied, also leaning in.
“I’ve never won a match against him. Every time a team I was on faced a team he was on, we lost.”
“No wonder you trust him to guide you through to victory.” She sat back as their waiter brought their wine, quietly waiting to leave until they’d tasted it.
He shouldn’t have been surprised when she cut to the chase. She held her glass in her hands and looked at him straight. “How long are you in Chicago?”
“I have to be back in London before Christmas to go to practice for our next match,” he said, taking her hand in his.
“So a couple weeks.” She pursed her lips, looking at their twined fingers. “That’s not very much time for us.”
It wasn’t, and he didn’t have an answer for it. “We’ll just have to make the most of what we have.”
“You know where this is headed?” she asked in a low voice.
“I know where I want it to head.” He wasn’t sure they were on the same page for that, and he didn’t want to scare her by telling her how deeply he felt for her already. If someone had told him they’d fallen in love at the drop of a hat, he’d have scoffed too, but he knew what he felt, and he knew the real deal when he saw it.
This was it.
“You’re staring at me,” she said in an undertone as she took a sip of her wine.
“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” he replied softly.
Setting her glass down, she frowned at him. “You mean that,” she said after a moment.
“I won’t lie to you. Ever.” He’d seen what lies did between a man and a woman firsthand. His dad always said women didn’t need to know the truth, they were happier hearing what they wanted. But that was bullshit. Why would anyone be happy knowing they were being lied to?
She speared him to his heart with her eyes. “I’m an attorney. I always know when someone’s lying.”
“Good.” He nodded. “Then you know when someone’s telling the truth too. Like I am right now.”
He stared at their joined hands, so many things he wanted to express caught in his throat. “So do you think you can fit me into your schedule for the next couple weeks?”
“Normally the answer would be no.” She looked at him with her direct gaze, and she squeezed his fingers. “These don’t seem like normal times, do they?”
“They don’t,” he said, his heart beginning to beat with anticipation. “Does that mean you’ll have dinner with me tomorrow night?”
“Yes,” she said without hesitation.
He exhaled in relief. One thing was finally going in his direction. “Will you let me kiss you goodnight?”
She tipped her head, her brow furrowed. “You aren’t going to try to take me home?”
“Tonight? No. Tomorrow is another day though.” He lifted her hand to his lips and nipped her knuckles. As long as he only thought about tomorrow in regard to her, here, he’d be good. Hopefully everything in London would hold.
Hopefully.
Nine
Jules stared at the notes app on her phone, trying to get her list together for her session with Jamie today, but all she could think about was dinner last night and Danny.
Just the thought of him made her heart beat faster.
No man had ever made her heart beat fast. The only physiological effect a man had had on her was her father, and he made her sick.
She’d wanted to invite Danny back to her place and kiss him all night. She didn’t know whether to be annoyed with him for setting boundaries or grateful that he hadn’t wanted to rush her.