He nods. “Yeah. A date. Where I pick you up, take you out, we have a nice time, and if I’m lucky, you let me kiss you at the end of it.”
Hunter wants to kiss me.My tongue darts out to moisten my lips, and his eyes zero in on the motion.
Oh. My. God.
“What d’you say, Kitty Kat? Will you go out on a date with me?” His voice is deep, quiet, serious. And laced with something…more.
I nod.
“Yes.”
Chapter 6
Hunter
“Dude, she’s not a dirty little secret, just take her anywhere.” My buddy Asher shoves a handful of chips in his mouth.
“It’s not that simple,” I grunt, my eyes slowly reading the reviews for some restaurant in front of me. “Her cousin is my boss, and her brothers basically run this town. And I’m not exactly ready for them to know I’m taking her out.”
“Dunno why not, you’re a catch,” he says, teasing. Nonetheless, I glare at him. He just shrugs. “Well, just bring her to Westport. My buddy Nico’s family owns Grecian Steak House. He’ll set up a romantic night if you want; he hooked me up when I was dating Lucy. She went gaga over it all.”
Relief floods me. “Seriously? Dude, that’s fucking perfect.”
Asher taps out something on his phone, and less than a minute later looks back at me. “Done. You have a reservation for seven tonight. You’re welcome.”
“I would say I owe you, but I’m pretty sure you just finished all the beer I had in my apartment,” I reply drily. The asshole just shrugs his shoulders, then stands up and scratches his stomach.
“Yeah, on that note, I’m out. Have fun tonight, be safe.”
Once Ash leaves, I send a quick message to Kat, telling her what time I’ll pick her up.
Now all that’s left to do is figure out how to keep my brain occupied. I need to pass the next several hours before my date without massively overthinking and panicking about going out with the woman I’ve had a crush on for years.
No sweat.
Standing on Kat’s front porch, I rub my hands on my jeans frantically, hoping they aren’t too clammy.
When she steps out the door and gives me a small smile, I realize there’s nothing that could have prepared me for this moment.
Kat Donnelly is beautiful all the time.
But wearing dark jeans that look like they’re made for her curves, a cream-coloured sweater that drapes down to bare one shoulder, and makeup that only intensifies the green colour of her eyes and the glow to her skin? Kat has stolen the breath from my body. My brain no longer knows how to formulate words.
She is stunning.
“Hi.”
I blink and realize while my brain short-circuited from her beauty, she put her coat on and is now standing next to me.
“Hi. Sorry. I, umm. Yeah. I should’ve helped you or something,” I stutter, still trying to get my fucking head to clear.
“It’s fine, Hunter.” Her brow furrows slightly. “Is everything okay, though? You look distracted.”
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” I blurt out. “Shit. That was meant to be my inside voice. Not that it isn’t true, I mean, I just didn’t plan on saying it like that. Fuck. I need to stop talking now.” That last sentence I mumble to myself, certain I’m screwing this date up before it even has a chance to start.
But then, Kat’s hand finds its way to tangle with mine.
“Thank you.”