“Fuck.” The driver hits the brakes, making me slide forward in my seat, and I place my hand on the glass in front of me to keep from banging my head into it. I sit back in my seat and look through the windshield, noticing two cars have gotten into an accident blocking both lanes. He rolls down his window and sticks his head outside, motioning with his hand. “Stupid idiots, get out of the road.”
“Fuck you. Go around!” a large man who looks like he eats small children yells back with a not so nice hand gesture.
“I can’t go around. No one can go around!” my driver shouts, pissing the big guy off, and he starts toward the cab I’m in with a vein in his head visibly throbbing.
“I’m just going to walk the rest of the way,” I blurt, and my driver turns to look at me. I glance at the meter and take a twenty out of my purse, handing it over to him.
“You’re still four blocks away.”
“I don’t mind walking.” I give him a smile and get out of the cab, hurrying to the sidewalk. I pull up a GPS app on my cell and type in the coffee shop then groan inwardly. It’s almost a fifteen-minute walk, something that wouldn’t be bad if I weren’t wearing heels.
With no other choice, I place my purse on my shoulder and move forward, telling myself this is a good way to get in my steps for the day. And I’ll have definitely earned the right to eat the double chocolate brownie ice cream I bought a few days ago.
I reach the intersection across from the coffee shop fifteen minutes later and wait for the walk sign with everyone else. That’s when I see him. My heart starts to pound, my throat closes up, and my pulse quickens as I take in the imposing figure across the street. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more beautiful man.
His suit-covered shoulders are broad, his hips lean, and his legs long, thick, and powerful covered in a pair of dark grey slacks that match his suit jacket. The dark-blue dress shirt he’s wearing is unbuttoned, showing the thick column of his throat. He jerks his fingers through his hair then checks his watch, his jaw ticking in annoyance, making me wonder if he’s mad I’m late.
Someone knocking into me pulls me from my perusal, and I try to pull it together as I move with the crowd across the street. His mint-green eyes lock on me as the crowd around me disperses, and I notice a glimmer of something within their depths that causes goose bumps to rush across my skin like a tidal wave. When he lifts his eyes to mine, I smile nervously, feeling warmth spread down my neck, but then stumble forward when my heel catches on a crack in the pavement. By some miracle, he manages to step forward to catch me with his hand on my hip before I can do a face plant.
“Adam,” I breathe as I place my hands lightly on his chest, and he drags his eyes off my lips to meet my gaze. “I’m Dakota.” I jerk my hands away from his hard chest and take a step back out of his space, noticing a glimmer of displeasure flash through the green of his eyes like lightening. “Sorry I’m late. Traffic was a little insane then there was an accident and my cab driver was going to get into a fight so I ended up walking,” I ramble, waiting for him to say something, anything, and when he doesn’t, I start to feel unsure.
Oh, God, what if this man isn’t the one I’m supposed to be meeting? I smile nervously, tipping my head to the side and feeling my hair slip over my shoulder. “Please tell me that you’re Adam and not some random man I’m accosting on the street.”
His eyes roam mine then his lips tip up into a slight smile. “I’m Adam.”
Relief fills me and the tension in my muscles eases. “Thank goodness.” I swipe my brow and he grins. Good Lord, this man is dangerous. “Mags refused to show me a photo of you. She just told me that you’d be here, dressed for work and wearing a watch.”
“That’s not a lot of information to go on.” The rumble of displeasure in his statement catches me off guard.
“You know Maggie. She’s…” I press my lips together then smile and shrug. “She’s Maggie.”
“Yeah,” he agrees, and I wonder why Maggie didn’t tell me how intense he is.
“Right.” I let out a breath while taking him in then look at the coffee shop briefly, noticing him suddenly get stiff as he looks over the top of my head. “Umm… I know I said this was just a coffee date, but I’m starving. Do you mind if we go to the pizza place down the block?”
“I have a better idea.” He startles me by wrapping his fingers around my upper arm then sliding them down to capture my hand. “I know a great Italian place that’s not too far from here.”
“Oh.” I drop my gaze to our connected hands. I’m sure my palm shouldn’t be tingling.
“We’ll take my car.” His fingers squeeze mine, making my pulse skip a beat.
“Okay.” I let him lead me down the sidewalk and almost stumble again when the lights on a Benz flash, and not just any Benz, one of those SUV ones that costs more than I will make in the next two years.
He stops at the passenger side, opening the door for me, and once I’m inside, he slams the door closed then prowls around the hood to get in behind the wheel. Lord in heaven, I don’t think a man should look so good in profile.
“Ready?” He turns to look at me as he starts the engine.
“Sure.” I take a deep breath, willing my heart to slow down.
“So tell me a little about yourself,” he says, looking over his shoulder as he pulls out into traffic.
“Well, I’m sure Maggie told you that I moved to Seattle a few months ago.” I shift in my seat and notice his eyes glance briefly at my thighs, making them feel hot.
“Where from?”
“Tacoma.” My leg starts to bounce in sync with his fingers tapping on the steering wheel.
“Why Seattle?”
“My brother has always lived here, and he convinced me to stay with him when—” I quickly cut myself off. “I needed a change.”
“You and your brother are close.”
It’s not a question, but I still say “Yeah” as I hold my purse in my lap a little tighter. “Maggie said you grew up here.”
“I did.” His hands flex on the steering wheel as he presses more firmly on the gas to enter the highway. “How did you and Maggie meet?”
“She knows my brother.” I fiddle with the handle of my purse as he takes the next exit. “His band plays at her club every Friday and Saturday.” I watch him turn into a hidden driveway and up to the valet parking lane out front of a restaurant named Altura.
“Are they any good?”
“Pardon?” I look at him, finding his eyes on me.
“Your brother’s band, are they any good?”
“The best.” It’s not a lie. They are one of the most popular bands in Seattle, and if things go as planned, they will soon be signed to a record label and sent out on tour.
“I’d like to hear them sometime.” He graces me with a smile before opening his door. He leaves the engine running and gets out, walking around the hood. I see him shake his head at the attendant who approaches my side of the car to let me out, and my stomach flips as he opens my door and holds out his hand.
I take it, allowing him to help me down, and then walk at his side into the restaurant. “This place is nice.” I look around the dark interior that is decorated in warm browns and golds, with each table seeming private and intimate, lit with only candlelight. “Really nice.” I tip my head back to look at him and catch his eyes flash with desire.