He genuinely wanted to know me. “Tell me more about yourself,” I asked him midway through our meal. “I feel like I’ve done all the talking.”
Mostly, because Daniel had nothing but earnest, kind questions. “I guess I should start with the most important part of my life.”
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and picked out a picture from his camera roll. A candid shot of the happiest looking dog I’d ever seen in my life. It was some kind of mix, maybe part French bulldog and part corgi?
“That’s Harmony,” Daniel explained. “She’s a rescue. All my dogs have been rescued. It’s sort of my side job. And sometimes, the tougher cases end up staying with me. Like Harmony.”
He pointed in the picture so that I saw that Harmony only had one eye.
My heart thumped. “Aww. You gave her a home?”
“I couldn’t help it when I heard about her,” Daniel explained. “Most of the dogs I rescue, I find homes for. But with Harmony, I saw her in her little cage and I just knew. I had to save her. I had to make sure she’d never feel alone like that again.”
What can I say? My heart didn’t just thump. It melted.
Completely.
Right there and then.
“She’s adorable,” I admitted.
He grinned. “She’s my girl. She’s the one Trish told you about, my little motorcycle rider. Found her in a warehouse six years ago, and she’s been by my side ever since.”
“I’d love to meet her,” I said, and I meant it.
“I think she’d like you,” Daniel said. “Though it might be hard to get her to share the motorcycle.”
“Oh?” I arched a brow. “And what if I want a ride alone with you?”
I hadn’t meant it to sound like that, but Daniel’s eyes immediately darkened and his grin widened.
“That could always be arranged.”
I rolled my eyes, trying to deflect from my unexpected flirtiness. “You know what I mean.”
Before he could respond, the waiter arrived with a dessert menu. I scanned it, my eyes catching on the limoncello baba and chocolate soufflé. I hesitated.
“Something wrong?” Daniel asked.
“No,” I said, but then I looked at his eyes and decided I could be honest. “It’s just that I’ve never thought that these fancy restaurants can ever get dessert quite right.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Really?”
“Maybe it’s just how I was raised. But for me, nothing beats soft serve ice cream. Plain old regular soft serve.”
Daniel’s brow furrowed like he was deep in thought. “A twist? Vanilla? Chocolate?”
I laughed. “Thinking of running out and getting some?”
He shook his head. “No. I’m planning our next date.”
This man and his confidence were going to be the end of me. We were barely done with our first meal together and he was already planning another one.
He definitely wasn’t serving up lines.
I bit my lip, deciding to keep having fun. “How do you know there’s a next date?”
Daniel made a move as if I’d gravely offended him.
“I thought you wanted to meet Harmony?”
Now, it was my turn for faux-outrage. “Using your dog as leverage?”
He grinned wickedly. “Whatever it takes.”
Everything just felt so easy around him.
I couldn’t stop looking at his mouth, at the even row of teeth and those full lips.
I could just imagine how they’d feel on my mouth.
My neck.
Me.
“Time for the view,” Daniel said, reaching for my hand. “If you’re sure you’re prepared?”
I nodded, letting him lead me outside. It was dark, but the lights of Vegas never slept. They dotted the horizon, and outside, we could see all of the hotels in the city.
He was right. It was the best view in Vegas.
As I looked, Daniel settled in next to me. His arm extended around me, and I gave in and leaned against him and breathed in his scent.
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered.
“So are you,” he whispered back, his lips brushing against my ear.
I turned to look at him. He watched me from those beautiful eyes, glittering in the lights of Vegas.
“I have another confession,” I said.
“More dessert preferences?” Daniel asked.
I shook my head. “I noticed you too. Not exactly like you noticed me. But I did. That’s why I agreed when Trish suggested you.”
He watched me. “Now that you’re on a date with me, what do you think? Do I live up to your expectations?”
I caught my breath.
This is it, I thought.
The moment I cross from possibility into reality.
“I think we should’ve done this sooner,” I said. “Much sooner.”
I lifted my chin, parted my lips and waited.
But not for long.
We both knew what was happening next.
He cupped my cheek, and brushed his lips to mine.
His were so soft, so sweet that I sighed.
A soft, little sigh.
And as the sound ghosted across my lips, I felt myself giving in more.
To the kiss. To the feel of his mouth exploring mine. To his hand on my face.
And most of all, to the lovely thrill of a wonderful first date that I was clearly ready for.
In fact, I was ready for the next one as soon as possible.
Still in a daze by the time I returned home, I slipped quietly in through the front door and into the living room. Jake was asleep on the couch, a book open on his lap and Carson passed out on his shoulder.
My little brother, babysitter extraordinaire.
I should wake them up and get Carson into his bed, but I figured that, while they slept, I might as well get into the shower.
I still needed to stop buzzing after my date, after all.
I tiptoed to my bedroom and ran the hot water, unzipping my dress as I remembered how Daniel’s hands had felt along the exposed skin.
How his kiss had felt.
How my mouth felt deliciously bruised in a way it hadn’t felt in years.
As I started to pull the dress off my shoulders, my phone buzzed. I glanced at it and laughed.
Of course it was Trish.
Trish: Okay, I can’t take it anymore. How was it?
I thought about Daniel’s hands in the dark, how his palm had grazed my thigh in the limo, daring me not to cry out and alert the driver.
How, even after that, he’d been the perfect gentleman who walked me to my door.
How he was somehow wicked and wild, sensitive and caring.
Everything I could’ve hoped for and more.
Christine: I can’t lie to you. You were right.
I could practically hear Trish whooping in the distance, and when she sent back several winking emojis, I knew she’d be asking for more details soon. Before she could, another text popped up.
One that made my heart stop and start at the same time.
Daniel: I can’t stop thinking about you.
I bit my lip and glanced in the mirror. The lace of my bra was visible, peeking out of the piece of the dress I’d started to pull down. My lipstick was smeared slightly from our kisses, and my hair was tangled around my shoulders.