She popped a brow. “Every woman’s a doll. Now whether it’s Barbie, Annabelle, or voodoo is a roll of the dice.”
“Oooh, can we do rock, paper, scissors to see which I get tonight?”
She batted her eyes at me. “That’s a bad idea. I play rock, paper, scissors, throat punch. I always win.”
A brisk walk later, we were inside Safari’s Cigars and Lounge. We made a trip to the Humidor room and selected our cigars. It was an upscale establishment with dark mahogany walls, dim lighting, and stately leather chairs. I led her to the private room I’d arranged. When I took a seat, I was thrilled when she sat right on my lap. We lit up, puffed, and had a Manhattan. It felt like twenty minutes, but when I looked up, the clock hands had taken nearly two laps around.
“I like it here.” Her cheeks were glowing. “This night is a little different than I originally thought it would be.”
“Well, I like you a little more than originally planned as well.”
She shivered and let out the tiniest of giggles.
“Did my words awake a butterfly in your stomach?”
She nodded and looked at me through her eyelashes as she took a sip from her glass.
I sat back. “Forget the butterflies. I feel the whole damn zoo when I’m with you.”
She set her glass on the table. “You shouldn’t say things like that.”
“Why? Because even one sentence between us lights something up?”
She shot me a coy grin. “That’s just chemistry.”
“Just?” I leaned up on the table, “One look from you can bring me to my knees. Chemistry is you touching my mind, and it sets me on fire.” We sat quietly for a long moment. “Well, it’s getting late.”
She nodded. “Right.”
“There are two options for us. We can head back to the jet and be home in a jif, or we can stay at the Four Seasons Hotel and head back tomorrow. Either way is perfectly fine.”
Her wheels started spinning, and I could see her nerves were doing the cha-cha. “We stay overnight in Chicago?”
“My practice isn’t until noon tomorrow so we could if you’d like. I made two reservations and have the keys, just to make certain you’re comfortable. I arranged for a toothbrush and all the girly stuff you might need including jammies and some top-notch sweats for tomorrow.”
Her eyes lit up. “You got me my own room?”
“I know we’re doing the day-by-day thing and don’t want to cross any lines. While you know I’d volunteer to chew on glass to be as close to you as I can, I want to be a gentleman and not rush things.”
She raised her brows. “Oh, I don’t want a gentleman.”
That look in her eye started pushing my pulse up. “Is that right?”
She put her arms around my neck. “Nope, not tonight.”
“Whew because that was going to be a tough road to hoe with you in that dress. You’ll never know the images that have run through my mind over the past few hours. None of them gentlemanly.”
“Should we head to the Four Seasons?”
I immediately scooped her up, threw her over my shoulder, and started walking as she screamed with laughter. “Gabe! Shouldn’t we get in the car?”
“It’s a block away. I can beat a car right now.”
She slapped my ass, and I looked at her high heels in front of me, imagining her only wearing those. #dreamgirl.
Chapter 12
Just Living Life
