I glance at her, still trying not to stare. “You leftpuppiesfor me? I’m honored.”
“Mr. Cooper?—”
“Chase. Or Coop. Hell, you can call me anything you want, just, please, not Mr. Cooper.”
“Okay, Chase, I don’t know if you know this or not, but you’re kind of famous and you’re also kind of good looking. You’re also kind of rich. School teachers don’t get picked to accompany Hollywood hot shots to dinner.”
“Okay, fair points, but what if she’s a smoking hot teacher who looks absolutely stunning in my car?”
Whoa. That… almost sounded smooth. Shit, I might not fuck this up.
She laughs, and she doesn’t hold back. I doubt there’s a shy bone in this woman’s body and it makes me like her more. “Okay, let’s be real here before we get too many drinks in us. This isn’t going anywhere, and by this, I mean us. You want to show off your toys and your flashy suit that probably costs more than my car. The problem is, those things don’t mean a damn thing to me. I’m being nice to the generous—and gorgeous—man who bought me a fucking smart board.”
“Oh,” I reply, eyes on the road. Maybe Ishouldhave brought Pongo. No. No, I can do this. “So, if I burn the cars, the house, the suits, all of it, would that give me a fighting chance? Because I can get some lighter fluid while we’re out and get started with this suit.”
She laughs again and adjusts her skirt in a way that exposes more of her light brown thigh, turning my mouth into a desert.
“You okay, Chase?”
“How about a deal?” I spit out before I can think.
“A deal? Like a bet?”
“No, a deal. Tonight, we agree to be ourselves, have some fun, and enjoy the evening. See how it goes. If I’m a dud, you say so, and I’ll leave you alone. You won’t have to worry about me bothering you again. I promise.”
“What if I don’t think you’re a dud?” I catch her biting her lip out of the corner of my eye and I pray that I’m not a dud.
“If that happens, I’d like to take you out again in whatever capacity interests you.”
She stares at me as we pull into the driveway and up to the valet station. I should have circled the block a dozen more times so we could continue the conversation, but there’s no turning back now. Before I can open the door, there’s a knock on the window from the valet, Marco, who happens to be buddies with my brother. He waves me around back to a private lot. When we climb out, Marco takes the keys from me with a grin and I hand him two hockey tickets.
“Dev says hi. You should come by next week; I’ll be out of town, but he’s living at my place now and he’d love to see you.”
“Sweet, thanks, Coop. Go ahead inside. They know you’re coming.” He looks Ren up and down as she slides in next to me and he gives her a coy smirk. “Miss, if it don’t work out with Prince Charming, I can get you in here any night you want.”
“Seriously, Marco? I invited you to my house two seconds ago, and you’re already trying to take my girl?” I laugh and catch the pink spread over her cheeks when I call her my girl. I don’t want to scare her off, but I need her to know I’m serious about wanting to give this a shot. I hold out my elbow and she slips her arm through. It’s a little awkward and I have to lean down a bit, but we work it out.
“Yourgirl, huh?”
“A guy can hope, can’t he?”
“So what happens if the night ends and you realizeI’mthe dud?”
I hold the door open and she steps into the dark hallway, giving us a quiet moment together as our eyes adjust. We’re so close I can smell her perfume, and it smells like summer. Like warmth and sunflowers. I want to kiss her so damn badly.
“That isn’t possible.” I grin, reaching out and letting my finger trace down her necklace. “You’re an intoxicating person, Ren. You can’t hide that. Intelligent, bold, and absolutely breathtaking. You couldn’t be a dud if you tried.”
To my surprise, she pushes hard against my chest, backing me up to the wall. Grabbing my tie, she wraps it between her fingers, giving it a pull like a leash. Her rich, brown eyes stare up at me over her gold glasses and my knees are officially weak. I don’t think I’ve ever been this turned on in my whole life, but I’m also terrified I’ve said the wrong thing. I’m well aware that it’s fucked up to think about on our first semi-date, but I can’t help wondering how fun she must be in bed.
She leans in and I can’t stop staring at her lips as my heart pounds out of my chest. In a low, sultry voice, she says, “Well, you have yourself a deal. Let’s see where tonight takes us, eh, puppy?”
CHAPTER7
THE NIGHT WE MET
LORD HURON
Not havingmy phone for over four hours should drive me insane, but I’ve only thought about it when I wanted photos. It’s hard not to take pictures in this place. It’s a shame, too, because there’s been a few times I’ve caught our reflection in a mirror or picture frame and we look fucking sexy together. Even without the photos to prove it, I’m having the best time I’ve had in a long time. No one has ever taken me anywhere fancier than a damn Red Lobster. It doesn’t even count since my mother took me.
