“Nope. Not at all. ID please.”
He took out his driver’s license and threw it on the counter.
“Great.” She squinted her eyes and inspected every minute detail before handing it back to him. “Thank you. May I recommend a customer favorite?”
“Sure.” He retrieved his license with a sullen expression, likely realizing he didn’t have a chance in hell of picking her up.
Once she sent away the mildly embarrassed customer with a stellar brew, she patted herself on the back for a job well done.Situation handled. And because she was a bratty little sister, she arched an I-told-you-so eyebrow at Jack, flashing a cocky grin.
The rest of the evening passed in an uneventful but busy blur, but her phone had burned against her butt the entire night, refusing to be forgotten.Damn Seth with his handsome face and hard body.With only a few lingering customers left in the hall, she couldn’t resist anymore and pulled out her phone.
SETH:Ready for our second date?
Tara’s heart lodged itself in her throat before dropping down to her stomach.A date? Where he doesn’t have to keep his pants on?
TARA:Sure. Why not?
She was overheating. Why wasn’t he responding? It was past ten. Maybe he was asleep. She wanted to kick herself for not answering his text earlier. Full stop. Was she this desperate? Apparently.
When ellipses finally appeared on the screen, she squealed before she could stop herself.Bye-bye, self-respect.
SETH:Busy night at the brewery?
TARA:Weldon Brewery is always busy. Thank you very much.
SETH:I didn’t mean to text you while you were working. I just thought of you and didn’t notice the time.
Damn. That was too sweet.Sucker alert. Sucker alert. Had she forgotten that she was dealing with a player?Yes. Lately, she frequently forgot that he was. He didn’t fit neatly into the playboy category like she’d thought. He was much too kind. Much too considerate. She didn’t know how to feel about that.
TARA:Don’t worry about it. That’s what text messages are for. You text when you want, and I text back when I want.
SETH:Still, I won’t make a habit out of it. But now that I have you, is there something you particularly want to do for our second date?
Yes. I’d like to have sex. That was what she wanted to do on their date. There was no use denying it. She’d wanted him since he agreed to play the prince in the tower for a little girl at the park. No, maybe even sooner than that. Like the night of the wedding.How can I say that without making a complete fool of myself?
TARA:Can you ski?
SETH:Like James Bond.
TARA:Watch yourself now. The Ego is stirring.
SETH:Hahaha. So skiing?
TARA:Yeah. I have this weekend off and it’s the last week of ski season in Mammoth. We could leave early Saturday morning and come back Sunday evening.
She held her breath as the ellipses rolled and rolled on the screen.
SETH:Sounds fun. I’ll take care of the accommodations.
She wanted to clarify that he was to get only one room. With one bed. But that would sound like she was throwing herself at him. Besides, Seth wasn’t a naive virgin. A woman didn’t propose a weekend getaway to stay in two separate rooms.
TARA:Then I’ll get the lift tickets.
SETH:Awesome. More details to follow later. Good night.
TARA:Good night.
She was so excited about their date that she doubted she would get much sleep for the rest of the week. She could only hope that thoughts of their first night together would keep Seth up at night as well.
