Five First Dates (Sassy in the City 2)

She was so outraged by her date, she didn’t even reprimand me for swearing in front of the baby. “Yes, I’m sure he is talking about me. I guess it was an accident, but that was enough for me. I left. Maybe it wasn’t an accident. I don’t know.”

“You are the last person in the world I would call that,” I said, remembering to avoid swearing. “I’m glad you left, though I’m tempted to go punch him in the face.”

“What a waste of a tight dress,” Savannah said, holding on to the arm of the couch and ripping her heels off. She tossed them in the direction of the rug by the door.

It would have been a total waste of an outfit, except I definitely appreciated it. Her legs were a mile long, showing lots of creamy fair skin, and she had on full makeup. “It is a cute outfit,” I told her. Even now, my eyes were going straight to her chest. I couldn’t help it. There was too much skin not to look.

Savannah gave a little laugh. “Cute?”

“I’m trying to be supportive but not hit on you,” I said. “And G-rated for the kid’s ears.”

She gave me a funny look but didn’t comment. “I’m starving. I had one stupid piece of calamari.”

“Let me fix you something to eat,” I said, peeling myself off the floor with an eye on Sully to make sure he hadn’t somehow miraculously in the last thirty seconds shoved something in his mouth he shouldn’t. Babies are quick.

Savannah eyed me. “That’s a sweet thought, but you don’t cook.”

I’d been living with her for almost two weeks, and she was right. She’d yet to see me cook. I had a protein shake in the morning, ate on set at the shop during the day, then I’d be back to her apartment to find she’d already made dinner for the two of us. “How do you know I don’t cook?” I asked. “I have hidden talents you know nothing about.”

She shrugged out of her long coat and hung it on the hooks by the door. “Oh, really? You’re a master chef? Okay, then I’m sorry.”

I strolled past her toward the kitchen and gave her a slow smile. “No need to apologize. I do have many hidden talents.”

She heard the tone in my voice. For a second I thought she was going to reprimand me for hinting at something dirty but she didn’t. So I said, “But truthfully, cooking isn’t one of those talents, hidden or otherwise.”

Her jaw dropped and she smacked my arm. “Maddox! You con. What on earth were you planning to make for me, then?”

“You have a cauliflower pizza in the freezer. I can turn on the oven, take it out of the box, put it on a tray, and put it in the oven. I can even take it out of the oven and use the pizza slicer to cut it in absolute perfect slices for you.”

She shook her head and laughed. “What skill you have. It sounds perfect.” She flopped on the couch. “Rage doesn’t come easily to me. I’m exhausted from being angry with Yates.”

“Whose date pick was this?” I asked, as I went into the kitchen. “I can’t remember what you said.”

I’d been following Jana’s advice and being the friend who just listened as Savannah texted and DM’d with all these guys her friends were setting her up with. This tool was the first. I was pissed she’d been insulted by him, but I was selfishly glad it had gone down the way it had. It would suck if she’d come home dreamy and excited.

“This was Leah’s pick. It was her boyfriend’s cousin. I don’t understand. Grant is a nice guy, but his cousin was a nightmare.”

“Isn’t he rich?” I asked as I pulled the box out of the freezer. “He could be that guy who just says whatever the hell he wants and gets away with it because he has money.”

“Clearly. I mean, he didn’t even seem to think it was a big deal. He acted like I was insane when I basically said it wasn’t nice to insult the waitress’s looks.”

I turned on the oven and returned to the l

iving room. I scooped up Sully and sat down next to her. I plopped the little guy between us. “At least he showed his ass up front. You didn’t really waste much time.”

“That’s true.” She sighed. “Dating is hard.” Then she laughed. “The really stupid part? He kept checking his Apple watch to see what his heartrate was. When I asked him why, he said he was trying to see if he was attracted to me or not. That if he was, he would have an elevated heart rate.”

I stared at her, uncomprehending. “What? That makes no sense. Wouldn’t he just know if he’s attracted to you or not?” The way I did. The way I looked at her and felt my cock harden. The way I wanted to peel her out of that tight dress and kiss down her body until I was burying my tongue inside her, tasting her as she moaned for me.

That’s what I knew.

“Apparently, I’m a woman who has a man on the fence.”

That seriously irritated me. “No, you’re not. That guy is just a tool. That’s a power move. He was trying to rattle you, get you to work harder to impress him.” Which really made me want to punch him. “I’m glad you got out of there.”

Savannah looked startled. “Really? Do you think so?”

“Yes. No one doesn’t know if they’re hot for someone or not. Come on. That’s effing stupid. He was just messing with you, playing hard to get to switch the balance of power. If I had to guess, his goal was sex on the first date.”