An Instant Connection (Insta-Spark)

“Look, Mitchell—”

He interrupted me. “Mitch. My friends call me Mitch.”

I sighed and tried again. “Look, Mitchell, I appreciate the offer, but the bottom line is you’re still a stranger. I don’t know you, or anything about you. I can’t simply go to dinner with you because you asked.”

He tilted his head and studied me. Once again, the light caught his coppery curls, and I had to stop myself from reaching out and seeing if they were as soft as they looked. I had a feeling he’d like that and use it to his advantage.

“That’s the point of a date, I think,” he stated. “To get to know each other.”

“Now it’s a date?”

“It is? Awesome!”

I started to laugh. “Stop twisting my words around. I don’t know you. I am not going out to dinner with you.”

“It’s time to move on to number three of my plan. The big guns.”

“Which is?”

He held out his phone. “References.”

I stared at the screen.

My son Mitchell is a gentleman. He will behave or face my wrath. Enjoy your dinner!

I gaped at him. “Your mother?”

He tapped the screen. “There’s more.”

I glanced down.

My big brother is a pain, but the sweetest guy you’ll ever meet. Text me if you want more deets. 555-123-4567 - Kris

I began to laugh. He tapped the screen again.

Mitch Emerson is an upstanding citizen and one hell of a golfer. That’s really all I can say about him without incriminating myself. Oh, he has great taste in wine. - Sincerely, Joseph Talbot

I looked up, one eyebrow raised.

“My best friend,” he explained. “I can give you all their cell phone numbers or I have my boss on speed dial. He’d vouch for me.”

“Why?” I asked. “Why are you going to all this trouble?”

His expression turned serious. “I saw you come around the corner and all I could think about was getting to meet you.”

I shook my head in confusion. “Again, why?”

“You want honest?”

“Yes, I like honest.”

“I thought you were the prettiest woman I had ever seen. Then I saw you help that lady, which meant you were also kind. I found your whistle extremely sexy. And I love your legs. They really do it for me. Roll all that together, and I liked the package.” He sucked in a deep breath and paused. “So, Amanda, I was hoping maybe you liked my package and would have dinner with me.”

I burst out laughing at his words. He had the grace to look ashamed, even if his eyes were dancing with mirth.

“Do you, Amanda? Do you like the looks of my package?”

I couldn’t resist. I didn’t want to. Persistent, annoying, and sexy as hell. Plus, he thought I was sexy and he liked my legs. Two firsts for me.