“Sorry, I get carried away. My mom and sister tell me to slow my roll all the time.”
I felt a flash of trepidation. “You pick up a lot of women?”
He shook his head firmly. “No. I swear to God I am not a player. I just make decisions fast. Moving here, changing jobs, picking an apartment. Going after the prettiest woman who could stop a train with her whistle and sexy legs. That sort of thing.” He winked. “Especially, the pretty woman.”
I felt myself grow warm under his gaze.
He chuckled. “I really love your expressive face.” He sat back, but didn’t release my hand. “Surely, your previous boyfriends told you how incredibly pretty you are.”
I slid back my hand, ignoring the way his fingers flexed, trying to hold it to his.
“Not really.”
“Then they must have been blind. And totally stupid.”
I shook my head, surprised by his words once more. “You can’t say things like that. You don’t even know me.”
He smirked, draping his arm over the back of the booth. “The evening is young, Mandy. I plan to rectify that.”
“One night isn’t going to change anything.”
He shook his head, signaling for the waiter. “That, sweetheart, is where you’re wrong. One night is going to change everything.”
* * *
Mitch
The subdued light in the restaurant played off Mandy’s face, highlighting the curve of her cheeks. I wasn’t joking when I told her I had noticed her, the instant she came around the corner. Her bright red coat had caught my eye, and her long, shapely legs made me sit up straighter and take notice. Her dark brown hair swung freely around her shoulders, and she walked with a sexy, easy grace. When she put her fingers to her mouth and whistled, I was a goner. I was on my feet and headed toward her without another thought. Watching her fist bump the air when the woman caught her bus, made me grin. I was certain she didn’t even realize she had made the gesture. When she sat down and rubbed her calves, it was all I could do not to drop to my knees in front of her and offer to do it for her.
When I approached her and she lifted her face to mine, my breath caught. Big, mossy green eyes, creamy skin, and lips that were meant to be kissed—by me—greeted me. Her smile was killer, full and wide, even when she was telling me off. Her protests and vain attempts to ignore me only spurred me on. I wanted—needed—to spend some time with her. There was something about her that drew me in. I wanted to figure out what that something was, and once I had made up my mind, I never missed a goal.
And Amanda Clifford was now a huge goal.
On our walk to the restaurant, the feel of her nestled into my side was better than I had hoped. She fit there perfectly. She wasn’t a skinny woman that felt like a skeleton. She was curvy and sexy, and I liked how she molded to my body. If I turned my head to look at her, I caught a whiff of her shampoo—fruity and sweet. Or maybe it was her. I was good with either one. I wanted more of it.
After confirming she liked wine, I ordered a good bottle of red, and we studied the menu. I kept looking up, catching her staring back at me. Her gaze would drop, prompting me to grin. She felt it too. The intense chemistry that hit me the instant our eyes met. I wanted to explore it.
I wanted to explore her. Every single delectable inch of her.
“Anything look good to you?” she asked.
“Yes.”
She glanced up, her eyebrows lifted in question.
“Oh sorry, you meant the menu?”
She furrowed her brow. “What did you think I meant?”
I leaned closer over the table, smiling. “You. You look good to me.”
Her cheeks flooded, diffusing her skin with a flush of color that only heightened my attraction to her. She lifted the menu higher, hiding her face. I plucked the offending folder from her hands, setting it aside.
“I don’t like it when you hide. You are far too pretty for me not to look at.”
“I haven’t decided yet,” she objected.
“I have. We’re having the chef’s special menu.”