Snipping Up Love (Insta Love Shy Girl Romance 5)

He gave my hand a squeeze. “I can see that you’re being honest with me, obviously, little one. But I just can’t believe you. How could you not have been hounded by men?”

I felt myself blushing but tried to stop it. “I’m from a small town where everybody knew everyone’s business. I wasn’t interested in anyone there. I don’t think any of those guys were interested in me, either.”

Dan shook his head. “Then they were blind, baby.”

He leaned in to nuzzle my throat, kissing in a slow line up to my ear, pushing my earring out of the way with his nose as I giggled. “Katy, you are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.”

I wanted to tell him that he was absolutely nuts, but there was something in his expression that I didn’t dare disagree with. Then he released my hand, slipping his hand under my skirt to rest on my knee. His fingertips trailed in tiny circles along my inner thigh, and my breath immediately became unsteady.

“You’re so sexy,” he murmured, patting my knee and returning his hand to the table.

Our food arrived, and it was sweet how he instantly wanted to share everything.

“So, Dan, what is it that you do?” I asked.

He took a sip of his water before answering. “Most of the time it’s pretty bor

ing corporate stuff, actually.”

“Then what do you do for fun? What are you really into?”

His eyes lit up. “A new division has been working on some education software that’s really promising. It’s not going to make very much money, but I actually don’t care. We want to create more of a sharing environment across school systems, so that books can be more readily available, while still paying the authors fairly.” He stopped suddenly. “But that’s probably not very interesting to you.”

“Of course it is.” I reached out to set my hand on his arm. “I want to hear about all of the little things. What’s the most interesting thing that happened at work today for you?”

“I thought about you all day long,” he said gently, picking up my hand and kissing the back of it slowly. “I pictured your gorgeous face, your sweet smile, and I wondered if there was any way I could talk you into taking me home with you tonight.”

I realized my mouth was hanging open for a split second and snapped it shut. “I sort of… Haven’t thought that far ahead yet,” I stammered.

“Something to think about then. So, what was the most interesting thing that happened to you at work today?”

I nodded, trying to focus. “It was pretty steady. The walk-ins all seemed happy with my work. I likely won’t see them again for six weeks, so it’s going to take some time to get my own appointments. But things are looking up, I hope.”

“That’s great,” he said brightly. “I have to say, Katy, I don’t know a thing about hairstyling, but the cut you gave me seemed very precise. It was exactly what I asked for.”

“Good,” I grinned. “It makes me incredibly happy when people walk out of the shop with the haircut they wanted.”

“You also made me very happy when you agreed to have dinner with me,” he chuckled. “But I hope you don’t do that with too many of your customers.”

“No, just every single one of the men,” I said saucily while shooting him a dramatic wink.

He leaned in for a kiss, surprising me. His arm slid around me, and I gasped as he pulled us together. The seductive way his lips moved against mine made me shiver, and I was pretty sure he felt it.

“I want you,” Dan said simply. “Take me home and show me your new apartment.”

“Okay.”

There’s nothing else I could possibly say. He was so confident, or cocky, or demanding – I wasn’t even sure. Yet I wanted him so badly I could feel my thighs rubbing together, my breath hitching in my chest. I didn’t know what he expected, but I had this overwhelming urge to give him every single thing he wanted. Even... things I wasn’t quite sure about yet. Maybe.

He paid our bill quickly, and I noticed that he left a rather extravagant tip. “Thank you very much for dinner,” I said.

Dan leaned in to kiss me gently. “I want to give you everything I can, precious.”

Something in the way he said that made my stomach flip. “Hey,” I suddenly thought to ask, “Have you been coming to my salon for a long time?”

An odd grin fluttered across his lips. “For about a year now.”

“Why? I mean, the barber side isn’t that well known.”