“I’m amazing,” she mewls with a devilish spark to her eye. “Now, Mr. Cooke, are you ready to go again? Because I know I am.”
Oh shit. The party going on downstairs is waiting for me, and I know I should pull on my pants and make an exit. Yet I don’t care about any of that because Ginny Malone has reappeared in my life, and everything’s just changed for the better.
8
GINNY
One week later.
I need to invest in some slightly less revealing clothing asap. Then again, to be fair, I think my outfit is appropriate for the setting because Jeremiah’s invited me to a bar in Finlandia to get to know one another. I’m wearing a dark denim mini skirt and a tiny black tank top, which isn’t anything too out of the ordinary.
But the problem is my date. When I step into the bar, I see that Jeremiah’s wearing a suit that makes him look like a million bucks, so I can’t help but feel a little underdressed. Okay, it’s more than underdressed. It’s that he’s so gorgeous that maybe people wonder why we’re even together. I mean, I’m complimented on my looks regularly, but this man is out of this world.
Yet Jeremiah seems to find me attractive.
“You’re beautiful, honey,” he growls when I approach. A big palm ghosts over my back, caressing the smooth skin there. “Fuck, I can’t keep my hands off you.”
“Thank you,” I murmur, suddenly feeling a little shy. “You look very handsome too.” I’m not exactly the demure type, but it’s hard not to turn into a blushing mess around this man. He’s so charming and charismatic and seems to draw a crowd wherever he goes. Literally, even children and animals see Jeremiah and want to follow along. It’s crazy.
He grins, flashing that bright white smile.
“Thanks. You know, I was a little worried that I might have overdressed,” he chuckles, straightening his collar before loosening his tie a little. “I’m just so used to throwing on a suit every time I go out these days that I completely forgot about being a little more casual. Sorry about that.”
“Oh, that’s okay!” I exclaim. “You really look great, and I can see why wearing a suit must have become a habit for you, being a politician and all. Which begs the question…” I bite my lip as I contemplate my next words carefully. After all, the whole reason we’re even on this date is so that we can get to know each other better. That’s what people do on dates, right? So it’s only normal for me to ask questions, but I wonder if I should be a little more soft-touch. Or should I rip the bandage off now and throw my burning queries out there?
Most ladies would play it safe, I know. They’d ask Jeremiah the basic getting-to-know-you questions like, ‘what’s your favorite color?’ ‘what’s your favorite food?’ and ‘tell me about your childhood.’ That kind of thing. But where’s the fun in that? Besides, we got off to such an untraditional start that maybe I should just go ahead and ask.
“So actually, I wanted to throw something out there,” I murmur again while shooting him a wry smile.
“Ah,” the handsome man nods. “Are you interested in politics?”
“Not particularly,” I laugh before coughing and clearing my throat. “I mean—no offense! I’m not not into them, I just—”
“No, it’s okay,” Jeremiah chuckles. “Politics aren’t everyone’s thing, and that’s totally fine. The world would be a worse place is everyone was into this kind of drama, if I say so myself. So, what did you want to ask about then?”
“Well,” I murmur, trying to calm myself down. God, what is wrong with me? I don’t usually get so nervous when talking to men, mostly because I don’t actually care what they think of me. More often than not, the men I talk to only want one thing from me anyway, and I only want one thing from them too. Plus, that one thing is definitely not conversation.
In fact, if I really think about it, this is the first time in years that I’ve sat down to have an actual conversation with a man. Does that make me a bad person? I guess I’m the kind of girl who lives life on her own terms, and dating and the whole she-bang wasn’t really my thing. I had my life on the road and I was good with hook-ups at random bars and clubs. In fact, this may be the first time in years that I’ve been on an actual date where we get to know one another. Prior to this moment, I never dwelled on that fact, but now, I’m kind of freaking out. I’ll have to unpack my feelings about this later, but for now, I should focus on trying not to seem frazzled. I bite my lip and shoot Jeremiah a look from under my lashes.