He winks, totally oblivious to his comment, and I drop my head and smile.
Oh man, who was I kidding? I don’t like Henry Morgan.
He’s a twit.
Over the next four hours, I listen to Henry ramble on, and while he’s a great guy and a lovely friend, I’m feeling nothing.
Zero connection.
But I don’t think he’s feeling the same because he keeps kissing my hand and talking about the places he wants to take me when I get home.
Oh jeez, how do I get myself into these situations?
“I have to get going soon.” I smile. “I have an early shift in the morning.”
“A nightcap at my hotel first?” He smiles hopefully.
“Ah.” I frown. “I’m not…” I pause as I try to think of the perfect wording for my let down. “I’m not really ready for a nightcap, Henry.”
“Oh.” His face falls. “Really? I was totally feeling it.”
I giggle in surprise. “You were?”
“Totally.” He smiles playfully. “Wait till you kiss me goodbye. Then you’ll change your mind.”
“Oh, I will, will I?”
“Yeah.” He raises his hand to the waitress for the check. “You’ll be begging to be nightcapped by me.”
“Okay, let’s see what you’ve got.” I laugh as I play along.
Ten minutes later, we walk out of the restaurant and out onto the street. There’s a cab rank just outside, and we walk to it. He takes my hand in his and turns me toward him. He tucks a piece of my hair behind my ear as we stare at each other. I want to know if there is anything here. I need to know once and for all.
“Is this where you kiss me goodbye?” I ask.
He leans in and his lips slowly take mine. His hands rise to my face, and he kisses me deeper. A little tongue, a little angst, and a whole lot of nice.
He kisses me again, and my eyes close.
Okay, maybe we could work with this.
He kisses me again. “Come back to my hotel,” he whispers against my lips.
His words snap me out of the moment, and I come back to reality with a thud. “I can’t.”
I step back from him. He grabs my hand so I can’t totally escape and smiles over at me. “I’ll see you when you get back then?”
I nod.
He steps forward and kisses me again. It’s soft and tender, and his lips linger over mine.
“I have to go.” I turn and open the door of the closest cab, and he waves and then gets into the cab in front of me.
“Where to?” the cab driver asks as we wait for Henry’s cab to pull out.
“Forty-second, please.” I look out of the window, and straight into the stare of Nathan.
He’s standing against the wall, his hands in the pockets of his oversized coat.