“You got the job!” I wrap him up in a hug. And before I know it, we’re kissing. Unfortunately, I’m also crying. Dabbing at the tears with tissues I placed in my purse in case this exact scene played out, I say, “Sorry.” I then blink back the rest of the rogue tears. “This is a happy cry, I promise. I was so sure that I’d ruined your life back then. But everything’s turning around.”
Brad leans down and kisses me. It’s soft and sweet rather than passionate. “The only way you could ever ruin my life is by not being in it.”
A hiccup of barely contained emotion is all that I allow to get through my defenses, even though it’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me. Hoping to change the subject, I ask, “So the interview went well?”
“You’re looking at the new sys admin for Vector Inc. I’ll be heading up a team of twenty to start with. It’s double the salary I would have gotten at the job I lost the day we met. Plus, the dress code officially states I can wear jeans to work!”
I shake my head at this and look him up and down. “Shame. I like this look.”
“Enjoy it. After tonight, this thing goes in the closet and the jeans come out.”
I stand up on my tiptoes and kiss his earlobe. Then I whisper, “Even if seeing you in a suit turns me on?”
Brad’s breath catches for a moment before he says resolutely, “The suit stays.”
It’s not until we’re on the road that I realize how strange this all is. The last time we were driving anywhere together, it was our escape from Trevor. The roads seem calmer now. That might be because Brad’s actually following the speed limits this time around, but the whole atmosphere is calmer too.
Then again, maybe it’s just me who’s more comfortable. And to be comfortable with any man after how Trevor treated me is a miracle. But when we hit the highway, instead of heading downtown to the restaurant we talked about on the phone, we’re driving the opposite direction. A moment of fear jumps up my throat before I remember this is Brad, not Trevor.
But when the coastline comes into view, I can’t help but chew at my lips. Is he really bringing me back to where I was nearly assaulted and then had to watch as he got arrested? He can’t possibly imagine that would be a good site for a date, can he?
Thankfully, we blow past the exit that would have placed us back in that empty tourist town. I breathe a sigh of relief and look over to Brad. He’s trying to hide his excitement, but his nostrils flare in this cute way when he notices me staring sidelong at him.
“Where exactly are you taking me?”
His only answer is a wide smile.
Chapter 12
Brad
“How did you ever find out about this place?”
“Like it?” I ask after swallowing the last bite of steak.
“It’s amazing.”
I went all out this time, splurging on a five-star resort. We’re eating out by the poolside, the lights from inside the water bouncing shadows across our faces and the backside of the hotel. Just beyond the patio is the ocean lapping at the tranquil shores. There’s some kind of soft, melodic music that seems to come from everywhere.
After three courses, red wine, and finally champagne served with a slice of cheesecake better than any I’ve ever tasted in my life, we’ve come to the next step in our schedule. The one I haven’t mentioned, but I hope she’s been smart enough to figure out.
“So, should we take a stroll on the beach before heading home?” she asks and begins to get up from the table. In a flash, I can see this whole night ending with me dropping her back at her house. My imagination tortures me further by imagining that she won’t return my goodnight kiss. She won’t invite me in. We’ll grow distant and months and months from now, I’ll realize we haven’t spoken in weeks.
“Actually,” I say, drawing the word out as I think of how to propose what I’ve been planning all along. “It’s a pretty long drive home. And I’ve actually got a room booked. I didn’t want to assume, or anything, but—”
Kate leans over the table and kisses me. It’s not a friendly peck on the cheek, but a quick, passionate touch on the lips that promises more to come.
“I’m just teasing you. But you should have seen your face.”
I breathe cartoonishly out of my mouth like I’ve just narrowly avoided a nasty death. “You should go into professional poker or something. You’ve got a killer straight face.”
She takes my hand and leads me towards the beach. “Still,” she says. “I’d love a little stroll before we take this upstairs.”
The sand is cool under our toes. The ocean freezing. But the company is warm, and soon heats up wh
en I hold her waist as we stare out at the moon hanging over the horizon. I’m not sure who pulls who in first for the kiss that ends with us wrapped around each other, but it’s definitely Kate who pulls away first. But it’s only to take my hand and literally drag me back up the beach and into the hotel to wait at the elevator with tapping feet and biting lips.
When it arrives and we step on, we’re alone. And that’s all the invitation I need to throw myself back at her. My hands slide up the back of her shirt, and Kate licks at my earlobe again while standing on her tiptoes. When the elevator dings and opens on our floor, we no longer have the focus to put on an act like we did when coming up through the lobby seconds earlier. We alternate between passionate embraces, kisses that elicit moans, and pulling the other down the hall.