The future I wanted, maybe even the one I deserved.
That thought propelled my feet forward, encased in a sexy pair of wedge espadrilles, first to the liquor store for a bottle of his favorite rum, and then on to the man himself.
My heart thudded against my chest, my hand trembled as I rang the doorbell and waited for what felt like an eternity before I was greeted by his shocked and smiling face. “Hey,” I said, doing my best to sound casual.
Antonio’s dark gaze was like a lover’s caress as it raked up and down the length of my body. Three times. His lips pulled into a slow grin, his brown eyes full of heat. “Hey, yourself. You look beautiful.”
“This old thing?” I laughed flirtatiously and swung the hem of the dress back and forth. “Thank you, Antonio.”
“No, thank you, Augusta. That’s just the amount of leg I was hoping for. To start.” He whispered the last part in my ear as he tugged me inside the house.
As soon as he closed the door behind me, the most delicious smells made their way to me and I inhaled deeply. “It smells amazing in here. No surprise there,” I added with a grin just for him.
Antonio staggered back with a wide-eyed expression. “A compliment? Maybe my horoscope was right for a change.”
I blinked at his words. “You read horoscopes?”
“No. Never,” he scoffed. “But today I made one up just for myself. It said a very beautiful woman would finally compliment me, and see? It came true.” He winked and clasped our hands together, tugging me through the house and to the place where all the food smells lived.
“Finally? I subscribe to your channel and I always compliment your food. I think you have a selective memory.” When I looked up at him, Antonio’s focus was on my cleavage.
He blinked and tried for an innocent expression. “Sorry, what was the question?”
I rolled my eyes and he laughed. “You,” I pointed and he only laughed harder.
“I’m right here,” he replied with a smile and stepped closer to wrap his arms around my waist. “And you look gorgeous, Augusta. You smell good enough to eat,” he growled. “But that’s for later. Hopefully.”
My body shook with need, desire burning up my veins until my temperature rose a few degrees. “What is all this, Antonio?”
He brushed a gentle, slow burn kiss against my lips. It could have lasted only a few seconds or maybe a few weeks, and I did just what Megan said I should. I leaned into it. My chest pressed against his, my hands slid around his waist and down to his fantastically tight ass, pulling a groan from him. Antonio pulled back too soon. “Some people call it dinner.”
I blinked in an effort to catch up to the conversation. Dinner. Right. I looked around the kitchen and noticed the table contained a romantic dinner setting for two, complete with a single rose and small tea candle for ambience. My shoulders fell when I realized what this was.
Work.
He was filming.
I shook off the disappointment and pasted a smile on my face. “What’s on the menu?”
“It’s all a surprise,” he answered vaguely, a proud smile on his face. “What did you bring?” He nodded toward the paper bag on the table.
“Open it up.”
He did and smiled at the rum inside. “Cocktails?”
“Sure, I could go for a cocktail.” I licked my lips and finally took in the sight of him. Antonio was the same man he always was, only tonight his gray jeans were accompanied by a short-sleeve black button up that still showed off his beautiful tattoos. Instead of his motorcycle boots, his feet were bare and he smelled like leather and sandalwood. And food. “You dressed up.”
Surprise lit his face and he nodded. “I did. Just for you. Like it?”
I nodded. “A lot. Grown up bad boy.”
He licked his lips and smacked the top onto the cocktail shaker, keeping his heated gaze on mine while he shook the silver vessel, tension heavy in the air between us. “The bad boy thing is just a marketing tool, you know.”
“I do know.”
“Good,” he practically growled and filled two coupe glasses before handing one to me. “I wasn’t sure if you would show up.”
“Me either,” I admitted. “But I decided that it was time to go after what I wanted.”
“Me?”
I nodded. “You.”
He smiled and held his glass up. “To finally grabbing the bull by the balls.”
His words surprised a laugh out of me. “Sure, I’ll drink to that.” I took a slow sip of the cocktail and let out a low hum of satisfaction. “That is delicious.”
“It’s called White Empress.”
“You’ll have to show me how to make it.” The air between us was thick with tension, but it would have to wait because he had a video to shoot.