Tossed Into Love (Fluke My Life 3)

“Uh . . . thanks,” I repeat.

He shakes his head, smiling.

Hearing someone clear their throat, I look to the right and see Miss Ina and my mom waiting just inside of Miss Ina’s apartment. They’re both watching Antonio and me with completely opposite looks on their faces. Mom looks like she’s watching a real-life movie star leading his woman down the red carpet at a Hollywood event, and Miss Ina looks like she’s wishing she could rush across the space, snatch me from Antonio, take me into her apartment, and strap a chastity belt around me before throwing away the key.

“Have fun tonight, guys!” Mom calls out.

I fight the urge to roll my eyes at the overly chipper sound of her voice.

“Not too much fun, Libby Reed!” Miss Ina says.

Her eyes go to Antonio and narrow with a scary-old-lady look. Clearly, she would melt him into a puddle if she had that ability.

“Bye! Have a good dinner tonight.”

I wave at them over my shoulder while I tug hard on Antonio’s hand to get him to hurry up. I’ve already had to deal with him and my mom being in the same space—I don’t want to know what Miss Ina might say if she has a chance to talk to him.

“In a hurry?” he asks, chuckling.

When we make it outside, I look up at him once. I notice that, even in my heels, he’s still much, much taller than I am.

“You met my mom.”

“I did.” He smiles.

“That was bad—but not as bad as it could have been. Mom was on her best behavior.”

“All right.” His brows pull together slightly.

“Miss Ina is a wild card. If we had stopped to talk to her, she’d probably have demanded to chaperone dinner tonight—just so she can make sure I keep my virtue intact.”

“I see.”

His eyes change. Not in a bad way, but in a way that I don’t exactly understand—until he turns toward me, rests his hands on my waist, and pulls our hips closer together.

“Your virtue is safe tonight,” he says in a deep voice that makes my toes curl.

“I . . . Okay.” I swallow.

“After tonight, all bets are off,” he growls.

I feel the vibration of those words skim over me like thick honey.

Oh my god.

My knees actually get weak, so I grab on to his jacket to keep standing upright.

“Antonio . . . ,” I breathe.

“Fair warning.” He bends his head and kisses the tip of my nose, then stands back and sticks out his arm into the street. A cab pulls up after half a second, and he opens the door and helps me in, then gets in with me.

I listen to him give the driver the address to the restaurant, and my eyes widen slightly. It’s the same place where I had dinner with Walter.

“You okay?” he asks, pulling my attention to him.

“Fine.” I try to smile at him, but his eyes narrow on my mouth.

“What is it?”

“Nothing.” I keep my weird, awkward smile in place while I lace my fingers together in my lap to keep from twisting my hair.

“Have you been to Keens before?”

“I . . . Yes.”

“Did that guy take you there?”

Staring at him, I wonder if I should lie about it. Then I figure I probably shouldn’t.

“Yes . . . ?” I answer quietly, my admission sounding more like a question.

The muscles in his jaw jump, and he turns his head to look out the window. Leaning toward him, I rest my hand on his thigh. I try to ignore exactly how hard it feels under my palm. It takes a second for his eyes to come back to me, but when they do, I speak quietly.

“I kept thinking about you when I was at dinner with him,” I admit for some stupid reason.

His eyes flare with surprise.

“I . . . I knew even before dinner was over that there would never be another date with him, no matter how nice he was. For some stupid reason, I’ve had a crush on you forever.”

“What?” he whispers.

I wonder why the hell I just told him that, and why I didn’t keep my big mouth shut—at least about the whole crush thing.

“Have a good night. I’m going to jump out of the cab into traffic now,” I whisper back.

I start to look away, but before I can, his hand wraps around the side of my neck. Next, his fingers slide up into my hair, twisting it. Tingles shoot across my scalp as his mouth crashes down on mine. I gasp in surprise as his tongue thrusts between my parted lips and the familiar taste of him explodes on my tongue. Needing to keep myself here on Earth and not floating away, I clench my fingers into his sweater. I kiss him back, enjoy hearing him rumble when my tongue touches his.