He cocked his head to the side, and the corner of his mouth curved into the most attractive smile I’dever witnessed. “Considering you’d be my new boss, that’s a tempting offer.”
Before I could reply, Percy shoved his way out of the car, knocking me into Zane. “Sorry about that,” I said with his hot hands holding onto my waist.
“Why?” His deep voice rumbled through my body as his gaze traveled from my eyes to my lips, and back again.
I swallowed hard, reading Zane’s mind. He wanted to kiss me. Could he read mine? I hoped he could. Every nerve ending in my body tingled as my heart pumped a little faster with each shallow breath I took. Suddenly, none of my worries mattered anymore. I wanted to receive that kiss just as badly as he wanted to give it.
His fingers pressed into the hollows of my waist, holding me in place. But the joke was on him because there was no place I’d rather be. I moistened my lips and allowed my lids to flutter closed. My last view was Zane bringing his kissable lips slowly closer to mine.
His thick forearms flexed when I rested my hands on them. If I was about to be kissed by this man, I’d need something to hold on to in case my knees gave out. Tension in my body built to a fevered pitch as I awaited the moment his lips would touch mine.
Who was I?
Never in my life had I kissed a man before the third date. Yet, here I was, standing in the street next to my hardly parked car, ready to lock lips with a man I’d never dated even once. Time slowed to a crawl, allowing me a moment to justify my desires.
Maybe thiswasour third date. Spitting that awful cupcake into the trash was passable first date material. Then we met at the game last night. Sporting events made for great dates. Sure, we didn’t sit together, but he was there. I was there. Second date achieved.
What was happening right then couldn’t be called anything but a third date, right? We’dchatted. He’d made me laugh. We were about to spend the day in a gorgeous park. And now? Now we were ready to kiss.
Okay, so our first series of dates was a stretch, to put it mildly. I didn’t buy it, but that didn’t keep me from tilting my chin up in preparation for the magical moment when his lips would meet mine.
“Oof!” Zane’s body pulled back.
My eyes shot open only to see him hunch over and take another step back with Percy’s monumental snout shoved into his gut. “Percy, back up.” I tugged on his leash to no avail. “Percy!”
Zane patted Percy’s head. “It’s okay. I think he remembers where I kept the beef jerky yesterday. He’s just asking for another bite.”
“He’salwaysasking for another bite of something.” I got Percy’s attention and led him to the sidewalk.
“Where’re you going?” Zane asked.
“I’m going to hook his leash to this tree so I can park this car right.” I knelt down to secure his leash and clenchedmy jaw in frustration. Percy panted in his happy-go-lucky way, his bright eyes taking in the sights around us. He had no idea what he’d just done. To be honest, I didn’t understand the full impact of having that kiss interrupted either. “That was either the single worst thing you’ve ever done, or it was the best, Lord Percival.” I ruffled the fur behind his ear and gave him a peck on the top of his head. “Thanks for having my back, buddy,” I whispered.
By the time I finished with Percy’s leash and turned back to my car, it was perfectly parked, and Zane was stepping out of the driver’s seat. He locked the doors and made his way to the curb to admire his parking skills. He tossed me the keys. “This one’s on the house, but next time it’s going to cost you.”
“You keep talking about next times,” I said, crossing my arms. “Sometimes one chance is all we get.”
“Not in my world,” Zane said. “There’s always anothershot to take.”
“Until the last buzzer goes off.”
He shrugged. “The buzzer doesn’t mean I’m out of shots. All it means is that I’ve got time to come up with a whole new game plan.”
I stepped up to him, trying my best to read him. Our banter was light and flirty, but we both seemed to be communicating on a much deeper level at the same time. “Life isn’t a game, though.”
“No, but games are good practice for life.” His voice dropped an octave. “They teach a man to go after what he wants and never give up.”
And what is it that you want?
The question was on the tip of my tongue, but I was too scared of the answer to ask it.
A loud voice cut through the air. “Be careful letting that one behind the wheel.” I looked in the direction of the voice and saw a middle-aged man with an appalling comb-over walking toward us. “He likes to move fast… in more ways than one.”
His overly exaggerated wink and accompanying belly-laugh soured my stomach.
“Hey, Uncle Bob,” Zane deadpanned.
“Good game last night, Zane,” he said, slapping Zane on the shoulder as he walked by. “You gotta watch those elbows, though. If one of the zebras had seen all the elbows you threw, you’d have been in the penalty box half the night. You’ve got to do better.”
