“Shut up and eat your pizza, stalker.”
“Ah, the pet names. I knew you were falling for me.”
“Eat more, talk less.” They consumed three quarters of the pizza before speaking again.
He broke their silence. “I know how you like your pizza, that you prefer Italian to ranch dressing on your salad, and that you plan on ordering dessert because you have a sweet tooth.”
“Your point?” Marlie asked, staring at the dessert menu.
“What do you know about me?”
“That you like breasts, because you keep looking at mine.”
He didn’t feel an ounce of shame. “True. They’re very nice. And I haven’t even seen up close without clothes yet.”
“Hey, I didn’t get an eyeful either. Just a handful of you. Yowza.”
“Please. It was more like two handfuls. And that’s the truth, not a brag.”
“Yeah, yeah.” She finished off her beer. “So back to your question, I know you have parents who got in a car accident. That you have an older sister. And that you play hockey.”
“And?”
“And you seem to like bossy women.”
“You’re not bossy.”
She smiled. “True. I’m assertive.”
“No, you’re mean.”
She scowled. “I’m nice.”
“Said with a growl.” He chuckled. “Well? What do you want for dessert?”
“I can’t decide—and you’re not off the hook for that mean comment.” She studied her menu, the slight frown line between her eyes captivating. He wanted to kiss his way across it then down to her cheeks, and farther down to those sweet lips.
He had to force himself to stare at his menu and convince his dick to relax. “So are you thinking the crème Brule or the carrot cake?”
“Well, both, plus the cheesecake and flourless lava cake.”
He ended up ordering a sampler of the entire dessert menu.
They shared most of it, though Marlie threatened to stab his hand if he touched any more of the lava cake.
Through it all, Damon fell harder and harder for the woman. He knew it didn’t make a lick of sense. Surely his father had filled his head with nonsense. No one fell in love with a person they barely knew.
But Damon couldn’t help feeling a sense of connection.
“Oh my gosh that was good.” The woman had cleaned up the plate. Not that he hadn’t also partaken in the smaller servings of all the desserts. But damn. Marlie didn’t play.
“Want something else?”
“Yeah, to walk this off.”
“Good call.” He signaled the server for the bill.
Marlie crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back.
