“Yeah.” I laughed awkwardly, only alittleless self-conscious. “Um…sorry about that.”
He shrugged, pulling his foot up behind him to stretch his leg. “No worries. You don’t owe me an explanation. But it’s nice to see you. Thanks for…waving.”
How did he manage to make something as innocent as waving sound dirty?
Or maybe it was just me.
I couldn’t stop staring at him, and then looking away before he could realize what I was doing. It wasn’t my fault. No one should be that gorgeous. Except on my second or third look, I noticed that he wasn’t quite as put-together as he’d looked at the bar last week. It was hard to tell if it was simply because he’d been running a lot, but I somehow got the impression he was a bit more haggard than usual, like he wasn’t getting much sleep.
A twinge of something that wasn’t lust went through me.
“Nice evening for a run,” I said, feeling like an idiot even as I said it. Considering how…familiar we’d been with each other less than a week ago, it seemed silly that I couldn’t figure out a way to talk to him.
Or, maybe, that wasexactlywhy it was so difficult. We hadn’t exactly done much in the way of talking before.
“It is,” Alec agreed. “I was just taking some air, judging the distance between my place and…” He glanced behind me, then scratched the back of his head, a strange half-smile on his face. “Well, seeing if I’ve slowed down over the years, I suppose.”
I almost laughed. He didn’t look like he’d slowed down since puberty, and I doubted he’d be slowing down any time soon.
Not that I could tell him that.
“I’d be running if I wasn’t in heels and a skirt,” I said.
Why did I keep blurting out inane comments? I was an intelligent woman. I had a college degree.
And one look at those bright blue eyes and I was reduced to idiocy.
“I suppose heels would make running a wee bit of a challenge,” Alec agreed with a smile. “You make them look good, though.”
“Don’t you mean they make me look good?”
The humor in his eyes turned heated. “I said exactly what I meant. Take the compliment, lass.”
Damn, that accent… “Thanks. You too. Um. I mean, you look good too.”
“Despite all the sweat?”
I laughed as I nodded. What was it about this man that made my insides turn to jelly?
He laughed with me, the sound taking me back to that night at MacLean’s when we’d been flirting and dancing, but when his eyes met mine, they were serious.
“We must keep running into each other for a reason.”
I didn’t tell him I’d just been thinking the exact same thing.
“Would you like to go out Saturday night?” he asked.
My heart leaped into my throat, and I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.
He waited, his expression unreadable. Maybe it was just because he looked tired, but I felt like he genuinely hoped I’d say yes. I wanted to say yes. So much. But…
“A date,” I stammered. “Uh, it’s just–”
“Not…” Alec began, then shook his head. “I mean, a date, sure, but nothing serious. You know? Dinner and drinks. Fun.”
That three-letter word implied another three-letter word. One that’d been on my mind from the moment I’d taken his jacket that first night, even if I hadn’t wanted to admit it then. When he’d asked me for a happy ending, I’d reacted so strongly because a part of me had been tempted. Then when we’d been in his car, I’d been tempted again, but fear had won out. Now, I’d had time to regret what I hadn’t done, and I wasn’t scared anymore.
No more pretending that I didn’t want him. I’d been given another chance, and I wasn’t going to waste it.
