“Yes. Embarrassing, right?”
“Actually, I think it’s kinda nice. Besides, Aspen is a lovely name and a fucking good ski resort. What are your brothers called?”
“London and Roman.”
“Fortunately, your mother never visited Twatt or Wetwang in her last trimester.”
I happened to be mid sip of my water when he said this and, of course, it went down the wrong way. At least a minute passed while I hacked up a lung and dried the tears from my cheeks.
When I recovered, I said, “You’re making that shit up.”
He raised his hands on either side of his head. “God’s honest truth. Twatt with a double T is in the Orkney Islands, and Wetwang is in Yorkshire.”
“Oh, my God.” I covered my mouth, my shoulders shaking with laughter. “I may just rename my brothers the next time they piss me off.”
“Please let me be there when you do.”
“An audience to maximize the impact? Even better.”
Our food arrived, and we settled into easy conversation. Joz had this way of making everything feel lighter despite the tragedy he’d had in his life. I didn’t have to try with him. There were no awkward silences or difficulty coming up with subjects to talk about. Granted, he still flirted outrageously, but the longer I spent with him, the more I realized this was just Joz being Joz. It was kind of endearing, actually. The interesting part was that he didn’t flirt with anyone else, only me. So, while he might be a self-confessed flirt, it wasn’t as though he sprinkled it around. He had this way of making me feel like the only womanhe saw, even though the restaurant was filled with attractive females.
Both of us declined dessert, but when I asked for the check, our server said it was taken care of.
“Penn,” I explained to Joz when he looked at me with a question in his eyes.
“That’s good of him.”
“He’s a good person.” I scooched out from the booth. “Shall we go?”
“The night is young.” He winked.
“For you, maybe. I’m a morning lark. Ten o’clock is already way past my bedtime, and we have to stop by your hotel first.”
“We’re stopping at my hotel, and you’re talking about bed? Christ, woman, at least pretend you’re trying to resist me.”
To hide the way my pulse jumped, I rolled my eyes and pretended to need something from my purse, giving me the perfect opportunity to look away from him.
“I’m not biting. My driver will take you to your hotel. You will go inside, then he will drive me to my home.”
“Spoilsport.”
Ignoring his shit-eating grin, I moved past him and walked outside. My driver was waiting in one of the VIP spaces, and as I approached, with Joz a foot or so behind me, he got out of the car and opened the rear door.
“Kingcaid Midtown, then home, please.”
Joz gave me a teasing nudge with his elbow. “Sure I can’t change your mind?”
“As you pointed out, as difficult as it is for me to resist you, I’m going to pass. But thank you for the offer.”
He chuckled while climbing into the car after me. “It’s an open offer. Any time, any place. Just say the word and I’ll make sure I warm your side of the bed before you arrive.”
“How benevolent of you.” I clipped my seat belt in place, then settled my head against the head rest. “And how interesting that you assumeI’llcome toyou. Believe me, that is not how this would happen.”
“Ah, so you agree it’s going to happen.”
“I never said that.”
“You and me, Aspen. We don’t need words. We have a connection.”
