She nods and waves and gives me that gorgeous smile again. I’m the king of the world. As I exit the store, I look right and see the toy store. Bob is inside, but he’s facing me, eyes so intense it gives me a shiver. “What the hell, dude?” I say softly.
I head down the escalator and out the front doors of the mall. Time to plan a date.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
DOGGONE IT, PEOPLE LIKE ME
There’snothing I can do to prepare for the date except run to the restroom and regroup. I’d love to splash my face with some cool water but Lauren would kill me if I messed up my make-up. It’s nearly five o’clock, and I’m so, so nervous. How did any of this even happen? One minute I’m wrapping his necklace, the next we’re kissing. Damn, that man can kiss. I take a deep breath to calm my nerves. If I can’t get myself under control, this date is going to be an epic fail on my part. A real shit show.
When I exit the mall restroom closest to the shop, I nearly run over Bobby. “Hey, MacKenzie. How are you doing tonight?”
“Oh, good. How are you? Did you have a good day at work?” I ask him distractedly.
“Yep. Sold that new Magic Car toy today.”
“Wow. Wasn’t that the really expensive one?”
“Yes. It’s twelve hundred dollars.”
“Who would spend that much on a toy?”
Bobby rears his head back and spits, “Lots of people. We carry the best toys you can buy.”
“Oh, I, um, I didn’t mean anything by that, Bobby. It’s just that’s serious money for someone on a budget.”Like me.
Bobby takes a breath and calms down. “Oh, sorry, MacKenzie. I know. They are expensive but well worth it.” He puts his hands in his front pockets. “So, do you have plans tonight?”
“No, not really. Just, um, getting ready to go home.”
“You want to go get a burger somewhere?”
“Maybe some other time, Bobby. I need to get home tonight.” Yeah, I’m lying to him, but he already asked me earlier today, and I told him no then. He’s getting more and more persistent.
“Oh, okay. I’ll see you Monday then. Bye, MacKenzie.” He turns to leave but turns back. “Be careful out there, MacKenzie. Be alert.”
“Uh, okay. Thanks. Bye, Bobby. Have a good night.” I watch him walk back toward his store.Be alert?Confused, I walk back to my store and see a tall blond hottie chatting with Diane. I smile at him as he turns to me. “Hi,” I squeak.
“Hey, MacKenzie. Ready to go?”
“Just need to grab my purse and coat.” Oh, crap, my coat. Oh well. I need Pops with me tonight. Courage. I grab my things from the back room and move toward him as he chats with my coworker. When I get there, his head is turned to me, but I can see Diane biting her palm. She mouths silently, “Oh. My. God.” I giggle. Sam is gorgeous in his dark jeans, blue button-down shirt, black boots, and leather jacket. As I get close to him, I can smell him, too. He smells like musk and hot-as-sin man. I want to lick him.
Shaking those dirty thoughts from my head, I hear him ask, “Ready?”
“Ready. Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.” He places his palm on my lower back, leading me out the door.
I turn and wave at Diane, who’s still smiling. I’m sure she’ll have a few questions for me the next time we work together. “Are my clothes okay for this secret place?”
“Of course. You look beautiful. Perfect.”
Perfect? Not possible. “Oh, okay.” We take the escalator down to street level. His hand is on my lower back until we get to the revolving doors. That’s when he takes my hand and pulls me into the same tiny wedge he’s in. My back is pressed up against his front. He looks down and smiles at me but says nothing.
Once we’ve spun out of the doors, we’re on the street. I lift my coat out of my arms and slide the old trench coat on. He says nothing about it. His hand returns to my lower back as he guides me to a parking garage just over a block from the mall. We still haven’t spoken since leaving the store. Taking the elevator up a few floors, we exit and walk toward a silver SUV. Not just any SUV, though. This one is sleek and shiny and expensive. The color resembles the platinum that I use in my jewelry. When we pass the back of the car, I see the symbol: BMW X5 M.
The doors chirp, and he reaches around me and opens my door. I slide in and take in the smell of leather and him. “Man, this car is amazing,” I whisper before he’s had a chance to get into the driver seat. When he does slide in, he looks at me and smiles. “Nice wheels,” I say nervously. Oh, jeez, that was a stupid thing to say. “The dashboard kind of looks like a cockpit of an airplane.”
“You like it?”
