My cock twitched as I visualized sweet Peyton under me at my place, telling me she didn’t want to move back so quickly. I had four days to convince her that our kiss had not been a mistake, but instead, the beginning of something we both wanted to explore.Neither of us could know where it would lead without trying.
I walked Ray out and started up the Cayenne to get back to that elusive woman.Four days.
First things first, I dialed my friend Duke for advice.
“Hey, brother, what’s up?” he answered.
“Can you talk?” I knew he was on a bodyguard assignment with some Hollywood celebrity type.
“For a few minutes. They’re busy eating lunch and posing for selfies. I hate this shit.”
“The boss says it pays the bills. And they’re hot, so what’s the problem?”
“The problem is everything about them is fake, from their boobs to their brains. They’re in their twenties, but they act like they’re sixteen, talk like they’re twelve, and are dumber than eight-year-olds. Then after lunch, I have to drive them home so they can puke up everything they ate. The airheads are all about selfies and followers. I swear, if we have a baby girl, she will have zero, and I mean zero, access to social media.”
“Rough life you have.”
“Shut it. You called me.”
“I did. I don’t know the town. Where would you take a girl to dinner?”
He chuckled. “Does this girl have a name that begins with P?”
I sighed. “Maybe.” His fiancée was best friends with Peyton’s boss, so it didn’t really make sense to deny it.
“Cardinelli’s, the place where we did Grace’s birthday party. Best Italian grub in town, bar none. Better call early, they book way out.”
I braked for the delivery truck that pulled away from the curb without checking his mirrors.Shit. “What else you got? It has to be tonight.” If I didn’t lock down dinner, I could see Peyton backing out.
He sucked in a loud breath. “Write down this number.” He rattled it off, and I noted it. “Tell Lauren you work for Lucas Hawk and you’d like a reservation. She’ll arrange it for you.”
“Who’s this Lauren?”
“Bill Covington’s wife. They own the restaurant.”
Everyone in town knew the Covington name. “I don’t know about that.” I felt suddenly uneasy about this whole thing. Who was I to call these billionaires and ask for a favor?
“You like Peyton, right? Do it. It’s no big deal. We’re in tight with the Covingtons. We’ve done jobs for them before.” The way he said it, I guessed the jobs were dangerous ones.
I braked for the red light ahead. “Are you sure?”
“Crap. They’re ready to leave the table. I gotta go.” The line went silent.
After a few deep breaths for courage, I dialed Lauren Covington, perfectly prepared to be blown off as the no-name guy I was. But as soon as I mentioned Lucas’s name, she lit up. “What can I do for you, Zane? May I call you Zane?”
“Sure. You see, I’ve got this woman I like a lot, and I’d love to take her to dinner at your restaurant.”
“No problem. When?”
“Tonight?” I tried.
“Certainly. What time?”
That was so much easier than I expected, but I hadn’t considered a time. “How about seven?”
“I’ll take care of it. We have a table we call the honeymoon table. It’s quite romantic. Or if that’s not appropriate, we can seat you in main dining.”
I might be pressing too hard, but I went for it. “Romantic sounds perfect.” SEALs didn’t give up just because the objective was difficult.
