I guessed that made sense. We headed toward the front door. Hannah seemed in a rush to leave now.
“I had a boss like your CEO when I worked for a tech firm after graduation. He was a piece of work.”
That got Hannah’s attention. “A tech firm? What did you do there?”
“Oh, you know, this and that. I have to admit, I’m a real tech nerd. I was the dork who would write script for fun on the weekends,” I replied, surprising her. Surprising me.
We walked out of her house and I waited while she locked the door. I opened the passenger-side door of my car and waited for her to get in. She stopped, looking up at me. “What kind of techie ends up at the FBI?” she asked, interested.
“The kind that works in cybercrimes,” I explained. Wow. I was laying it all out there. What was going on with me? I usually waited until after drinks before giving someone a taste of my life story. The severely edited version, of course.
Hannah’s eyes widened, her shoulders visibly relaxing. She seemed more comfortable than she had been a few minutes earlier. I wondered why.
“Cybercrimes? Really? That’s got to be so fascinating!” she enthused, her voice a touch too high.
“Not really. It’s nothing like you see on TV. Trust me.” I needed to change the subject. Quickly.
“Nothing is ever what it seems, is it?” she asked. An odd statement but a true one. Our eyes met for a moment and there was a strange sort of understanding between us. As if both of us had a lot of practice in dishonesty.
I didn’t bother to answer her. The question didn’t seem to require it.
Hannah slid into the seat and I took a moment to appreciate the view of her smooth legs as she tucked them into the front seat.
I walked quickly around to the driver’s side, almost tripping over my own feet in my haste. I wouldn’t be earning any cool points for face-planting in front of her on our first date, that was for sure.
I got into the car and gave her a smile. She returned it. My body instinctively reacted to the smell of her filling the small, confined space. The way her chest rose and fell. My eyes zeroed in on all the normal parts of her.
I was a red-blooded male, after all.
And I liked what I saw.
Even if she wasn’t my normal type, she was a woman I found physically attractive.
“I made reservations at a steak house in town,” I told her as I pulled out onto the road. “I hope that’s okay.”
“I’m a vegetarian, actually,” Hannah responded neutrally.
My face blazed red. “Shit. I’m so sorry! I should have asked. We can go somewhere else—”
Hannah started to laugh. “I’m messing with you, Mason. I’m not a vegetarian. A nice bloody steak sounds damn near perfect, actually.”
I relaxed, glad that I hadn’t made another first-date faux pas.
“Thank God. Because I don’t think I could handle one of those tofu places. I need meat on my plate.”
“Mason likes meat. Good to know,” Hannah remarked drily.
“I’m secure enough to admit it,” I replied just as drily.
Hannah smirked as she reached for the radio dial. She glanced at me, her eyes questioning. “Do you mind?”
I shook my head. “Be my guest.”
I remembered too late about the CD in the drive. Hannah’s eyes widened in shock when the soundtrack toLes Misérablesblasted from the speakers.
Hannah glanced at me. “ ‘I Dreamed a Dream,’ huh? Glad it’s not the Susan Boyle version, at least.”
“I should lie and tell you that it came with the car. Or that I was giving my cousin a lift and she’s a fiend for musicals.” I kept my voice light, hoping to hide my mortification.
