He kept his smile in place.
He wasn’t lying about anything.
But he wasn’t so forthcoming that he’d tell her he came to this island only for her.
He said his ego wasn’t frail, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer either.
If Natalie ever suspected he came just for her, it would be enough to send her running.
Hell, he might have too if he were in her shoes.
Best to win her over slowly.
But not so slowly that he was wasting his time.
“We all do,” he said. “So let’s get the bikes first and go from there.”
Ten minutes later, he was pulling the bike to the side, Natalie stopping. “Something wrong?”
His eyes dropped to the mittens on her fingers. He pointed. “Got that extra pair for me?”
“Reach in and grab them,” she said, letting out a soft giggle that was caught in the wind and floated around his head causing his lips to twitch in a grin. “Now who is the smart one?”
“I always thought you were smart,” he said. “And pretty.”
Her blush deepened more than the red from the breeze.
He got the gray mittens out, slipped them on and didn’t even feel like a fool. Warm fingertips would prevail.
“You’re not bad looking yourself,” she said.
“I’ll take it.”
She sent him a wink and they took off on their ride again, side by side and making comments, pointing out birds and other people they passed.
In the past this would have been a silly date to him, but experiencing it with Natalie wiped that thought away.
He was famous for trying something new, but this wasn’t what he’d ever considered.
To him, a date was dinner, spending money on some fancy meal, a show or a concert.
Women always seemed to like that shit.
But the Natalie he remembered from college wasn’t impressed by things, but by character traits.
There weren’t any concerts, plays, or shows today that he could find around here. Dinner was too short of a time he wanted to spend with her and they’d done it already.
The smile on her face, the sparkle in her eyes, as she glanced over at him said that he nailed it today.
They returned their bikes after pedaling for miles. More than he’d done in a long time.
Neither of them was out of breath, but his ass was numb.
How the hell did people do this all the time?
“Are you sure you’re up for walking now?” he asked.
“I need to stretch my legs,” she said. “The tingles are getting to me.”
