Leaning closer until he was so near I could feel the warmth of his cheek as he bent down. My breath caught in my throat, and my eyes fluttered closed.
“When you do, let me know, okay?” he asked, pulling back slightly.
Miles wasn’t toying with me. He wasn’t that kind of man. Besides, I could hear the wavering in his voice as he spoke, no matter how much confidence he tried to show. He understood how important my first kiss was, and he wasn’t sure I wanted to give it to him.
Conjuring up my inner goddess once more, I leaned toward him, catching him off guard.
Two can play at this game.
His eyebrows lifted as he straightened, his eyes widening in surprise.
Placing my hands gently on his shoulders, I stood on my tiptoes, just like I’d done the other night. Miles instinctively leaned his head down to me, his eyes bouncing between mine expectantly. Summoning everything I’d seen in my favorite Italian romance movies, I put my cheek to his and spoke near his ear.
“You’ll be the first to know.”
Yes, Miles. Let me show how it’s done in Italy.
He visibly shivered, and his breath stuttered in his throat. After placing my heels back on the ground, I smiled up at him.
“Thanks for lunch,” I said with a wink.
I stepped back and walked away, my hips swaying, my head held high with a wicked grin on my face.
fourteen
. . .
Miles
Vicky Lazzara was going to be the death of me.
That was the thought running through my mind the last forty-eight hours. I had no idea what possessed me to behave the way I did a couple days ago. Leaning in (something I’d seen inHitch) whispering, and confirming to her that I wanted to kiss her last Saturday.
Who am I?
When Hildi from my coding department passed my open office door, she asked, “Boss? You okay?”
Must have been the way I was clutching my hair that revealed my current state of mind. I grunted, and she scrambled away.
Nathan passed as well, looking into my office with a suspicious look on his face before disappearing. He opened his mouth then snapped it shut without a word. Watching his retreating back, I knew exactly what was wrong with me.Hewas what was wrong with me. He and that Gio from the pizzeria.
“Never going back there with Vicky again, that’s for sure,” I mumbled to myself.
As always with Vicky, I was relieved to find she’d left my house before I got home from work yesterday, but also disappointed that I’d missed her. The painters had painted the largest wall in MJ’s room with the chalkboard paint and installed some of the new lighting.
MJ was over the moon. We made her a fort in the living room to sleepin while the paint dried, when she insisted she didn’t want to sleep at Mom’s or in my room. It was just as well. If I’d slept on the sofa, I’d have kept us both up with my pacing and talking to myself.
As I leaned my head in my hands, I tried to figure out how to fix this. My possessive side had surfaced and reared its ugly head even though I’d firmly decided last week to just pursue a friendship with this woman.
When a call came in from my dad, I answered it quickly.
“Hey, just the guy I needed,” I answered, getting up to close my door.
“Always happy to hear that from my favorite son,” he joked. Dad was quiet, but he had a dry sense of humor and was one of the best men I’d ever known.
“Bet you say that to all your sons,” I quipped, my usual answer to his joke.
“You know it. Just wanted to see if you and MJ wanted to try golf again with me.”
