As he walked toward me, he said, “No, it’s my fault. I was reading about how to avoid emulsions from breaking down during heat spikes.”
“Riveting,” I teased.
He watched me, maybe making sure I was joking. When I chuckled, he followed. He pushed his hands into his pockets. I noticed it was a nervous habit.
“Guess I’m just boring.” His smirk set my heart racing.
We stood there, gazes locked again, neither of us moving or speaking. Did he feel this attraction, or was it all on my end? I had to remind myself he wasn’t interested in me that way, no matter how he looked at me. But it was confusing to say the least.
Clearing my throat, I said, “The lab results you emailed me look promising. I wanted to say that you’ve been here for a little more than a month and have been a great asset to our team. This isn’t a formal evaluation, but I thought you might want to know.”
He nodded, and my heart fluttered. Gosh, I was starting to react to just his head nod. Who was I kidding? I was reacting to everything he did.
“Leyla, would you like to go to dinner with me?”
Whoa, where did that come from? I didn’t know if I was hallucinating or not, but I answered, “Yes” so quickly, I wasn’t sure it had even happened.
“You will?” he asked, his voice so earnest. He was so handsome, it hurt to look at him.
“Yes.”
He nodded again. “This can be our second practice date.”
Record scratch. Wait, what?
Niko looked at me expectantly, his expression growing more serious. Shoot, I must be frowning.
“Ah, yes, yeah. That’s great,” I answered, forcing a smile. “When were you thinking?”
“Are you free Sunday night by any chance? I kept meaning to call you, but it’s been a little crazy around here this week.” His hands had left his pockets and were now wringing in front ofhim. Looking down, he stopped abruptly and put them behind his back.
“Sunday night would be fine. How’s six?”
“Six would be fine,” he parroted. “I could, um, pick you up. Like a, like a real date.”
My brain snagged on the word ‘real’ and held on for dear life.
“Sure. I’ll text you my address.” I turned to leave, my heart in my throat.
“Leyla?” I turned back to see he had stepped closer to the door. “I’d like to take you to Juniper and Ivy, if that sounds good to you.”
“I love that place. Okay, I’ll see you on Sunday.”
I power-walked back to my office, dissecting our short conversation. Locked eyes, goofy grins, invitation to one of the nicest restaurants in San Diego. I wondered if he’d mentioned the name of the restaurant so I was prepared and knew what to expect. So Niko-like.
Then my stomach dropped. He also referred to it as anotherpracticedate.
Luke was right. All is fair in love and war. I just prayed my heart wouldn’t come out of this more wounded than it already was.
Refusingto get Sofia and Vicky’s input into my outfit, Sunday afternoon found me digging through my closet like I was mining for gold. They would come over and make such a big deal of it. And it wasn’t a big deal. Just dinner. Friends, that’s all.
“This is so dumb. You have tons of clothes to choose from, Leyla. Justpickone,” I mumbled to myself. If only it were that easy. I didn’t want to seem too eager, but I didn’t want to look like I didn’t care, either. It was maddening.
Looking at the body-hugging black dress that I’d worn several times with Ethan, I knew it would be perfect for the restaurant we were going to, but it held too many memories I’d rather forget. Throwing it to the back of the closet, I kept digging.
Thirty minutes later, I pulled out a dark-green dress with the tags still on it. Barely remembering when I’d bought it, I looked it over and knew it was the one.
It was an off-the-shoulder chiffon midi dress with a wrapped bodice, a defined waist, and a modest slit down the front.
