I follow her at a more leisurely pace, unable to wipe the smile off my face. My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I pull it out to silence it.
Merri stops dead, turning to stare at me, her jaw sagging. "Are you fucking kidding me? You had your phone on you the entire time?"
"Well… yeah."
"You could have called Tommy to let us out!"
I shrug, not even slightly apologetic. "I didn't want to."
She gasps. "You trapped us in there on purpose?"
"No, Admiral trapped us. I just didn't rush to fix the situation." I close the distance between us, lowering my voice. "And I have no regrets."
Her mouth opens, closes, then opens again. But no sound comes out.
Taking advantage of her speechlessness, I lean down and kiss her quickly. "I'm taking you to dinner again. Tonight. I'll pick you up at six."
"I… what… you can't just—" she sputters.
"Six o'clock, Merri. Wear something nice." I kiss her one more time, just because I can, then head for the door. "See you later, Gallagher."
"Wyatt Dalton, you?—"
But I'm already gone. As I stroll into Recon Roasters, I can still taste her on my lips, still feel the phantom pressure of her body against mine. I should probably be worried about wherethis is heading. Instead, I'm already counting the hours until I see her again.
Chapter 10
Merri
It’s been years since I've worn this dress, and my hands won't stop fidgeting with the hem. My cheeks are flushed pink, and my bottom lip is puffy from nervous biting. The reflection in the mirror looks hopeful and scared out of her mind.
This is just dinner with Wyatt, nothing special. Except my racing heart knows better.
The dress is a simple navy-blue wrap that hits just above the knee. But it hugs my curves in a way that makes me feel simultaneously confident and completely exposed. I bought it for a brewery industry dinner in Colorado and wore it exactly once before shoving it to the back of my closet.
Now I'm wearing it for Wyatt Dalton.
"This is insane," I tell Admiral, who's watching me from his dog bed with patient brown eyes. "Completely insane. I should cancel, tell him I'm sick."
Who am I kidding? I don't want to cancel. The truth is, I've always found him attractive. Even when we were kids, and he was making my life hell, there was something about him that drew me in. It’s that confidence and intensity, the way he moves through the world like he knows exactly who he is and what he wants.
I just never thought what he wanted could be me.
"But what if this is a disaster?" I ask Admiral as I apply mascara with shaky hands. "What if this whole thing crashes and burns? We still have to run businesses next door to each other. We still have to see each other every day. Plus, he’s Danny’s best friend. It could get very ugly, really fast."
Admiral yawns.
"You're no help."
Reaching to the back of my bathroom cabinet, I pull out my favorite bottle of perfume. I’d bought it on a whim at a high-end boutique in Denver years ago after the saleswoman convinced me it was transformative and evocative. I spent way too much money, but I love it.
I spray a little on my wrists and neck, and the citrusy floral scent fills the bathroom with hints of vanilla. It's the kind of perfume that saysI'm worth the effort.
"Okay," I say to Admiral, turning to face him. "What do you think? Is this too much?"
Admiral's tail thumps against his dog bed in approval.
"Good. Because I'm going with this, and I refuse to second-guess myself again. I'm gonna enjoy myself tonight and keep this under control. No getting carried away. No falling into bed with him just because he's ridiculously hot and makes my knees go weak."
