It was only then that she noticed what he was wearing.
Looking as sexy as she’d ever seen him, Derek stood in the middle of the bedroom with his hands loosely placed inside his pockets.
He had on an electric blue, button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up just enough to show off his forearms.
I never realized what a turn-on those could be.
His dress pants were black to match his shiny shoes, but it was the shirt that really stood out to her. Its color brought out the different blues in Derek’s eyes in the most incredible way.
Between his clothing and the way he was looking at her, Charlie was ready to say to hell with whatever he had planned and jump him right then and there. Apparently, she didn’t hide her thoughts too well.
“As much as I love the way you’re lookin’ at me right now, you’re a little underdressed for what I have planned for this evening. Well...” He gave her an ornery smirk. “For the first part of the evening.”
Moisture pooled between her thighs from just thinking of all the things this man had done to her. What they’d done together.
With a smirk, she asked him, “What exactly is it you have planned for us?
He took a step forward. “It occurred to me that we haven’t had the chance to go out on a proper date.”
“You’re taking me out on a date?” Charlie’s smile grew wide.
“That’s the plan. Unless you don’t want to—”
“No!” she cut him off. “I want to. I just wasn’t expecting this, that’s all.”
One corner of his mouth curved upward. “Well, that is kind of how a surprise is supposed to work.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Smartass.”
“Speaking of asses.” He raised a brow. “You’d better get yours in gear, or we’re going to be late.”
“For what?”
“I reserved a private room at The Gardens.”
“Lexi’s restaurant? She never said anything to me about it when we met today.”
“She better not have,” Derek raised a brow. “I made her swear to secrecy.”
That explains Lexi’s odd behavior right before she left.
Curious, Charlie asked, “Why The Gardens?”
Even though he’d just talked to her about being short on time, Derek walked over to her as though he had all the time in the world.
“That’s where we began. This time, anyway.”
The scent of soap mixed with a slight hint of woodsy cologne hit her nostrils as Derek took his hands from his pockets and placed them on her bare shoulders. There was another fragrance there. One she recognized as being uniquely, deliciously Derek.
With his thumbs caressing her skin, he said, “The last time you were there, you were with him. I want you to forget that.”
“Not that I disagree, but why is that so important to you?”
The corners of his mouth turned up. “From everything I’ve seen, you and Lexi will be spending a lot of time together. Between you working with Lex and her being married to my teammate, there’s a good chance we’ll spend a lot of time there.”
“Okay,” she drew out the word, still not understanding where he was going with all this. “What does any of that have to do with Caleb?”
Derek brushed some wet strands from the top of her shoulder. His nervous expression made Charlie want to smile.
