Our Dallas?
“Yes, ma’am,” Preston told her, smoothing his hand over my back.
If he didn’t stop touching me…Business. Professional.
“Are you and Dallas together?” Anna asked.
Preston chuckled, meeting my gaze. His eyes blazed with something I wasn’t sure I wanted to name, something sincere, something real. “We are.” His expression softened. “It was a long time coming, but I’m grateful she chose me. I’m a very lucky man.”
Dammit, even I believed him.Business. This is not a thing.
“Well, don’t let us keep you from your date,” Maya said. “I got dinner, Dallas. I’ll call you later.”
“Are you sure?” I asked. Now, Preston was brushing the back of my neck with his talented fingers. And I was trying to convince myself this was just a business arrangement, no matter how good his hands felt against my skin. It wasn’t working.Shit.
Maya squeezed my hand and stood, embracing me and giving me a small reprieve from Preston’s hands—and his cologne. “Love it,” she whispered. “I’ll call you later.”
I said my goodbyes to the women and let Preston lead me to a quiet booth in the corner of the restaurant. He remained standing while I slid into the booth. And when he sat next to me, I nearly slipped under the table, trying to put some space between us. “What are you doing?” I asked through clenched teeth.
“Acting like your man,” he said with a shrug.
“Can they even see us?”
He leaned over and waved at them. “Yep,” he mumbled. “And they’re watching.”
I couldn’t see them, but I believed him. “Fine. What happened to letting people assume we’re together but not actually telling anyone we’re a couple?”
“I had to improvise. Did you really want dessert?”
“And I thought I said no PDA?”
He picked up the menu. “How about key lime pie?”
“Preston? We agreed that—”
With his eyes still on the menu, he muttered, “Like I said, I had to improvise.” Then, he pinned me with his intense stare. “Can we negotiate improvisation, counselor?”
Swallowing hard, I relented. “Sure. But can you not do that again?”
“Do what?” he asked. “I think I remember you telling me you loved crème brûlée?”
“I don’t…”Want your dessertdied on my lips when I realized what he’d just said. “You remembered that?”
A corner of his mouth lifted. “I remember everything.”
A smile tugged at my lips. I remembered that night too. He and Cooper had met me and Blake at my favorite Italian restaurant. I’d been craving dessert and couldn’t wait to order it. But the waitress had kindly doused my flames when she’d told us they weren’t preparing it that evening for whatever reason. Talk about devastated. I almost couldn’t eat my meal because I was so disappointed.Almost.
“You were irritated,” he continued. “I also remember you’d just run your first 4k and had trained for weeks with no dessert.”
Damn,he’s good. And extremely sexy.
“It was your treat to yourself for finishing in the top twenty.” He lifted his hand and brushed his thumb over my chin.
I held my breath. “Preston.” I tried to keep my voice strong, even. But it sounded breathy and affected.
He traced my jaw line with his finger and cupped my cheek with his massive palm. “Dallas.”
“You’re touching me,” I murmured.
