Page 37 of Happily Ever Never

I gulped my water and then used the cloth napkin to wipe myface.

I was stressing out. I hated this.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I looked up,and there he was.

He prowled toward me, his dark hair falling slightly overhis forehead. He wore dark jeans and a button-down shirt with the sleevesrolled up to his elbows.

He looked edible. Sexy. And so damngorgeous.

He smiled at me, and I almost stood, but then my seat gotstuck, and I sort of jerked a little.

Leo’s eyes filled with warmth, and I knew he wasn’t laughingat me, only because I was the one doing the laughing.

“You’re here,” I blurted and wanted to curse myself.

Leo raised a brow. “Of course, I am.” He took the seat infront of me and tilted his head as he studied my face. “And fuck.I just remembered that one jerk didn’t show up. I’m not them. I’m none of thosefirst dates. Like you’re none of mine.”

“You’re not as bad at dating as I am.”

Leo threw his head back and laughed, and I noticed a fewwomen and men look over at him in appreciation. I didn’t blame them. There wasa lot to appreciate. But he was mine for the night, and I resisted the urge tonarrow my gaze at them.

“You think you’ve got it bad? No, I’ve been on a date whereshe ordered a single side salad with no toppings or dressing, then proceeded toeat each lettuce leaf one by one. But then had the nerve to reach over andsteal my fries.”

The image filled my brain, and I shook my head. “Wait. I canget over the whole lettuce thing because maybe that’s what she wanted to do.But stealing your fries? No. There are rules. Either you go in with theintention of sharing, or you order what you want. You don’t steal food.”

“I believe this is going to be the start of a lovelyrelationship.” Leo smiled as he said it, and my stomach tightened, even as Iblushed.

I hoped that was the case. But I had hoped before, and thathadn’t worked out so well.

“It’s so good to see you again,” my familiar waiter said,and I wanted to hide under the table.

“I’m Leo. It’s nice to meet you. And if May’s been herebefore, the food must be good.”

“Oh, it is. Now, what can I get you to drink?”

I winced, already feeling awkward. “I’m just fine with waterright now. I haven’t even looked at the menu.”

“Same,” Leo put in, his gaze on me.

In fact, he was only looking at me.

That might have felt creepy with one of my other dates, butnot with Leo. Because he wanted to see my reactions to gauge what I wasthinking. I was trying to figure him out, as well.

“I’ll be back soon, then. Take your time. Seriously.”

The waiter walked away, and I groaned. “I’m sorry.”

“This place is near our neighborhood. Of course, you’ve comehere on dates. I have, too.” He pointed to a table by the far window. “I was ona date over there where the woman proceeded to try to crawl under the table,and…well, maybe I shouldn’t tell that story.” Leo winced and gulped his water.

My eyes widened. “Here? It’s a well-lit establishment. Idon’t know how you could even get away with that.”

“You can’t. But she was drunk on half a glass of wine andwanted to say hi. Apparently, she heard that I was an exhibitionist and wantedto see if that was true.”

I froze, images of me on my knees in front of him floodingmy brain. They weren’t horrible images, but I wasn’t about to do something likethat in public. “Are you an exhibitionist? Because I’m not gettingdown on my knees in this restaurant.”

I blushed just thinking about it, but he grinned. “Good toknow. And I’m not the kind of guy who’s going to want a blowjob in a restaurant. The fact that I’m even talking about it is a littleout of my wheelhouse.” He cleared his throat. “May. You know me. You’ve been ondates, and I’ve been on dates, but this is our first date. I alreadyknow the way you taste. And now I want to get to know you some more. What doyou say?”

The way he said that made me think of the fact that he onlyknew how my lips tasted and nothing else. And from the hunger in his gaze, hewas thinking the same thing.