Chapter 5
EDEN
I open my mouth,but no words come out. Just a squeaky noise as I stammer.
I clear my throat. “Oh. Well…”
Danny presses his eyes shut and shakes his head, like he immediately regrets what he said. “Crap, sorry. I’m just now realizing how creepy and weird that sounded.”
“No, it’s okay. Really.”
I smile at him, hoping it’s as reassuring as I want it to be.
He shoves both hands in the pockets of his jeans. “I just want to do a good job for Rebecca. I don’t want her to regret hiring me. And I don’t want you to regret hiring me either.”
His eyes are shy when he admits this. I wasn’t expecting Hottie Danny to be nervous about what’s technically a fake date. Even when he was a teenager dating girls at our high school, he always came off as so sure of himself. He possessed this effortless confidence that was like catnip to girls. Including me—that’s why I had a crush on him. There’s just something so appealing about a guy who knows exactly who he is but isn’t mean or conceited about it. Danny has that in spades.
But it’s honestly kind of sweet to see him this nervous about wanting to do a good job—about wanting to be good for Rebecca. And me.
I step closer to him, closing the space between us so that we’re standing barely a foot apart, and grab his hand in mine.
“Honestly? I think it’s hot as hell when a guy I’m on a date with gently takes my hand out of the blue. To show me something he’s looking at or lead me through a crowd, whatever. It’s the perfect combination: confident, assertive, and sweet.”
Danny glances down at our joined hands and smiles before looking at me. “I like that. A lot.”
When my hand starts to tingle, I let go of him.
Be professional, Eden!
I clear my throat. “As for flirting, just do what you normally do. It works pretty well.”
He chuckles. “How do you know what I normally do?”
My face heats as my gaze falls to the ground. “I, uh, remember what you were like. In high school, I mean. When you and Cruz would hang out with girls, the way you flirted was literal perfection.”
God, my face is on fire. I can feel it. Invisible flames of embarrassment engulf me as I stand here in front of Danny. I can’t believe I just said that. He probably thinks I was some creepy stalker back then.
But to my surprise, he laughs like he’s amused. “Wow. I’m not used to that caliber of praise. I always thought I was a total dork in high school.”
I tilt my head at him. “You’re kidding, right? Danny, you were a star baseball player all four years. Half the school was in love with you for that alone, but then you would pull your flirty moves, and it was game over.”
“What moves exactly?”
At first, I think he’s joking, but when his face remains in that inquisitive expression, I realize he really doesn’t know just how smooth he is.
“You’re sweet. Like, truly sweet. You would always compliment the girl you were with in a genuine way. Like, it was never sexual or inappropriate. You never made it weird or obvious that you were trying to hit on her. It always came off so natural. Stuff like, you told them how beautiful their smile was or how just seeing them or hearing their voice was the highlight of your day. And the way you do eye contact.”
He half-smiles, and I point my index finger at him. “That too. Your half-smile. Most people look deranged when they try to half-smile. But you look sexy. Flash that when Rebecca is talking or when you’re complimenting something about her, and bam. Hot flirty moment.”
He bites his lip, like he’s embarrassed and flattered all at once. “What do you mean, ‘the way I do eye contact’?”
Cripes. How do I make this sound as un-creepy as possible?
“You just have this intensity when you look people in the eye. Not bad-intense. Good-intense. I notice that you look at people as though you’re genuinely interested in what they’re saying. You know how some people get that glazed-over look in their eyes when they’re talking to you because they’re not paying attention to you? Or they can’t maintain eye contact to save their life; they just dart their eyes around the room, looking at you every once in a while?”
Danny nods.
“You’re the opposite of that. When you’re focused on someone, you look at them like they’re the only person in the room worth seeing. It’s very, very hot.” When I realize what I’ve said, I pause. “As a flirting technique, I mean.”
His smile twitches for a split second. “Got it.”
For a long second, we stand quietly and look at each other.
“That makes me feel a lot better, Eden. Thank you.”
The muscles that went tense as I was talking suddenly loosen at how sincere and relieved he sounds.
“Glad I could help.”
He looks at me, his gaze falling on my mouth. Every single silent self-imposed rule I have about keeping things professional with Danny flies straight the window. I take one step closer to him.
He’s going to ask me to practice kissing with him. HELL YES.
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to make you practice kissing me.” He laughs.
And after a second of feeling dazed, I force out a chuckle too.
“Good call. That’s probably not the most professional thing in the world now that we work together.”
He frowns slightly, like the thought makes him squeamish. “Exactly my thoughts. Sorry I mentioned it in the first place.” This time when he blushes, his neck goes red too. Damn. He must really regret saying that if his entire upper body is turning red.
I start to feel my chest squeeze, but I instantly, silently explain it away.
Don’t even think about feeling sorry for yourself in this moment. Did you honestly think making out with your employee—your brother’s best friend—would be a good idea?
Absolutely not.
“Don’t be sorry. I’m just glad you feel more comfortable,” I say. “Besides, I’m sure you’ve had plenty of kissing practice. You’re gonna blow Rebecca’s socks off, I’m sure of it.”
I flash Danny a thumb’s up and instantly regret it because I suddenly realize that’s a goofy, borderline-childish thing to do.
He thanks me for stopping by and walks me to the door.
“You’ll knock ’em dead tonight,” I say.
“Fingers crossed.”
“Update me on how it goes. So we can assess what works and what doesn’t work for future Dream Guy dates.” I add that last part quickly. I don’t want him to think I have some weird fixation for hearing about his fake dates.
“Great idea. Thanks again for helping me, Eden.”
I make it to my car. I’m so dazed, I have to take a minute and just sit in the driver’s seat before I drive off. I almost kissed Danny Darden. Holy crap.