18. Lottie
Lottie
“ O h, shit.” I jump out of my desk chair, my heart pounding when I realize what time it is. I race out of my office as a knock sounds at the door. I grimace. This is not how I wanted the evening to go.
I veer to the right to answer the door instead of going upstairs. “Hi…” My voice trails off. Wow, he’s gorgeous. “You look amazing.”
“And you’re not ready.” Teddy grins as his eyes roam over me.
I look down. The men’s boxers I love wearing around the house are threadbare, and the ratty T-shirt from high school completes the ensemble.
“I can’t say I hate this look.” He chuckles, giving me a heated once-over.
“Sorry. I got caught up in research and lost track of time. Come in; I’ll get ready as fast as possible.”
When he steps over the threshold, I notice the flowers in his hands. They’re a gorgeous spray of purples and whites artfully wrapped in brown paper and a bow. Teddy holds them out to me .
“They’re beautiful,” I murmur. “Thank you.”
Teddy gives me a small smile I’ve never seen on his face. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was shy. “I wasn’t sure if you were a flower kind of girl, but I stopped at Blooming Beautiful anyway. Ryan put that together for you.”
“I should’ve guessed. His mom, my aunt Hope, makes amazing arrangements, but Ryan’s are on another level.”
“I liked him.”
“That’s also not a shock.” I laugh, grabbing Teddy’s hand and leading him upstairs. “Ryan’s the most genuine person you’ll ever meet.”
I walk into my bedroom and gesture for Teddy to sit in my wingback chair in the corner. “I’ll just be a minute.”
“Take your time.” He looks down at me with deep blue eyes filled with longing. “We don’t have reservations, which possibly was an error on my part. I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m not very good at this. I haven’t done it in a long time.”
I grin. “That’s okay. We can always go to Jones’s and get shakes.”
“I have no idea what I’m doing,” he whispers, palming my cheek.
I want to kiss him with everything in me. So I do.
Something about Teddy makes me bold. He gives me the confidence to be myself without fear of repercussions. He knows me better than anyone. I never held back in my emails, yet he stands here, wanting me more than ever.
Teddy takes over the kiss, his fingers sliding back into my hair to hold me in place.
His mouth devours mine with every swipe of his tongue.
My hands fist his shirt to bring him closer, pressing his chest against mine.
He wraps his free arm around my waist, removing any remaining distance between us.
I moan at the contact. My entire body feels overheated and out of control. I want nothing more than to drag him to my bed and let him have his way with me.
He won’t stay if you do.
The insecure little voice in my head tries to ruin this moment. I’m not very experienced. I’m not experienced at all, actually. What if he can tell? How obvious will it be when our clothes begin to come off?
As much as my body is telling me to find out, that shitty voice in my head is too loud to ignore. I won’t run the risk of ruining this before it even begins.
I slowly pull away from him, my chest heaving with a lack of oxygen. We stare at each other, not quite ready to break the moment.
Teddy is the first to step away. He nods toward my open bathroom door. “Go get ready. I’ll wait out here for you.”
The lobby of Jimmy’s is filled with families and couples waiting to get a table. Teddy and I are cuddled in the corner to give the rest of the patrons room. It’s too loud to talk, which I don’t mind. I keep glancing up at him to remind myself that this is real.
It feels as if he’s done a one-eighty overnight. The memory of him being an ass the first day I went to his house still haunts me. What made him change his mind?
I’m not complaining. I’m glad he did, but it’s still a puzzle I’d like to solve.
For now, I’m going to bask in his attention and question everything later.
“Kavanagh, party of two?” the host calls out.
Teddy and I follow him to a table in the middle of the room.
This little Irish pub has become a popular place for comfort food.
I thought it was perfect for our first date.
It’s not too fancy or too casual. Plus, they don’t take reservations, so I figured it would make Teddy feel better.
Teddy’s eyes scan the room as he holds my chair out for me. When he sits down, his eyebrows furrow. “What?”
I smirk. “Nothing. Just wondering why you thought you weren’t very good at this. So far, you’re doing better than the majority of men I’ve dated.”
His frown deepens. “What kind of men have you dated? Idiots?”
“Oh, there he is. Good. I was beginning to worry you’d been body-swapped.”
“What?” His frustration makes me laugh.
“I’ve been trying to figure out what caused the change in you. A few weeks ago, you’d have bitten my head off for asking you to go to dinner with me. Now you’re bringing me flowers and being a gentleman.”
A look of understanding crosses his face. He doesn’t say anything for a second, taking his time to get his thoughts in order. He starts to open his mouth at the same time the waitress comes to our table.
“Hey there.” She shines a wide smile at Teddy. “What can I get you to drink?”
“Water, please.”
“Sweet tea for me.” The waitress doesn’t look at me as I give her my order. “We’d also like to start with an order of pretzel bites.”
“Sure.” She turns away from the table without another word.
“Was it something I said?” I tease.
Teddy smirks and shakes his head. “What’s good to eat?”
I describe my favorite dishes on the menu with the enthusiasm of a kid talking about their birthday party. Teddy laughs at me, but instead of making me self-conscious, it emboldens me. While he may find me silly, he’s genuinely interested in what I have to say.
Our conversation bounces back and forth about different foods we’ve tried.
Teddy’s traveled extensively, and listening to his stories has given me the travel bug.
Gia, Ginny, and I went to Mexico once during college—my dad was a nervous wreck about it—but otherwise, I’ve stayed in the US.
I’d love to explore the world. It would be even better with Teddy as my tour guide.
The waitress brings our drinks and food as we continue to talk. I preen a little when Teddy ignores her flirty smiles.
When I started emailing him all those years ago, I never imagined we’d be sitting across the table from each other, sharing all our likes and dislikes. I want to know everything about him, even the unimportant things, like how he takes his coffee or his favorite food.
He’s softer on the inside than I ever thought he’d be. There’s always been a tough exterior shell surrounding him, and while it’s still there, he’s let me in just the smallest bit tonight. It makes me curious to see how far he’ll let me go.