10. Reed #3
Feeling her touch after thinking of her nonstop for days is torture, and seeing the little glint in her eyes tells me she knows what she’s doing. I grab her hand in mine before slowly lifting her knuckles to my lips and placing a chaste kiss over her skin. “Get in the car, Little Devil.”
She rolls her lips in to hide her grin as she ducks down and eases into the seat.
Before I can close the door, I cup her cheek and turn her head to face me as my lips ghost over hers in a hesitant kiss.
She pushes up, deepening it until she hums a moan, and her taste explodes across my senses.
It’s quick and heated, but I couldn’t resist touching her for another second.
I pull away, my head spinning as I press my forehead to hers. “I missed you too.”
“Reed,” she whispers hesitantly. “What are we doing?”
I let out a slight laugh. “I’m taking a very beautiful woman to dinner.”
“Flattering,” she says flatly. “But you know what I mean.”
I draw back. “Don’t think too hard about it. It’s just a date.”
Her eyes narrow. “As friends?”
Friends. The word sounds like nails on a chalkboard.
“Friends don’t carve their initials into each other’s chests.” I say pointedly. “I asked you on a date, Thalia. We aren’t friends.”
For someone so hellbent on being a menace, it’s unnatural to see the flicker of fear in her eyes. It’s gone before I can blink, but the flash of her uncertainty sticks with me as she smiles in return. “Then let’s get going, not friend.”
I close the door before walking over to the driver’s side. As I slide in beside her, I crank up the heater and pull away from the curb. Her scent, something sweet, like vanilla and honey, fills the cab, and I could drown in her. “What do you like to eat?”
She hums as she watches the passing scenery. “Carbs. I love pasta.”
“Italian it is,” I decide. “I know a great mom and pop restaurant run by an older couple who would be shocked and delighted that I’ve finally brought someone with me.”
I can feel Thalia’s eyes on me now. “You don’t date?”
“No,” I shake my head. “The surgeon lifestyle isn’t for everyone. It’s long hours and being away from home for days. What do you do for a living?”
She tenses, her shoulders pulling close to her ears as an elongated sound leaves her. “Uhhhh, pass.”
I snort. “This isn’t twenty-one questions. You can’t just pass on your turn. I want to know more about you.”
She turns away from me, distancing herself. “If I don’t want to answer, then I don’t have to.”
That makes me frown. I glance at her, taking in the way she’s drawn into herself with her hands folded tightly into her lap.
I reach across, gently grabbing her palm as I bring it to the center console and brush my thumb over hers in a soothing gesture.
“Okay, I won’t pry, but can you promise me something? ”
It’s obvious she has some kind of unresolved trauma with dating. If I want to get to know her, I have to take things at her pace. Pushing will only make her distance herself further.
Her hand relaxes in mine as she turns towards me. “Sure.”
I give her a soft, reassuring expression. “If you don’t want to talk about anything, communicate that with me and I’ll change the topic. But don’t completely shut me out. How am I going to get to know you if you won’t answer something so simple?”
She nods. “You’re really hard to ice out, you know that? You’re just so…understanding.”
I chuckle. “Emotional maturity comes with age.”
She groans. “Ugh, don’t go riding your high horse now.”
“I’m very comfortable up here.”
“Freelance,” she says softly. “I do freelance work. Think of me as a virtual assistant.”
“See?” I lift a brow. “That wasn’t so hard.”
She smiles. “Yeah, yeah.”
We ride in the car for thirty minutes as I drive her to Brooklyn. The neighborhood we enter is quiet, and I park near a meter before getting out and opening her door.
“You’re so old-fashioned,” she muses.
“I am old, remember?” I joke as I lead her to the restaurant’s doors.
“Reed!” the owner, an older gentleman in his sixties with thick white eyebrows, greets loudly. “Good to see you again.” His eyes shift to my date before they light up. “And with a beautiful woman! Please sit anywhere.”
I let Thalia choose our table, and she goes with a booth in the corner of the establishment. It has its own personal window, allowing the fading afternoon light to trickle in. As she slides in across from me, the tendrils catch on her hair, causing sunlight to dance off her pale features.
“You’re staring,” she says.
I blink, any mirth dying from my expression. “It’s hard not to.”
Her cheeks turn an adorable shade of pink as she opens her menu. “This is so weird. I drugged you, fucked you, and you invite me to dinner?”
“You forgot you stole my car too,” I supply helpfully.
She giggles. “Yeah! That too! How are you so…okay with that?”
I shrug. “Maybe I’ve been trying to find you for the last two weeks so I could ask you out. Who knows?”
“But why?!” She slaps her hands on the table. “Are you crazy?”
A waiter stops by, and we order our drinks as my date stares at me expectantly.
“I have to be a little certifiable to be doing this,” I say. “I’ve just never met anyone like you before…”
She taps a finger. “You don’t even know me, Reed.”
“But I want to,” I push. “I really want to know you, Thalia.”
She sits back, crossing her arms as her head tilts. “My favorite color is—”
“Black,” I interrupt, motioning to her outfit.
“Obviously,” she rolls her eyes with a small smile.
“Good choice.”
“I have two older brothers, my dad is dead, and my mom is a major cunt.” She snorts.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” I say sincerely.
She waves a hand. “Don’t be. He was an ass, too. My oldest brother, Rowan, basically became my father figure. My second oldest brother, Atlas, is just as insane as I am. They’re both married, and Atlas is expecting a baby girl with his childhood sweetheart.”
I’m eating everything up like fucking candy as she speaks about her home life. She gets this look about her when she’s transported to good memories—her face softens and those pale eyes hold so much warmth and joy that it’s heart-stopping to see.
“I have a best friend named Alana who’s an intel expert and lives with her husband. That covers all the important people in my life.” She shrugs as the waiter returns and takes our order.
Thalia gets a rich gnocchi dish and I settle for Alfredo. After we hand our menus over to the waiter, I probe her further. “Important people aren’t you, Thalia. What do you like to do for fun?”
She chokes on her water, setting it aside as she slaps a hand over her chest. “Sorry…um, next question.”
I give her a patient, stern look that tells her I won’t take any argument on the matter.
“I like guns,” she says, wincing. “I have a lot of guns…”
I’m surprised by her answer. “Oh, do you visit shooting ranges often?”
Her lips pull over her teeth as she gives me a tight smile. “Sure.”
Okay…
“Any other hobbies?” I ask.
She purses her lips as she draws on her cup, using the condensation to make swirling patterns. “Oh, God, please don’t make me tell you this…”
I scoot closer to the table. “Tell me what? How about we exchange information? You tell me one secret and I tell you one?”
She sighs, hanging her head before pointing at me. “Fine, but you’d better not laugh.”
I hold up a hand. “I would never. I’m a doctor, Little Devil. I don’t laugh about anything.”
That gets a smile from her as she takes a deep breath. “I like to crochet.”
My brows lift. “Oh? I hear it takes a lot of patience and practice. What do you make?”
“Mostly baby blankets. They’re the easiest and I like to listen to music or put on a show while I work. It keeps my head clear.”
Now we’re getting somewhere.
“I would love to see your work one day.” I encourage.
Her lips thin. “Pushing your luck. Your turn.”
“If I tell you mine, you can’t laugh either.” I say. “I like to read horror romance novels. Lots of blood and gore while still having the romance aspect to them to soften the pain.”
She rolls her lips in as our eyes crash. “I already knew that…”
“You did,” I nod. “Now, how did you feel about the ending of Bloody and Broken?”
She throws her hands up. “What kind of fucking cliffhanger was that?! Does Dax find Clara? If her car was at the bottom of the river, where is her body?!”
We fall into steady conversation, bouncing from topic to topic as our food is brought and we’re so caught up in each other that we hardly eat.
Hours pass as stories are swapped and our dishes grow cold.
It isn’t until the waiter returns to tell us that they’re closing that both my date and I give each other a sheepish glance.
I pay for our dinner before guiding Thalia out of the restaurant. As we walk to my car, there’s a burning question I want to ask her. “How are you getting home?”
She sighs, her breath fogging in the cold air. “I need to buy a new car anyway. I figured I would shop around before heading back.”
I scratch at the back of my neck. “Well, Columbus is just so far away…”
“Are you asking me to stay the night, Reed?” She elbows me.
“Only if you want to. I wouldn’t make you.” I stumble over my words, mentally slapping myself as I wait with bated breath for her answer.
As her mirth fades, I know she won’t stay. “Thank you for dinner, but I have a meeting tomorrow morning that I can’t miss.”
Disappointment pierces me, but I’m not the type to give up. “Then at least let me go car shopping with you.”