Chapter 45
CHAPTER 45
After my appointment, Porter drove us to a small Thai restaurant to celebrate. He held my chair when I sat. We ordered our food and talked. Not about our situation or hitmen or how we were going to break up. He steered the conversation to talk about real life things. Like movies. Travel. He told me cute stories about Theo and how he met Jackson.
It struck me that this felt like a date. This is what it’d feel like to be taken on a date by Porter. He looked so attractive, smiling at one of my stories, with those high cheekbones and those lips, and suddenly, I felt sick at the thought of the next woman that would be lucky enough to date him.
“What are you thinking?”
“Why do you ask?”
“You have that look on your face.”
“It’s stupid.”
“Tell me.”
I swallowed, not wanting to ruin the mood. “This felt like a date.”
“You just figured that out?”
“Wait, what?” I stared at him in shock .
“We’re on a date.”
“This is a date?”
“You’re acting like you’ve never been on a date.”
“Not with you!”
“So, we’re unconventional. First we get engaged then we go on dates.”
I took a moment to process that statement. “Did you date a lot?”
“Not particularly.”
I was so curious about this man. Who did he date before Felicia? Did he do conventional dating? Was he a romantic at heart?
“What’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever done for a date?”
He teased, “I usually save talking about past relationships for second dates.”
“Humor me.”
“I don’t do romance.”
“Do you break out into hives?”
“Something like that.” He nodded. “What’s the most romantic thing someone’s done for you?”
You, when you risked your life, saving my ass from getting run over.
You, when you cared for my parents when they needed help.
You, when you hunted down a hitman to protect me.
“I bet you’ve had your fair share of romantic getaway weekends with a lot of champagne and roses.” Those grey eyes watched my face, a question in them.
I blurted out, “When you took care of Donny Patrino.”
“Come on.”
The teasing tone between us faded as we stared at each other. I lifted my chin. “That is, hands down, the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me. Nothing before that or nothing after that will ever compare.”
He stared at the table for a long moment. Why did I say these things? Why did I ruin moments by always speaking my mind ?
He lifted his gaze to mine. “You need to know I don’t put out on the first date.”
“How’s it going with Porter?” Emily asked via FaceTime.
I glanced over my shoulder, making sure I was alone. “Two weeks ago, he took me on a date.”
“What? That’s great.” She looked over her own shoulder and whispered, “Did he rock your world?”
I shook my head. “We came home, and he made out with me like a horny high school boy, but I never got him past first base.”
Delight flew across her pretty face. “And?”
“We’ve gone out for coffee, he’s bought me dinner three times, and he meets me at my job during lunch hour to eat with me in the park. But he seems to have put on his chastity belt because I haven’t gotten past second base with him.”
Her mouth dropped open. “He’s wooing you.”
“What?” I leaned forward. “Wasn’t that word archived in, like, the late 1800s?”
“I think it’s sweet.”
“We’re going backwards,” I wailed. “We started out fake-engaged, and then had scorching hot sex, and now we’re going on lunch dates, and he’s kissing me like I’m in grade school.”
“He’s obviously interested in you. He’s spending time with you. What are the kissing sessions like?”
I planted my head on my desk and groaned. “I’m so damn hot after those sessions, I’m practically self-combusting. It’s torture, Emily. Torture!” I paused. “Maybe they teach sexual torture in SEAL training. You think?”
She laughed but didn’t answer.
I put my face to the camera. “Is he trying to slowly end this with me? Is this his way of letting me down easy?”
She scrunched up her face. “I kind of doubt it. ”
“How do you know?”
“The guys on Jackson’s team are a different breed. They don’t play games. They don’t screw around. If they’re into a chick, they’re the most patient men alive. But if they aren’t interested, they’re upfront about it.”
“How?”
“You simply cease to exist in their world.”
I sat back, horrified. “That sounds terrible.”
“I’ve seen it happen. They’re honest about how they feel, but they’re not like other guys. When they like a chick, they’re confident and patient, and they do things on their own terms.”
“Emily, please translate.”
She sat back, satisfied. “I think he likes you, Beth. I think he’s trying to have a relationship with you. One that is not about fake relationships or hot sex.”
I put my heart on my chest. “If you’re wrong…”
“I think he likes you.”
“I’ve told him how I feel about him already. He’s never said anything back to me.”
“These guys don’t talk about their feelings.”
“What? Why not?”
“I don’t know.” A thoughtful crossed her face. “It was actually really confusing when Jackson and I were getting together.”
I snorted. “Well, not for anyone watching.”
“What do you want?”
“I want hot sex. Lots of it.”
She smiled that cute little smile. “That’s easy. You need to seduce him.”
I gaped at her. “What?”
“Yeah, you know…” She trailed off. “Take the bull by the horns and make it happen, but make him think he’s the one who’s making it happen.” She was devious for my innocent Emily.
I put my hand on my forehead. “You think it’ll work? ”
“Well, maybe don’t make it obvious, so if he does shut you down, you can pretend you weren’t actually trying to make it happen.”
“Why do I come to you for advice?” I moaned. “That’s like the worst advice ever.”
She laughed. “It’s not. And you know it. Now go get some sexy time happening and report back.”