cope by filling the void physically, but never emotionally.
"You were saying?" he asks, his emerald eyes glowing, golden flecks reflecting the flame of the candle on our table.
"I was thinking that you seem to have rather intimate knowledge of me, considering this is our first date.” It’s my turn to lean forward. “Tell me, Mr. Willis, have you been stalking me?”
“Yes,” he answers without hesitation.
The way he looks at me tightens my insides, making any inhibitions that I should have regarding spending the night with him after only a first real date disappear.
“Can I tell you that yesterday on the plane, I wasn’t sure…” I take a deep breath and lay the rose next to my place setting. "When you said you wanted to keep this...deal going."
"Kimbra." Duncan reaches across the table and covers my hand. "If this is about what I told you..."
I shake my head. "It isn't. It's about me." Tears blur my vision as I go on. "You're still the sexy, smart man I've admired from afar."
His eyebrows jump. "You've admired me? So I’m not the only one with wet dreams?"
"Shut up," I say with a grin. "But even when I tricked you into being my plus-one..." He starts to object, and I go on, speaking over him. "...or you seized the opportunity..." He nods. "...I had no idea what to expect. What I didn't expect was to fall deeper under your spell. I mean, you put up with my family. You stood up for me when Kevin gave me a hard time. You watched out for my cousin. You completely wooed my grandma and made me see that even if I'm not Scarlett, who I am is okay. And then, when I expected you to walk away, you asked me for more."
"Kimbra, you’re not just okay. You are so beyond okay." Duncan squeezes my hand.
"I need to ask you something. Do you remember my telling you that I have an issue with cheating, how when I first invited you, told you about the bachelor party, how I asked you to please not do anything that my brother or cousins would see? Remember how happy I was when I walked into that club?"
"Not as happy as I was to see you."
"Do you remember?"
"Yes."
"The reason Timothy and I broke up was because after the company Christmas party, we attended another party for New Year’s Eve.” I bite the inside of my lip as I recall the scene. “There were a lot of Buchanan and Willis employees there. I lost track of Timothy. When I found him—"
"You don't have to tell me any more," Duncan says.
I go on. "As you can probably figure out, he wasn't alone. He was with someone from Buchanan and Willis."
Duncan's eyes open wide. "Who? Do I know her?"
"I would suppose. Don't you know all your employees?"
"Not as well as my HR department."
"She works in accounting—"
"Accounting?" Duncan's complexion pales.
"Yes. Today..." Before I can say any more, the waiter is back with our salads.
Duncan lifts his wine glass. "In the future, I think I'll enjoy being able to talk shop with you. Tonight, however, I'm supposed to woo a beautiful woman on a first date."
I push away my concerns over Carla and Maxwell as well as Eric's comment about my having an axe to grind. Instead, I simply nod and lift my glass, meeting his halfway across the table. They unite with a clink.
Throughout the multiple courses of delicious food, we talk and laugh. He tells me more about Mike and Kelli. We discuss my family and his. It’s so much more than a first date—no moments of uncomfortable silence or uncertainty of where this will lead. As we finish our meal, I gaze out the windows at the city and back at the man whose eyes are only on me and think how amazing it all is. How I'm living my dream.
Duncan looks up from his phone. "Pierce will be outside in a few minutes." He stands and offers me his hand. "Now, tell me, Miss Jones, did you enjoy our first date?"
“Immensely, Mr. Willis. No emergency call from Shana.” I feel my eyes sparkle with anticipation. “Is it over?"
"It is. I apologize for the rush..."
My eyes open wide.
"You see, I was told that spending the night together is inappropriate on a first date." He shrugs. "Who knew?"
I laugh. "I thought you liked inappropriate."
"I do, but I'm in this for the long haul. Therefore, Pierce is on his way to whisk us off to date