guy’s, but I supposed people’s hair tended to get darker over time. His eyes were pretty spot on for Dane’s, with that electric blue. I couldn’t count the hours I’d spent back in the day waxing lyrical about those eyes. And that face. And that body.
Drool.
I snapped myself out of it before something really embarrassing happened, tuning back in on Rick and Dane’s conversation. As I listened, I couldn’t keep my eyes from drifting down.
Before Dane had been nicknamed Insane Dane, he’d been called Great Dane. Not because his height or his build made him so much bigger than the other guys, but because apparently, he had an enormous penis.
I’d never had the privilege of verifying this fact for myself, but trying to catch glimpses had become something of an obsession with me. Yeah, for the person you were what, twelve, thirteen years ago?
Even so, I did glance down at his crotch now and found that same, satisfying bulge sitting there that I remembered ogling with my formerly virginal eyes so often.
Yep. That’s definitely Dane.
Something he said in that deep, melodic timbre of his made my thoughts about his nether regions screech to an abrupt halt as soon as it wiggled its way into my lust-addled brain. “I wanted our visit here to be a surprise. Jefferson and I are scouring the country for the face of the next Killen perfume line. He actually just offered Leah the opportunity to interview, but she turned him down flat.”
Rick spun around, obviously searching for me. He sent me a questioning look when his gaze locked on mine. Then he beckoned me over.
Marlee nudged me. “See? I told you the old guy looked rich. Go out there. Right now.”
I stumbled a little when she gave me an encouraging shove, catching myself and smoothing out my god-awful uniform as I approached them. In all the fantasies I’d had about seeing Dane again, and there had definitely been a few of those over the years, I’d always envisioned looking fabulous when the big moment finally arrived.
Never in my worst nightmares would I have imagined that I’d be dressed in the khaki restaurant uniform with my hair pulled up into an unbrushed ponytail. I wasn’t even wearing any makeup, for God’s sake.
Silently, I cursed the Gods of Girlhood Crushes who were supposed to make sure that every girl turned into a Vision of Breathtaking, Seductive Womanity when she saw said crush again. They definitely hadn’t come through for me on this one.
“Leah,” Rick said when I was almost to them. “Why would you turn down a job offer like the one that was just made to you? You remember Dane, right?”
“Sure.” I lifted my hand to give him a casual wave. Like I wasn’t turning into the human embodiment of teenage hormones just by being so close to him again. “How are you, Dane?”
“I’m good,” he said with the smallest hint of a smile on his lips when our eyes met. “You didn’t recognize me earlier, huh?”
“Nope,” I said in a sing-song voice, trying to ignore the fact that I knew he was alluding to how we’d been eye-fornicating since he’d sat down. “Can’t say I did. Did you know who I was?”
“Yep.” He smirked, his brow arching ever so slightly as his gaze melted into mine. “I’d have said it’s because I never forget a pretty face, but since your brother’s standing right here, I’ll just go with having seen you two talking when I walked in.”
Rick smacked his friend on the chest, glowering but also rolling his eyes. “Oh please. You’re going to need better lines than that if you want to stand a chance with my sister. Now tell her again what you were telling me.”
“Mr. Killen,” Dane said, inclining his head to where the older man was still eating his steak at their table behind us, “was being serious when he made you that offer. It’s just an interview and the pay for this gig is incredible. I’d consider it if I were you.”
“It’s a huge opportunity,” Rick interjected. “This is Jefferson fucking Killen we’re talking about here. If you work for him, you can write anything you want and people will eat it up. You can’t ask for a better opportunity than this.”
“You really can’t,” Dane said. “I’ll be with you every step of the way. What have you got to lose? Like I said, it’s just an interview.”
My brother’s chin lowered as he stared at me, and I could see