Aussie actually blushed red almost to the roots of his hair. “You definitely got me.” He winked at her. “Is this how all your other dates go?”
Aubree bit her lip before replying. “Is this a date?”
Their gazes met and she saw his expression was completely serious now; there was a burning intensity in his eyes as he replied. “It can be whatever you want. Dinner with a friend, a date, or even just dinner with your neighborhood bartender.”
Aubree relaxed. He was letting her choose how this relationship would go as though he sensed she needed some control over it. God, Matthew made her so at ease. Yet, he turned her on like crazy. Sitting so close in the booth, she couldn’t deny the chemistry between them was more than just sizzling. Whenever he looked at her, she couldn’t help but picture him kissing her, then pinning her against the wall as he made her feel small and feminine while he mastered her with his body. He looked like the sort of man who knew just how to send a woman over the edge again and again.
She straightened her shoulders and prepared to ask him her question.
“Well, friendly neighborhood bartender, I need your advice and maybe your help.” There. That sounded logical, not too propositional.
He waited, seemingly patient to let her continue at her own pace.
“You remember the Meet Cute app I showed you?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, they have these challenges you can issue to other members, like sweet or sexy challenges.”
“Okay.” Matthew leaned forward in his chair and rested his elbows on the table.
“I’ve never gotten one before and normally wouldn’t accept one, but then I thought what the heck. It lets me choose who to do the challenge with.” So far this was going okay. He hadn’t run out of the restaurant screaming yet.
“So, what was your challenge?”
“To French kiss someone with an accent?” She ended her sentence as a question because she still expected him to get up and leave.
“Well, good thing you’re taking me out to dinner after making a sexy demand like that.” He teased her.
“Oh God, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you that. It’s just…” She floundered for words.
“Hey, I was only kidding.” He reached across the table and grabbed one of her hands, holding it gently. “So, the challenge is just to French kiss?”
“Yeah, no biggie, right?” She tried to act like it was nothing.
“It can be. Kissing is important.” His voice was low and soft, almost a caress. “A kiss can be light or deep, heartfelt, seductive, sincere or comforting. How someone kisses tells you who a person is.” He met her eyes as he spoke and in that moment, she glimpsed a part of his soul—the part that believed in the magic of what love could be and that a kiss held the power to change the world, not just one person. The intense way he was looking at her was something she’d already dreamed of.
His words were poetic and potent in a way that somehow the idea of kissing him didn’t seem so casual anymore. It was suddenly so much more than that. Before either of them could speak, the waiter brought their pizza and it was a lot easier to eat and talk about everything but a French kiss.
She learned a lot about Matthew. He liked rock music from the seventies and learned to ride horses on a farm in rural Australia where he grew up with his grandparents. His parents had died in a car accident when he was only eight.
“Do you miss Australia?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Sometimes. The place you live in for a large part of your life will always hold significance, good or ill. I still visit once a year. But I don’t miss it as much as I thought I would. I’ve been so excited about starting my life here.” He paused. “Bartending has become an important part of who I am. I love guessing what a customer’s favorite drink might be. I love making pieces of art inside a glass and seeing someone’s face when they take that first sip. It’s an ephemeral thing, but not all wonders are endless you know. Some beautiful things are fleeting but no less stunning.”
“I agree,” she said. “Like butterflies. They are incredibly beautiful, yet they last barely a season and then they’re gone. It doesn’t make their value or their beauty any less.”
“Exactly.” Matthew brushed his hair out of his eyes and an almost bashful look on his face