second chance at that experience.
“Trying not to be caught will be fun,” she added.
Curt grinned. “I’m really lucky I met you,” he said.
Then he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close again, and this time he bent to kiss her. The kiss was much deeper than the one they had shared on the yacht, and Annalise’s heart pounded as she lost herself in the sensation.
Chapter 8
“You didn’t really have to cook, you know,” Curt said. “We could have gone to my place and let my chef take care of us.”
“Don’t think I’m not going to take you up on that sometime,” Annalise said, grinning. “But I wanted to cook for you. I’ve never actually made dinner for a guy I was dating before.”
Curt tugged at his shirt collar and bit his lip in a parody of nervousness.
Annalise laughed. “Don’t worry about it,” she said. “I’ve made this meal for myself plenty of times, and it always turns out fine. I’m not getting experimental on you.”
“I’m not actually worried.” He smiled easily. “What are we having?”
“Scampi fettuccine,” she said. “With a salad and homemade garlic bread.”
“You baked your own bread?”
“I make sourdough pretty regularly,” she said. She indicated the plate of bread, which was already on the table with the salad. “The pasta will be just another couple of minutes, but go ahead and try the bread.”
“Are you sure? I don’t mind waiting.”
“No, you should get a piece while it’s hot,” Annalise insisted.
Curt nodded, took a piece of garlic bread, and bit into it. “Wow,” he said. “That’s great.”
“Thanks.” Annalise smiled. “Making my own bread is one of my indulgences.”
“Well, it’s a good one,” he said.
She poured the pasta from the pot into a strainer in the sink, ran hot water over it to keep it from sticking, and then transferred it to a bowl, where she stirred in the sauce and added the shrimp. She carried it to the table and set it down.
“Dinner is served,” she said.
Curt took a seat. Annalise sat opposite him and held up a bottle of wine. “Would you like some?”
“That sounds great.” Curt passed his glass, and Annalise poured some out for him before handing it back.
He raised his glass to her. “To meeting new people and trying new things.”
“Trying new things,” she echoed, her heart fluttering in her chest. She took a long drink of wine, hoping to quiet her nerves.
Curt served himself some of the pasta, along with a bowl full of salad. For a few minutes the two of them ate heartily, enjoying the food.
I wonder if he’s feeling as nervous as I am?
Though it was their third date, this was the first time Annalise had had Curt over to her house. It was the first time the two of them had been together in private, unless you counted the few moments they’d spent in her classroom after hours. But the classroom was different. It didn’t feel like a private place to Annalise, considering that it was usually bustling with sixth-graders.
Her apartment—that was another matter entirely.
Almost no one ever came here. Janette had been over, of course, but more often the sisters preferred to spend time together at Janette’s house, which was bigger. And when Annalise saw her friends, she tended to meet them out of the house.
Certainly, she had never brought a date back here.
If Curt’s thoughts were running along a similar track, he gave no indication.
Instead, he patted his stomach and grinned. “This is amazing,” he said. “I’m going to have to be careful not to eat the whole thing.”
“Have as much as you want,” she encouraged him.
He laughed. “I don’t want to fall asleep on your couch,” he said.
“All right,” she said, unable to stop herself from wondering where he did want to fall asleep. “Tell me about your film shoot. How’s that going?”
“Not bad,” he said.
“You said it was an action film, right?”
He wrinkled his nose. “Only kind of. It has a few action scenes. But they’re probably not what you’re thinking of. No chases across rooftops or diving out of helicopters.”
“You said you had a fight scene.”
“Yeah, but it’s the least exciting kind of fight in the business,” he said. “The leading lady’s ex-boyfriend comes back on the scene and I sock him in the nose for being a jerk.”
Annalise burst out laughing. “You need choreography for that?”
“Absolutely,” Curt said. “We have to make sure I don’t really punch the guy. He’s a nice guy.”
“You said you would show me how you do it,”