Love In Secrets (Love Distilled #3) - Scarlett Cole Page 0,39
A black shirt instead of his usual T-shirts. He’d tied his hair back and trimmed his scruff a little. Connor and Anders kept winding him up about the absence of any suits in his closet. The two of them were fucking clothes whores with their fancy labels. But his budget wouldn’t stretch that far for something he’d only wear a handful of times a year.
Hopefully Cassie would appreciate his efforts, because while it was only a date, it was an important one.
He raised his hand and knocked on the door.
“One second,” Cassie called out, then the door swung open.
His eyes popped at the sight of her. First, her hair was down and so smooth the light reflected off it. And second, her sundress. Well, her body in that dress. Theoretically, there was too much fabric for it to be sexy, but fuck, she did it justice. Strapless, red, gathered beneath her perky rack, and then it fell to the ground in waves.
And her face. Fuck, he couldn’t list all the things she’d done with makeup, but she looked like an angel who’d landed in his spare room.
“I’ve changed my mind. Fuck dating. Let’s stay home.” He pressed his lips to hers as she laughed at his comment.
“You promised me dinner and I’m hungry.”
“I’ll order takeout.”
“So romantic.”
“Hey, you were the one trying to strip me naked in the kitchen last night. Why are we suddenly playing it coy?”
Cassie laughed. “I did not attempt to strip you naked. I was misled with regards to your intentions.”
Jake stopped kissing her neck and stood. “My intentions were, and still are, nefarious. The timeline for my nefariousness happens to be slower than yours.”
She reached up and kissed his cheek. “Take me to dinner, Jake.”
He’d always intended to, but he responded gruffly, as if put out by the suggestion. “Fine. Let’s go before I give that dress a tug and can see your boobs again.”
“So, you’re a boob guy?” she asked as he led her to his truck and opened the door.
He checked out her ass as she climbed in. “Something like that.”
Jake smiled as he walked around the truck. Being with Cassie made him happy. Not just in a my life is ticking along fine kind of happy, but in a I could sit in the truck and talk to her for hours way.
Fifteen minutes later, they pulled up outside a highly recommended steak house in Lakewood. Connor had taken Emerson and recommended it. Said their pork chop with a pistachio crust was to die for.
“You know I’m a sure thing, right?” Cassie said, once they were seated at their table next to a tall, glass window. “Like, this is fancy and nice and all, but I’d have been fine somewhere cheaper.”
“Really? Damn. Could have saved myself a buck or two if I’d known.”
Cassie leaned forward in her seat and peered at him over the top of the menu. “We can leave,” she whispered. “Say something came up and we have to go.”
Jake grinned. “I’m kidding. I can’t remember the last time I went out for dinner with a woman on a Saturday night. So, enjoy.”
“Fine. But you need to let me split the check with you.”
Jake raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know how dates are done in New York, but here, the guy pays. Well, I do. Maybe I’m old-fashioned. But you get your credit card out when the bill comes and you’ll piss me off.”
“Okay, Mr. Bossy pants. You can pay. I might order the most expensive wine on the menu. Like a Chateau Lafite Rothschild or—”
“Hey, welcome, I’m Heath and I’ll be your server tonight. What can I get you to drink?”
Jake glared at her, daring her to order the fancy bottle she’d mentioned.
Cassie grinned. “I’ll take a glass of the New Zealand sauvignon blanc, please.”
“I’ll take the pale ale you have on draft.”
“No gin?” Cassie asked as the server walked away.
Jake shook his head. “Believe it or not, I never drink it outside the distillery. We make it, I test each batch. We bring competitors’ bottles in to try them and assess them to see what others are doing. The last thing I actually feel like at the end of the day is more gin. What about you, Miss I’m-going-to-order-a-bottle-of-Chateau-Blah-de-Blah?”
Cassie tilted her head, leaving her shoulder bare. What he wouldn’t give to run a line of kisses along her collarbone. “You want to know a secret?”
Jake leaned forward, gently teasing her fingers across the table. “I want to know everything.”