up her cheeks.
Either he’d shocked her with his bluntness—which was entirely possible—or she genuinely hadn’t considered the possibility that if he started kissing her again, he might not be able to stop.
She went rapidly from confusion to surprise to embarrassed satisfaction. She didn’t quite meet his gaze as she nodded. “Okay. So where do we go from here?”
“We go to dinner.”
“Dinner?”
“Yeah.” He grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the door. He snagged a set of keys from the console. “Neither of us has eaten. Public is much better. I don’t trust myself alone with you.”
Ward let her drive to dinner. Though he’d only had two shots, it had been on an empty stomach since he hadn’t yet dug into the take-out leftovers. And she’d only had a sip of her drink. His sensibility on the subject impressed her. A lot of men viewed asking someone else to drive as an affront to their masculinity. Not Ward.
He let her choose which car she drove, offering up one of his instead of her mild-mannered rental. Standing in the bay of the carriage house garage, she considered her options. A bright Tesla—a powerful, all-electric sports car. Another Lexus hybrid, identical to the one he drove in California. And a fully-restored Hudson Hornet, all patent leather and gleaming chrome. Its sleek lines both elegant and powerful, giving the impression that it was a wild beast, poised to pounce on some prey.
She’d probably never again have the opportunity to drive a machine like this. Only an idiot would choose her rented sedan under the circumstances.
In many ways, this thing with Ward was just like that. All her life, she’d put off getting involved romantically. She’d held herself aloof. Made the sensible decision. In short, she’d been driving a sedan her whole life.
And now, here she was faced with ultimate temptation.
No, she’d never have a real relationship with Ward. His heart belonged to another. Despite that, he desired her. His passion when they’d kissed had been unmistakable, even to a relative neophyte like her. Moreover, he’d stirred within her feelings that no one else ever had. If all she could have was his passion, then she’d make do with that.
She had no illusions he’d ever love her, but that was okay. As long as she kept her heart out of it, she could indulge her body’s desires. How could she resist? Geez, she figured there was even a chance he was experienced enough that he’d barely notice taking her virginity when the time came. At the very least, she knew the passion between them would burn hot enough to make giving it up worth it.
As she slid behind the wheel of the Hornet, pure adrenaline shot through her. It was very likely that driving this classic muscle car would ruin her for other cars forever. She didn’t care. This was a once in a lifetime chance and she was going to seize it with both hands.
Dinner was a laid-back affair at a local diner wedged between a martial arts studio and a pub. It was enough of a dive that no one would just wander in off the street. Only a pretty adamant recommendation would get a newcomer through the door. But inside, it was clean and well lit. The owner—a boisterous Greek man—immediately came over to welcome Ward and clap him soundly on the arm. The other customers glanced in their direction, but otherwise ignored them, a sure sign Ward was a regular.
She couldn’t help but smile when Ward slid into the red Naugahyde booth and his bench scooted a few inches back. Apparently, the man just couldn’t sit down without moving furniture. Her amusement shifted to nervousness when she slid in opposite him and his legs brushed against hers. With his arm stretched out along the back of the bench, he seemed to fill the space so completely she could barely focus on reading the menu, let alone on making a decision about what to eat.
She allowed Ward to order for her and they feasted on spicy lamb hamburgers dripping with tzatziki sauce and served with fries and breaded zucchini. Over dinner, they spoke mostly of their plans for Hannah’s Hope and his work with CMF.
There was an intimacy to sharing food with Ward that unsettled her. She didn’t date much, having learned early in life avoiding romantic entanglements meant avoiding the physical advances that inevitably followed. So she wasn’t used to the experience of sitting across from someone in a cramped booth.