guy.”
“They’re all good guys until they aren’t anymore.”
“You have a point,” she says, and I lift my head to look at her. “I’m not saying you have to date him, but I want you to meet him. Please.” She holds her hands in front of her in a prayer position.
“Okay.” I sigh.
“Okay?”
“Yeah, okay.”
She rubs her hands together, looking far too happy with herself. “This is going to be great. I promise—he’s nice, and perfect for you.”
“I’ll meet him for coffee.”
“Dinner.”
“Coffee.” I hold firm. There is no way I want to sit through an hour-long dinner with someone I don’t know and don’t like.
“Fine, coffee.” She rolls her eyes. “But when you marry him, I expect to be your maid of honor.”
I snort, knowing that’s not going to happen. “Fine.”
“I’m telling you now; you’re going to thank me. You two are perfect for each other.”
I doubt that, but still I say, “Tell me about him.”
For the next thirty minutes, I listen to her drone on and on about Adam, but if I’m honest, I don’t remember half of what she tells me due to the shots of tequila she continues to feed me throughout our conversation.
Chapter 2
Dakota
MY FOOT BOUNCES as the cab I’m in fights traffic to get me across town, where I’m meeting my blind date for coffee. After my first week of work, the last thing I want to do is go out, but Maggie called me this morning to confirm I still planned on showing up, and I couldn’t tell her no.
“It’s just coffee.”
“What?” the driver asks, and I shake my head.
“Sorry, just talking to myself.” I glance at my phone. Being late, hungry, and exhausted is making me feel more anxious than I would normally be. My first week at IMG was great, but with so much to learn and do, it’s taken a toll on my sleep. Then there’s getting used to living on my own again. I love having my own space and a bed to sleep in, but I miss having someone around to chat with at the end of the day.
“Fuck.” The driver hits the brakes, making me slide forward in my seat, and I place my hand on the glass in front of me to keep from banging my head into it. I sit back in my seat and look through the windshield, noticing two cars have gotten into an accident blocking both lanes. He rolls down his window and sticks his head outside, motioning with his hand. “Stupid idiots, get out of the road.”
“Fuck you. Go around!” a large man who looks like he eats small children yells back with a not so nice hand gesture.
“I can’t go around. No one can go around!” my driver shouts, pissing the big guy off, and he starts toward the cab I’m in with a vein in his head visibly throbbing.
“I’m just going to walk the rest of the way,” I blurt, and my driver turns to look at me. I glance at the meter and take a twenty out of my purse, handing it over to him.
“You’re still four blocks away.”
“I don’t mind walking.” I give him a smile and get out of the cab, hurrying to the sidewalk. I pull up a GPS app on my cell and type in the coffee shop then groan inwardly. It’s almost a fifteen-minute walk, something that wouldn’t be bad if I weren’t wearing heels.
With no other choice, I place my purse on my shoulder and move forward, telling myself this is a good way to get in my steps for the day. And I’ll have definitely earned the right to eat the double chocolate brownie ice cream I bought a few days ago.
I reach the intersection across from the coffee shop fifteen minutes later and wait for the walk sign with everyone else. That’s when I see him. My heart starts to pound, my throat closes up, and my pulse quickens as I take in the imposing figure across the street. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more beautiful man.
His suit-covered shoulders are broad, his hips lean, and his legs long, thick, and powerful covered in a pair of dark grey slacks that match his suit jacket. The dark-blue dress shirt he’s wearing is unbuttoned, showing the thick column of his throat. He jerks his fingers through his hair then checks his watch, his jaw ticking in annoyance, making me wonder if he’s mad I’m late.
Someone knocking into me pulls me from my perusal,