Hidden Ink (Montgomery Ink #4.5)(12)

He tilted his head, studying her face. “If that’s what you want. I have reservations at Illusion in a bit, but I can move that if you want to do something different.” He grinned again. “I didn’t actually ask you what you wanted to do after all.”

She let out a breath. “We did this a little backward, didn’t we?”

He shrugged. “So what? We’re doing this, whatever this is, our way. That’s all that matters. So, why don’t you go put a jacket on and we’ll head to Illusion. We’ll figure the rest out when we do.”

She nodded, oddly warming at his words. She liked the use of the word our. She hadn’t been an our in far too long. As soon as she got her jacket and purse, she locked the door behind her and stood on the front porch with Sloane. He slid his large, calloused hand over hers and she licked her lips.

He’d touched her in the past, of course; slight caresses or a small pat on the back.

But he’d never held her hand.

This was happening.

“Ready?” he asked, his voice low, deep.

Was she ready? She wasn’t sure she’d ever be ready, but here she was, with Sloane, as whole as she could be and about to take a leap.

“Yeah,” she whispered. “Yes, I am,” she said a little more clearly.

He met her gaze and gave her a nod. “Good.” With that, he led her to his truck, a very sexy extended cab with thick tires for the winter. She knew he also had a bike he used whenever it was warm, and she’d always imagined riding behind him, her thighs wrapped around his body as they rode.

She blushed, annoyed with herself for even blushing in the first place, and pushed those thoughts from her mind.

Date first.

Sex later.

As soon as Sloane got into the cab, he raised a brow at her. “Either you’re cold from standing outside too long with me or you’re thinking dirty thoughts.”

She snorted and waved her hand. “I forget you know me so well.”

He licked his lips. “Does that mean you’re thinking dirty thoughts?”

This was Sloane, she told herself once more. She could be herself.

“So what if I was? You’re sexy, and I was thinking of your bike.”

He smiled then, his teeth white against the tan of his skin. “When the weather gets warmer, I’ll take you for a ride.”

Of course, her mind immediately went to the thought of riding him. And then the idea of her riding on his bike in general. Did he mean that he wanted her with him, as in with him, on that bike or was it just a friend thing?

And why the hell was she thinking so hard.

“Stop thinking so hard.”

She gave him a side-eye as he drove. “Stop reading my mind.”

“I can’t help it. It’s just what we do.”

“True,” she mumbled. “What are we doing, Sloane?” She hadn’t meant for that last part to come out, but she apparently couldn’t hold it in.

He let out a sigh and gripped the steering wheel a little tighter, as evidenced from the whiteness of his knuckles.

“I’m taking you out. We’re going to eat, talk a bit, then we’ll figure it out.”

She pressed her lips together. “And? And what then? I mean why now? Why did you wait until Brody asked me out to do anything?”

He let out a little growl then pulled over to the side of the road. Her eyes widened as he put on his flashers and turned to her.

“Okay, let’s get this straight. You and I? We’ve been circling each other for a while now. I know it. You know it. So let’s just say it.”

She nodded. “Yeah, you’re right about that, but—”

“I’m not done.”

She snorted but waved for him to continue. She kind of liked him all growly and broody—God help her.

“I liked the dance we had even though I hated it. I’ve wanted you, Hailey, but…well, for reasons of my own, I stayed away. I know I’m not good enough for you, but I don’t damn well seem to care right now. I love what we have, love that we talk and I watch you bake, but I want more.” He paused for a moment. “I don’t know as I deserve it, but I want it. And for the record? You could have asked me out anytime before now. You’re not one to back away. You have your secrets, but you say what you want most times.”

She swallowed hard, her mind whirling. “I guess I could have asked you out before. And you’re right. I do have secrets, and that’s why I didn’t do anything about it.”

He studied her face once more. “Well, we’re doing something about it now. So let’s move on from why we didn’t before and figure out what we’re going to do next. I know those secrets of ours are going to come out, but—”

This time, she interrupted him. “But if we keep going in circles, we’ll only end up hurting each other.”

“Exactly. So, does Illusion sound good to you still? Or do you want something different? I know you work with food every day, so you choose.”

Illusion was a hipster place that had popped up in downtown Denver a few months ago. It wasn’t as pretentious as many of the new hipster places tended to be, and they had fantastic food. They were a hole-in-the-wall that tended to be busy—hence the reservations for dinner. But everything was organic and tasty. Since Hailey only ate organic thanks to the chemicals she’d pumped her body full of in her effort to get healthy, it worked for her.