No Love Allowed(13)

Her stomach growled, making the decision for her. She stepped out, forcing him back.

“I figure if you want me to listen to your ‘proposal,’ you at least owe me lunch,” she said, pulling the door closed.

He raked those gorgeous eyes over her body again. He might as well have touched her from the way her skin pebbled from a single look. “Don’t you want to change first?” he suggested.

She looked down at her paint-stained overalls and tank top underneath. Even without a bra on she had considered herself pretty much dressed. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

“I believe restaurants have a no flip-flop policy.” He pointed at her choice of footwear.

Lifting her foot, she examined the bright pink slipper. “These are my favorite pair too. And here I thought glitter was considered formal wear.”

“So you’re going to change?”

The hope in his voice made her want to mess with him. “Who said anything about restaurants? I don’t have to change for where we’re going.”

“And where is that?”

With a cheeky grin, she walked past him to . . . Jesus, even his car was gorgeous. White with black racing stripes, the Mustang was all hard lines and lean muscle. Just like its driver. Sometimes money wasn’t half bad, she caught herself thinking. Caleb ran past her and opened the passenger door. She paused, eyebrow inching up.

“A gentleman,” she said.

He dropped his gaze. Was that pink on the tips of his ears? Her eyes brightened. Oh, he was hiding a blush. She made a mental note to make it a point to unsettle him whenever she got a chance.

Assuming she would get another chance.

“My mother always said it’s a man’s duty to make a woman happy,” he said, locking gazes with her again.

“And you think opening doors will do that?”

“Just get in.” There was that equally sexy frown she was growing fond of.

“My, you’re pushy.” She blew him a kiss before taking a seat. And just as he pushed the door closed, she added, “I like it.”

Finding Didi hadn’t been difficult. Tony at the country club had been helpful. Well, once he was assaulted by Nathan’s potent persuasive powers, anyway. Sometimes his cousin scared the shit out of Caleb.

Even the grunt work he had been given at the firm couldn’t stop him from planning out his proposal. How he would approach her about it. How he would broach the subject. He even practiced it in front of a mirror. When that creeped him out, he practiced on Nathan. When Nathan annoyed him by grotesquely imitating someone he hadn’t met, he practiced on Preston.

But it still took Caleb days to actually arrive at Didi’s door, despite thinking about her nonstop.

A girl taking over his brain like that had never happened before. Maybe desperation did that to a guy. If she didn’t say yes, he had no idea what he would do. And now he had her exactly where he wanted her. At a McDonald’s. Scratch that. Not exactly where he wanted her. He had originally planned to take her to a family-owned Italian place across town he loved. But men running out of time couldn’t be choosers. If Didi wanted a Big Mac with a side of bursting his ego, then she would have it.

He just hoped Nathan would never find out. His cousin would never get caught dead standing beside, let alone inside, any fast-food establishment. Thinking of the calories would have given him an aneurism.

Feeling out of his element, he watched Didi walk up to the counter as if she had done it countless times before. Speaking quickly, she asked for a No. 1, supersized. The pimply-faced cashier punched in her order and turned to grab a burger in a box, a bucket of fries, and a drink the size of a gasoline can. Caleb blinked several times before he could find the words.

“You’re going to eat all that?” he asked, openly staring.

Instead of answering him, Didi said to the guy across from them, “That reminds me, one hot fudge sundae as well, please.” Only when the guy turned to get what she had asked for did she look at him. “What do you want?”

He flicked his gaze toward the overhead menu. “Um . . .”

“Don’t tell me you’ve never had fast food before.”

His jaw clicked shut. “McDonald’s isn’t exactly what I call food. If we want burgers, we can grab some at the country club, or choose one of the many other restaurants in town. You sure I can’t persuade you to go somewhere else? I know this Italian place. I’m pretty sure they’ll let you in.” He gestured at her from head to toe.

Nothing seemed to faze her. Instead of frowning at his blatant insult, or worse, throwing some sort of fit like the girls he was used to, she smiled brightly. “Oh, we’re totally not leaving now. Not when I know you’re a fast-food virgin.” He opened his mouth to argue, but she was already ordering the same thing she was having for him.

The next thing he knew he was paying for food that cost less than the gas he had used to drive to her place. Didi shoved the tray into his hands. Trying hard not to spill their liter-sized drinks, all he could do was follow her to a corner booth at the back.

Didi slid onto one bench while he gingerly placed the tray on the table. Then he sat down opposite her, ignoring the way the back of his pants seemed to cling to the bench, and praying whatever he was sitting on didn’t stain. He still had a shift at the firm later. Huh. Could he write this off as a working lunch? After all, it did involve a business proposition.