Flirting with Forever: A Hot Romantic Comedy(58)

Her lips turned up. “Fair point. How about this? Let’s test it. Send me a list of potential ideas and we’ll narrow it down. Then we’ll sprinkle them in and see how readers respond.”

Satisfaction bloomed inside me and I smiled. “Fabulous. Thank you, April.”

I went back to my office feeling energized. My blog had been successful before it had been under Glamour Gal Media, so I knew expanding the variety of my articles could work. Women are more than their lady parts and I wanted to honor that—and entertain, inform, and inspire in the process.

The rest of the day went by in a flash as I did some cursory research and brainstorming. If I was going to truly convince April, I was going to have to nail this first non-sex article. It needed to be fun, engaging, and allow for a clicky headline.

It was almost six before I packed up my laptop and headed home. I was looking forward to a bath—thanks to a plumber, my tub was no longer leaking—and a glass of wine. I’d take a break, relax, and get back to work.

My phone buzzed with a text just before I turned onto my street. I swiped the screen to see who it was.

Dex: Are you busy tonight?

Bath, wine, and an orgasm? Yes, please.

I waited until I pulled into my driveway to reply.

Me: I have some work to do but I’m flexible.

Dex: Will you have dinner with me?

I hesitated, my thumbs poised over the keypad. My flight instinct was tingling. Why? Dinner with Dex wasn’t anything unusual. Besides, I liked being wined and dined. Our fling had started with sex but why not let it morph into casual dating? In reality, it already had.

Telling myself I was being silly, I replied.

Me: Sure. Anything specific in mind?

Dex: We could eat in. Takeout from the Thai place sound good?

I rolled my eyes. What was I getting worked up about? He didn’t even want to go out. Riley was probably at a friend’s house or with her grandparents and he wanted company.

Me: Perfect.

Dex: I’ll order. Usual?

Me: Yes. I just got home so let me change. I’ll be over in a bit.

Dex: I’ll be here.

I went inside and changed out of my work clothes into a loose V-neck t-shirt and joggers. Putting on comfortable clothes made me glad he’d suggested we stay in. It had been a long day and I was looking forward to curling up on his couch with some yellow curry.

After pulling my hair back, I slipped on a pair of sandals and went next door. Dex answered, dressed in a t-shirt and sweats. Seemed as if we’d both had the same idea.

“Hey.” He kissed me. “Good to see you.”

The hello kiss made my stomach tingle, my flight response flaring up again. Kissing between us was a sex thing, part of the urgency of it all. He didn’t usually kiss me outside the bedroom—not unless we were on our way there.

“Is Riley home?”

“No, she’s with my parents. I put our dinner order in but it’ll be a bit before it gets here. I think they’re busy tonight.”

“That’s fine, I can wait.”

I thought that might be his segue into going upstairs but he didn’t make a move to lead me to his bedroom. He grabbed two glasses of wine he’d already poured and took them to the couch. I followed, feeling unnaturally jumpy.

What was wrong with me? I was always in control of myself, always the one to set the rules. But somehow Dex was flipping things upside down and I didn’t understand how.

“How was work?” he asked.

I settled onto the couch next to him. “It was good, actually. I talked to April about expanding my column to cover a wider range of topics. She’s finally open to the idea.”

“That’s awesome.”

“It is. I feel good about it.”

As we chatted about our days, I started to relax. I shared some of my article ideas with him and he told me about a tattoo he was designing for a new client. Riley’s school year was almost over and her PE grade was back up to a B. I sipped my wine and the jittery feeling gradually melted away.

He set his empty glass on the coffee table and took a deep breath. “I need to talk to you about something.”

My eyebrows lifted but I schooled my expression into stillness. “Oh?”

“Things between us have been great. Let’s be honest, the sex is pretty mind-blowing.”

“I won’t disagree with that.” My eyes flicked to his crotch. “You have quite the weapon there.”

He gave me a crooked smile. “Thanks. You’re not too bad yourself.”

I smiled.

“Riley knows.”

That surprised me. We didn’t usually sleep together when she was home. “She knows what, exactly?”

“That we’ve been sleeping together.”

I set my glass down. “I guess that was bound to happen. Is she upset?”

“Not at all. We actually had a good talk. She really likes you, so I think that makes it easier for her to accept. She brought it up so she could tell me she’s cool with it and we don’t have to hide.”

“She’s the sweetest girl.”

“I know.” He took a deep breath. “But talking to her about us got me thinking. About us.”

I swallowed hard. “How so?”

“Yeah, the sex is great. But so is the rest of it. I like you, Nora. A lot. I’ve never just been attracted to your body, I’m attracted to you. So I’m just going to come out and say it. I want more with you. I want to give this a real shot.”