The Dating Experiment (The Experiment, #2)(52)

“Thank you so much!” I shot him my brightest smile and slid onto the stool, making sure my knee brushed his leg as I did so. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to hit you.”

“No,” he said slowly, eyes firmly on me. “You’re all good.”

Again, another smile, then I turned and made a focus on getting the bartender’s attention. “Bad date, huh?”

“That obvious?”

“Well, I just watched you down three shots, and judging by how long she’s been outside, I don’t think she’s coming back.”

“I think you could be right, blondie.” He held up two fingers, finally grabbing the bartender’s attention. “What’re you drinking?”

“I’ll have a white wine, but I can get that.” I put two fingers into my back pocket and pulled out both a ten-dollar bill and the business card. I tossed both onto the bar, then paused. “Woops.”

“Wait, what was that?” He touched my hand, tilting it toward him so he could see the card.

“What can I get you?” The bartender leaned over to us.

“I’ll have a Coors Light, and she’ll have a white wine,” the guy said.

“A dry white. Thanks.” I smiled and turned back to the guy whose name I didn’t know. “The card?”

“Yeah. What is it?”

I wriggled my hand from his grip and slid it in front of him, leaning in slightly. “It’s a card for a dating service. Why?”

“A dating service? You used it?” He looked interested as he plucked it from my fingers.

“Actually,” I blushed as I tucked hair behind my ear, “I co-own it.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. I carry the cards because, well, I’m a businesswoman, and you wouldn’t believe how many bars and restaurants will take these things.” I smiled and went to take it back.

He moved it out of my reach. “You any good?”

“I like to think so, but I’m also pretty bias. Thank you,” I added to the bartender, sliding my note across the bar. “Why? You interested?”

The guy nodded toward the door. “I’m not doing a fucking good job by myself, am I?”

“How was it going before she went out?”

“She wouldn’t stop talking about her degree. If I knew she was in college, I wouldn’t have asked her out. She told me she was twenty-five. Turns out, she’s twenty-one.”

Ouch.

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-eight. Why? Are you hitting on me?”

I laughed and touched his arm. “Do you want me to be?”

“Depends. Are you in college?” It was his turn to laugh.

“No. I definitely graduated, thank God. Why don’t you keep that card? Give me a call. You can come into my office for a free consultation, and I’ll personally match you with someone. How does that sound?”

He tilted his head to the side. He was definitely considering it.

“Come on,” I said, leaning in. “I’m giving you a consultation for free. What do you have to lose?”

Right then, the door opened, and when I glanced up, I saw his date stepping through the door.

“Think about it,” I said, picking up my glass and standing, slipping past him back to my table.

Dom glared at me as I sat down. “What was that?”

“It was effective flirting. I told you that you wouldn’t like it. It’s not my fault if you didn’t believe me.”

He slid onto the stool next to me. “Did you have to get so close to him?”

Was it bad I was enjoying this? All those years of seeing women flirt with him…

“Yes. That was the entire point. He took the business card when I accidentally pulled it out of my pocket.”

He grunted.

I pinched his cheek. “Aww. What? Was I right?”

He glared at me again, eyes dark and annoyed, and grabbed my stool. He pulled the stool toward him until our seats bumped, then cupped the back of my head and kissed me.

Hard.

“What was that?” I asked when he pulled back.

“I saw the way he looked at you, and I don’t like it,” he muttered.

“You don’t like it?” I couldn’t help the twitching of my lips.

“Why would I? You’re mine.”

I leaned back, raising my eyebrows. “I’m yours?”

He nodded. “You’re mine.”

“I’m not the last pair of shoes in your size in the store, Dominic.”

“What’s your point? You’d be mine even if you were.”

I folded my arms. “I’m not a possession.”

“Funny. Now that I think about it, you were pretty possessive when Ruby walked into the office.”

“Don’t you dare throw her back in my face.”

“You were so jealous. Do you remember that? You were all up in my business about how inappropriate she was and wondering if I found her on a street corner. Remember?” His eyes glittered as he said it, and that gave it away.

I knew what he was doing, and I wasn’t going to bite.

“I remember,” I said flatly, taking a sip of my wine. “She was so desperate the local wildlife could smell her.”