Love, Exes, and Ohs (Cactus Creek #4)(26)

“Oh?”

“Mmm hmm.” He swallowed the last of his coffee. “What about you?”

A few long, torturous beats passed before she replied, “I have a date, too.”

He had to force himself not to turn and look into her eyes. “Yeah? Are you looking forward to it?”

“Truth? I’m a little scared.”

He tensed. “Scared of the guy?”

“No. Never of the guy. But the idea of dating him? A little bit.”

Nodding, he revealed, “Yeah. I can see that.”

“You think it’ll be okay?”

“If you really like the guy, then yes. I think it’ll be okay.”

“I do like him. More than he probably realizes.”

Isaac exhaled and ended the interrogation. He wasn’t sure how much more he could take.

When Xoey’s work alarm went off on her phone, they both stood.

“So I’ll pick you up at the brewpub around seven?”

Finally, for the first time that morning, her gaze tangled with his.

“Seven,” she confirmed.



*



XOEY HADN’T KNOWN what to expect when Isaac picked her up for their ‘date.’

The only thing she did know was that she had every intention of keeping those air quotes around the word in her mind. If only as a built-in escape route to protect their friendship if things got awkward.

Not to mention her heart.

And clearly, she was right for being cautious.

The man wasn’t pulling his punches one bit.

He brought her back to his place and instead of a meal, he’d picked up a little something from all her favorite food truck vendors and restaurants in town. The overstocked table was covered from end to end with of what looked like at least three or four dozen little Dixie paper plates of food.

She smiled in wonder. “You had them make me hors d’oeuvres.”

“Enough for an entire meal,” he confirmed.

Because hors d’oeuvres were usually her favorite part of dinners and parties.

And for dessert, he opened the freezer to show her a take-home gallon of ice cream from Cactus Creek’s old fashioned ice cream shoppe with Desert Confections chocolates mixed in.

“Just like our first date.” He winked.

Oh boy.

She was definitely in trouble.

“You want to eat in front of the TV?” he asked, seemingly unaware of the fact that she was all but swooning. “I got a DVD selection of all your guilty pleasure movies. By the way, we’re probably going to have to start renting our movie night DVDs with your card because I’m pretty sure they think I’m a creepy weirdo now…seeing as how I rented every high school cheerleading and street battle dancing movie they had, along with the entire second season of the Sopranos.”

Bar none the best season, in her opinion at least—one that he didn’t share.

He passed her a bag and went over to cue up the DVD player.

She opened the bag and found her comfiest PJs folded neatly inside. Pulling them out, she couldn’t help but laugh. “You want me to wear these for our date?”

“Don’t ask me what I want you to wear, or that bag you’re holding would be empty in two seconds flat.”

A sizzle of awareness raced up her spine. She stubbornly shook it off, however, and narrowed her eyes on him. “Are you planning on flirting with me tonight?”

“Ouch. If you’re asking then clearly, I’m doing it wrong.” His eyes trailed down to her fists balled at her hips, before dipping lower…and then just as slowly panning back up her body in a long, hot visual caress.

His large strides ate up the floor in three steps.

Before she knew what hit her, one calloused hand was wrapped around her nape while the other palmed her hip. He brushed the calloused pad of his thumb against the sliver of bare skin below her belly ring, just under the hem of the shorty tee-shirt she’d thrown on over her jeans.

The way he was looking at her made her feel like she was wearing nothing more than a prayer and a whisper.

He skated his warm fingers across the waistband of her jeans and teased the small of her back as he murmured, “Don’t overthink it, Xo. You wanted to have a perfect blind date with a Mr. Right that had all the qualities from your list. So that’s what we’ll have.” His hot, turbulent stare officially stole every last rational thought from her head. “I’m not Isaac, your best friend. Until tomorrow morning, I’m just Bachelor #5.” He drew in a rough, ragged breath. “And Bachelor #5 has been dying to kiss you since the moment he picked you up tonight.”

With the same speed he exhibited in the ring, he turned and pushed her back against the wall, sliding his hands into her hair to tilt her head back so she could have exactly a split second to draw in one last breath before he brought his lips down on hers.

Holy hell.

She’d forgotten how mind-altering Isaac’s kisses could be.

It was all-consuming. Lips, tongue, and teeth, punctuated with steamy, dirty, decadent promises whispered against her skin.

She realized then that he’d been holding back when they dated before.

Where once he simply overtook her senses, now he devoured.

When he pulled back to run his eyes over her face again, it was like she could see clear into his soul.