Bring Down the Stars (Beautiful Hearts Duet #1)(32)

Connor’s smile widened slowly, like a brilliant dawn rising.

“Yeah, exactly,” he said. “A haven. I love that.”

I basked in that smile. “I’m glad.”

His gaze lingered on mine, and I grinned nervously at the tiny zing of electricity in the moment. I tucked a lock of hair behind my ear and glanced over his shoulder.

“You were right,” I said. “The sunset is really beautiful.”

“Yeah,” he said softly. “Crazy beautiful.”

But he wasn’t looking at the sunset, he was looking at me.

Zing.





The rest of the dinner conversation was like a faucet with a faulty spigot. Sometimes the conversation flowed easily; sometimes it dripped. Other times it was shut off completely in awkward stretches of silence.

And no more zing.

The sun sank and our waiter came to light the candle in the little glass cup between us. I found my thoughts wandering to the pile of work on my desk at home.

After dessert, we headed back through the parking lot. Two valet attendants were walking around Connor’s car, unabashedly admiring it from all angles.

“Hey, fellas,” Connor said, hitting the key fob to unarm the car.

“Hey, man,” one valet said. “Sweet ride.”

“Thanks.”

“Do you mind if we hang out while you start her up?” asked the other.

Connor’s grinned turned cocky. “You want to hear the growl?”

“Hell, yeah.”

Connor slid in the driver’s seat and started up the car while I waited off to the side. He revved the engine twice and the valets were ecstatic. He got out again and the three of them stood there, arms crossed, watching the sports car idle, and talking in low voices I couldn’t hear over the car’s ‘growl.’

Finally, they thanked him and got back to work. Connor hurried over to where I stood, my arms crossed in the cooling night.

“Sorry about the car stuff. I sort of left you hanging,” he said. “It’s a guy thing.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m just…a little out of my element.”

“What do you mean?”

“Maybe this place was setting the bar a little high for me. Don’t get me wrong, dinner was lovely. I just mean… I haven’t been on a first date in two years…”

Connor nudged me. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. You did just fine.”

“Oh. Thanks,” I muttered.

He helped me into the car, and I picked at the hem of my dress for the duration of our quiet ride home. At the front of the apartment complex, Connor swiveled to me.

“It’s early yet. Time for a game of pool at Yancy’s, maybe?”

“No, I have to be up at five tomorrow morning.”

Connor grimaced. “The agony.”

“Right. So… I’ll say goodnight.”

“If you insist.” He got out and came around to open my door. He walked me to the front stoop and slipped his hands around my waist.

“I want to see you again,” he said.

“You do?”

“Yeah, I do,” he said, and leaned in.

I leaned back. “Connor, wait. Before we go any further… Well, I was trying to tell you something before, and I guess didn’t do a great job of it.”

His smile tilted. “Okay.”

“About this being my first date in two years? I need to be perfectly honest with you. The long-term relationship I just got out of? It didn’t end well.”

“No?”

“No, and I—”

“How come?”

I flinched a little, my cheeks burning. “Oh. Well.”

God, do I have to say it?

Connor waited. Apparently I did.

“He wasn’t…faithful.”

His grin faltered. “Oh, gotcha.”

The air tightened around me and I wanted to turn and run upstairs.

I cleared my throat. “Yes, it was a ‘gotcha’ moment, all right. And it’s made me a little reticent to jump into something new.”

“I totally get that,” Connor said. “I’m down with keeping it casual. Or whatever you want.”

I bit my lip. “Maybe we could grab a coffee sometime and talk—?”

His face lit up. “Hey, you know what? A bunch of us are going to Lake Onota next weekend. Ever been?”

“No.”

“It’s a blast. Swimming, boating, and a huge bonfire on the beach. One last hurrah before it gets too cold.”

“I don’t know.”

“Just think about it,” he murmured, his voice deepening and turning husky. “Okay?”

“I will.”

He gently kissed my cheek, his warm breath lingering, and sending a zing-y shiver over my skin.

“Talk to you soon.”

“Okay,” I said. “Bye.”

Inside the apartment, I shut the door and rested my back against it, trying to make sense of the night. I pulled out my phone and reread the text he’d sent me a week ago. The beautiful words that set tonight in motion.

You’re the Halley’s Comet of girls…