Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
The only problem was that there was a slight chance of someone recognizing us, so I had to behave and keep my hands to myself. Byron and I had gone out plenty of times for meals during work hours, and we could easily say this was yet another working-late meal between colleagues.
Not that I wanted to talk about work.
Nor could my thoughts about him be described as professional.
“Nice choice,” Byron praised after the hostess left us with menus. “This has been on my list of places to try since it opened.”
There was no stopping my grin at his words. I might have even wiggled in my seat a bit, but I didn’t think he noticed, because his eyes were taking in the view.
God, he was sexy. A few strands of his dark-brown hair fell forward as he bent his head to peruse his menu. He tugged on his bottom lip with his teeth, and part of me wanted to steal that lip from him. Really show him how to take care of it properly with my teeth and my tongue. As I watched him, his pale skin was turning a rosy shade, and he stopped playing with his lip.
“You’re staring at me,” he mumbled without looking directly at me.
“I can’t help it. I can’t do it in the office because you sit too far away.”
Byron snorted and lifted his eyes to my face. “I suspect if my desk was next to yours, neither of us would get anything done during the day.”
I gasped, pressing one hand to my chest. “Are you saying that I would be a distraction?”
“An enormous one. You were the kid in school who couldn’t stop talking and drove the teacher crazy.”
A laugh jumped past my lips. It was almost scary how well he could read me—but then, that was part of his job and why he was so successful at it. Byron could anticipate my needs before I even realized what they were. The only thing I’d surprised him with was my attraction to him.
“How did your meeting go with Marsha?” he inquired, referring to my final meeting of the day with the marketing director for our home goods division. As I opened my mouth to answer, Byron’s face scrunched up, and he seemed to curse himself. “Sorry. You don’t want to talk about work now. This is supposed to be our time off.”
“It’s okay. Work is common ground for us,” I said. There was no way I could fault him. My first three ideas for conversation starters had all been about work. “I know you like to read nonfiction books about business. What about movies? What kind of movies are you into?”
Our server appeared a second later with a rundown of the specials. When she left, Byron offered a small smile and answered, “I don’t watch a lot of movies, but I am a fan of anything with a lot of action or drama. I’m not much into comedies, because most of them I find stupid rather than funny.”
“Sci-fi or fantasy?”
“Both.”
“Horror?”
His nose scrunched up slightly, and I wanted to run the tip of my finger along it. “More thriller than horror. Not much for the gore and slasher movies, though I do like the old Michael Meyers and Jason movies. What about you?”
“I’m like you. Prefer action over drama, and I will happily watch sci-fi and fantasy so long as they are well written. The only time I’ll watch a comedy is with my friends. Also, I love a good war documentary.”
“Ancient history,” Byron volunteered. I made a face that said I wasn’t following. He huffed a laugh and continued, “I like war documentaries too, but my favorite are the ones about ancient civilizations. I’ve seen dozens about ancient Egypt and the different dynasties of China.”
“So, grabbing some takeout and pulling up the PBS app for a documentary would be considered a good date to you?” I teased.
“Well…I don’t know.” The smile forming on his mouth looked so fucking kissable. He was lucky we were in public. “As the second date with someone? Not unless I know them fairly well and would feel comfortable in their house. If it were someone I’ve been dating for a while, then yes, I think that would be an excellent date.”
The server returned to take our orders. Thankfully, I was familiar with their menu, because I’d barely glanced at it since I sat down with Byron. Of course, he had all my attention. How could food be more important than his smirk or the laughter twinkling in his eyes? Impossible.
Except my stomach was grumbling, and lunch had been far too long ago. I needed food.
When Byron was finished, I picked something with red meat and handed over the menu, ready for the server to be gone so I could focus on my date.