Page 47 of Mr. February

“Of course, I am. You’re a beautiful woman who could have her pick of men, yet you chose me. Part of me wants to show you exactly how a geek can get the job done, but it’s too soon. I want more than just a conference hookup.”

Jenny gaped at him. He was too good to be true. This had to be a line to convince her to throw caution to the wind and jump into bed with him. If it was, it was working on her.

“Shit. We’re here. We’ll have to come back to this conversation in a bit, assuming I haven’t scared you off.”

He gave her a nervous smile. Jenny realized with surprise that her lack of response was making him insecure. It was a heady feeling to have the power, and she rushed to reassure him.

“No, I mean yes. I mean, no, you haven’t scared me off, and yes, I’d like to talk about it later. I won’t be able to think about anything else.”

She giggled, and Wade relaxed imperceptibly. Since her attention was so focused on him, she noticed it, but she kept it to herself. Selfishly, she felt better knowing he was nervous and uncertain, too. That appealed to her far more than brash confidence or, worse, indifference.

“Do you want to head to our suite, or would you prefer to hang out in the bar area with the others?” Wade asked.

Jenny took a deep breath, grabbed him by the hand, and led him in the direction of the bank of elevators.

She blushed as she said, “I’d like to learn what happened with Suzanne earlier, but then I want to spend more time getting to know you better.”

All of Jenny’s bravery disappeared once they entered the elevator. She stole a glance at Wade out of the corner of her eye as they ascended. They both fidgeted while they waited. Silence rang out between them, the chatter of other passengers the only background.

“This is ridiculous—“ he started just as she began to speak.

“We don’t have to—“ she began.

They both laughed uncomfortably and looked at each other. Wade grinned broadly before he flourished his hand at her in a dramatic gesture.

“Ladies first,” he said.

She squinched up her face at him, and he laughed again.

“Fine,” she huffed. “We don’t have to change things if it’s too weird.”

“Damn, I shouldn’t have let you go first,” he said as he shook his head in mock disappointment. At her affronted gasp, he chuckled. “That’s not happening.”

Her legitimate indignation fell away as he spoke further.

“I’m nervous,” he said, “but that’s it. Because I want everything to be perfect. I haven’t changed my mind. Have you?”

Before she could answer, the elevator stopped on the floor before theirs. Wade moved closer to hear her response over the increase in volume from other people shuffling in or out of the elevator.

“No,” she said in a shy tone. “I haven’t changed my mind. I’m nervous, too.”

Wade beamed at her and held out his hand. She’d already noticed he was big on touch and handholding. Jenny reached out, and he tangled their fingers. Her smile grew when he tugged her closer.

“That’s better,” he said softly.

She smiled and laughed more around Wade than she could remember doing in a long time. When things were still new with past boyfriends, she didn’t remember it being like this. Despite everything else, peace filled her as Wade held her hand.

Once they arrived on their floor, he led her to their suite. They held hands the entire way. Everything felt different than the last time they’d entered the suite. They hung up their coats in silence, and she wondered what he was thinking.

She still wasn’t sure if she was ready for sex, but she wanted to fool around. But first, they needed to deal with the Suzanne situation.

“Can I get you something to drink?” Wade asked.

He peered into the mini fridge and looked at her.

“We’ve got tap water, bottled water, a few choices of soda, one of those ridiculously tiny bottles of wine. I think there might be an import beer behind the twelve varieties of juice. Oh, and some left-over stocking stuffer liquors, too.”

“Cold water, please.”

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