Page 13 of The Interview

This date needed another stop. A secluded, private one—like his place. Or mine.

5

KAYLAN

The dateI hadn’t wanted to happen was about to end, and that sucked.

We’d wandered through all the rooms of Krohn Conservatory. The only spot left was the tiny gift shop.

Before Arden could take a single step toward the exit, I darted into the gift shop that was loaded with pretty knickknacks and room for only two or three customers at a time. I had no intention of purchasing anything, but I panicked.

How did I keep this going?

The kisses we’d shared made it clear that Arden was interested. Should I ask him out for an early dinner? There weren’t any other romantic indoor spots to hit in Eden Park. If I suggested we wander the park in winter, we would freeze our butts off in a matter of minutes.

Movie? Clichéd.

Back to my place? He’d think I was moving too fast.

But where to go? I’d rather we go to my place or even his. We’d been interrupted enough by random people and ex-boyfriends. I wanted to talk to him alone.

Okay, I wanted to suck on his tongue and other body parts without the risk of being pulled apart.

“Perfect,” Arden announced as he closed his large hand around something. The man was already turning to the cash register before I could see what he’d found.

“What’s perfect?”

“It’s a surprise,” he answered over his shoulder.

I frowned at his back for a second and then looked at the display he’d been standing in front of, trying to figure out what he’d picked up. Flower bulbs, wind chimes, small blown-glass hummingbird feeders, and different handmade ornaments filled the shop. My eyes skimmed over the colorful items, all of it gorgeous, but nothing that struck me as “perfect.”

With no ideas coming to me, I completed a quick circuit through the rest of the store and made it to the cash register run by a white-haired woman as Arden accepted his receipt with one hand and placed his purchase into his pocket with the other. A smug smile graced his lips, and that only made me want to kiss it off his mouth.

“Ready to go?”

“Sure,” I agreed, even as my stomach knotted. Arden had distracted me with his impromptu purchase. Now we were leaving, and I didn’t know what to do next. Maybe it was best to end the date. We could exchange numbers. That way, I’d be able to ask him out after I’d concocted the perfect date. Yes, that was a better idea.

Before stepping up to the exit, I slipped on my heavy wool coat. It was time to leave the warm, moist air for bitter cold wind as winter fought to remind us it hadn’t loosened its grip on the city yet.

“Could you do me a favor?” Arden began as he settled his coat around his shoulders at the same time.

“What’s up?”

“Would you be willing to text me one of the selfies you took in front of the waterfall?”

I shot him a smirk. “You just want to get your number set up in myrealphone.” I waved my actual phone at him while inwardly celebrating. This saved me from trying to figure out how to get his contact information off the phone my boss had purchased.

“It’s a two-birds-one-stone scenario,” he stated after giving me his phone number. “I get your adorable face for my phone, and I get your number so you can’t ghost me the second you walk out the door.”

With a snort, I bumped him with my shoulder even as I loaded a text with several selfies I’d taken. “Like I’d fucking do that.”

Gentle fingers grazed my cheek, and I looked up to find Arden smiling at me, both his light and dark eyes glittering in the conservatory’s glow. “No, you wouldn’t.”

“There. Sent. You’ll have to reply, so I know you got them,” I prodded.

Yes, Arden would reply, and I’d somehow use that to kickstart a new conversation that would lead to a date invitation. This was going to work.

The sexy man moved to stand in front of me and picked up my left coat lapel. I watched as his big hands pinned something to it. When he moved away, my breath caught in my throat.

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