Page 15 of Approved

“You could ask me. I know you are trying to decide if you will let me take you on a date. Anything I can do to help you decide, I’m happy to do.” He smiled at me, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

It was impossible not to be attracted to him. “It really isn’t any of my business. That seems like a question for people who are dating.”

“I am trying to get a date. How about I tell you, and you can just file it away.”

“You don’t have to.” I should be ashamed of my behavior, but I was curious about the answer.

“But I want to, Tyler.” Casually, he reached over and patted my hand. That touch ignited a flame that ran up my arm and fanned out through my body.Holy shit.A reaction like that to somebody was completely new, and when he pulled his hand away, I wanted to grab it back.

Irene had returned to the table with long white plates. Each had five small slices of pie, next to the plates, she slid a bowl of vanilla ice cream.

“All of our pies are better ala mode.” She said and walked away.

“If I know Irene, we have ten different types of pie here.”

Using a spoon, I scooped up some ice cream and a bite of what looked like peach pie. He hadn’t been kidding. This was some of the best pie I had ever had. The crust was flaky and buttery; the filling was bursting with peach flavor. “Shit. That’s good.”

West grinned at me and took a bite of what I guessed was chocolate cream. "If you play your cards right, I’ll let you taste mine too.”

I smiled and then laughed. “I don’t think I can take more than one bite each at that rate. This is pretty amazing.” Tasting some of the other flavors, I stopped and looked at West. I kept returning to how much I wanted to get that shirt off and see if I was right about him. He had a traditionally square jaw, bright green-blue eyes, and full lips that looked very kissable. I wanted to tug that bottom lip with my teeth before I ran my tongue over it—I knew they would be warm and soft. He grinned at me when he caught me staring at him.

“What are you thinking about so intently?” His voice startled me, and I had to shift to adjust my arousal, which hadn’t subsided since I watched him walk in.

For some reason, I was tempted to tell him the truth, which seemed crazy. I still didn’t trust him; I might just be another conquest for him, and when he was done with me, I would be forgotten. Worse, he had an agenda, and my attraction to him was blinding me. “I’m just thinking about how nice this is. Thank you for inviting me. I haven’t done something like this in a very long time.”

“You don’t go out much?” He asked genuinely. This was my fault for opening that door.

“I go out sometimes. Jamie thinks I should socialize outside of work with someone other than Earl and Larry.”

“What’s wrong with Earl? He seems to be very invested in your happiness, or at least in his ability to let you love on him, which makes you happy. Well, he also seems invested in snacks.”

That made me chuckle. “Right? Apparently, because he doesn’t talk back, he doesn’t count. I don’t tell him the terrible things she says about him.”

There was a sparkle in his eyes as he continued. “Good thing, he probably wouldn’t appreciate it.” I nodded. “I think people can be perfectly content alone. We deal with people at work, that’s enough. I like to chill quietly when I’m home, mostly alone.” He sat quietly for a minute, but it felt like he was thinking about what he wanted to say. “Being with someone who wanted to cuddle and read or watch TV with me would be pretty cool.”

“That would be perfect.” It was like he was in my head, sitting with my person, reading my book was something I wanted. West smiled so big at me that my heart fluttered a little.

Irene walked over with a bag and three pie boxes. “Here you go, sexy, your pies and well more pies.” She winked at him as she put two bags next to West. When I saw her flirt, I realized my eyes had narrowed, and I felt the urge to snarl.Oh shit that was jealousy.

He pulled out a black credit card and handed it to her. Thank you for packing everything up. While we talked, I hadn’t made much of a dent in my own pies, but I had tasted all ten. Sitting here chatting and enjoying all the flavors had been wonderful, and I wanted to do more of it.

I pushed my plate back. “I am stuffed and couldn’t pick a favorite if I tried.”

Irene returned with his receipt. “Can you box up all our leftovers in a separate bag? Tyler here will be taking them home for him and his roommates.”

“Earl and Larry will appreciate that you consider them roommates, not just my pets.”

“You all seem close, so I wanted to show them proper respect.”

He had me grinning, and I giggled a little. The man was charming. I took in the Dapper Duck logo on his Western-style shirt. “You left work to take me out for pie?”

“I did. However, I am bringing my staff pie to thank them for covering for me.”

Damn. How could I not be impressed by that? “I’m not sure what to say.”

“You don’t need to say anything. It was my pleasure getting to spend time with you.”

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

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