Page 44 of I'm Looking for a Man in Finance
I could hear the resignation that seemed to hang around her words. Part of me understood the feeling of putting the rest of life on hold to chase a dream. But as much as I understood it, I wanted to resist that kind of isolation.
“I don’t particularly want a job that consumes everyaspect of my life,” I admitted, almost too quickly. Hallie’s shoulders stiffened under my touch, and I knew it wasn’t just the contact that was making her tense. It was what I had said, the truth in it maybe. I got the feeling that I’d surprised her, that the sentiment didn’t quite fit into the picture she’d painted of me before.
The sun had almost completely sunk behind the horizon, daylight slipping away from us. “I think it’s time we got you home.” As much as I didn’t want this date to end, I didn’t want to borrow more time than I was being given from Hallie.
I hailed a cab to take us to the West Village and the two of us slid inside. One question echoed around my mind as the cab rolled forward.
What are we even doing?
The excitement I got from disrupting Hallie’s dates over the past month was nothing compared to what I felt right now. My heartbeat was a full-blown marching band, banging around inside my chest as we drew nearer to Hallie’s apartment.
This was just an obligatory date. Simply part of our deal. I wasn’t supposed to feel likethis. Seb’s teasing comment from last Sunday floated through my mind.It’s nice seeing you like this. Happy.
Hallie’s leg bounced up and down next to me.Was she that eager to get out of the cab? Away from me?
“So do you feel like today’s date will be enough for another article?” I asked, trying to keep the conversation light. My hand splayed out on the seat next to us, brushing against her upper thigh by accident. That same frenzy of energy surged through me. She glanced at me, her lowerlip pulled between her teeth, like she was weighing something in her mind.
“It was amazing. I can’t wait to get home and write up the article. I think people everywhere will die at the personal touch you put into this. So, thank you for that.”
“It’s the least I can do. I’ll make sure to really step it up for our next one.”
“Right.” Hallie took a big breath before.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes! I’m fine.” Hallie turned, offering a wide smile, but her eyes betrayed a hint of something else. She closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again, glancing at me. “It’s just my boss has put a lot of pressure on this upcoming article.”
I gently reached out to take her hand in mine and tried my best to ignore the flames crackling inside of me. “How so?”
Hallie’s eyes searched mine, and as we neared her apartment building, she spoke again. “She was hoping for this article to really heat up.”
“Heat up?” A strange intensity filled the cab, the silence punctuated by the rhythmic tick of the meter and the driver’s occasional sharp cough.
“Like a kiss or something like that.” Hallie waved off her words, as if they were trivial, then reached for the door handle. “But we agreed there would be no kissing. I didn’t think I’d have to worry about writing something like that into any of these articles, but my boss is full of surprises. So, I guess this is just me warning you about a fictional kiss that I’ll have to conjure up for this week’s article.”
The flames inside me roared even hotter, nearly boiling the blood running through my veins as Hallie gaveme a sympathetic smile and slipped out of the cab. I was frozen to my seat, paralyzed, watching her walk toward the stairs of her apartment building. The same images I had of kissing Hallie during our first date played in my head once more.
“Well, are you going to go after her?” The cab driver’s voice snapped me out of my stupor. The older man looked at me as if I was a total idiot through the rearview mirror, his bushy eyebrows raised as if he couldn’t believe I was letting a beautiful woman walk to her apartment door alone after a date. To be honest, I couldn’t believe it either. She wasn’t just beautiful—she was smart, funny, and had just told me she needed a kiss for her article. I needed to stop second guessing myself.Hallie is not Cassidy.
“Right. Yes. Thanks.” I threw some bills in his direction and quickly climbed out after her. She was unlocking the building’s front door when I bounded up the stairs behind her.
“James? Did you forget something?” Hallie asked, glancing over her shoulder as she pulled the door open.
“I did. Forget something.” Before I could think better of it, I slid my fingers against the smooth, warm softness of her cheek, then slipped them around to the back of her neck, my fingers finding purchase in her soft hair. With one more step, I closed the space between us.
The pounding in my ears became deafening, and I wasn’t sure if I was hearing her heart or my own as I lowered my head. Just before my lips touched hers, I realized I didn’t want Hallie—I desperatelyneededher.
Only when her arms snaked around my neck, did I think that maybe she felt the same way.
I didn’t care that we were standing on the stoop of her apartment building for the world to see as I kissed Hallie Woods for the first time. The softness of her lips, the lingering taste of red wine on her tongue, and the sharp intake of her breath as I deepened the kiss.
I backed Hallie up against the cold, damp brick wall. My hands trailed down her sides, savoring the feel of her curves—the soft give of her skin, the gentle heat radiating from her. She wasincredible.
When we finally broke apart, I looked down at her, trying to figure out if I’d taken it too far.
She was so fucking stunning it nearly hurt to step away from her. I barely registered my mind reminding me that these dates were supposed to be obligatory, that Hallie could walk away at the end of it.
She said nothing at first, but she offered a shy smile. “By the way,” Hallie said before she shut the door behind her, “when should I come by for the visit to Rossi’s? I’ve been meaning to check it out, but I wasn’t sure when to fit it in between all the articles.”
