Page 67 of I'm Looking for a Man in Finance
After the fireworks on Sunday night, the two of us had wished each other good night once we arrived back at the house. Neither of us attempted to sway the other into either of our bedrooms, we just gave each other a shy smile and went our separate ways.
Not even during the car ride home did either of us mention the kiss—or kisses—we’d shared in the ocean. Roxie sat in the back seat wearing oversized sunglasses,grumbling about her hangover the entire time. Thankfully, Sebastian had taken his own car back to the city, sparing us any bickering between the two of them.
Besides Roxie’s complaints about the brightness outside and the volume of the radio, the car was steeped in silence. Not tense exactly, just unresolved. Neither of us dared to bring up our multiple close encounters in the Rossi family house over Memorial Day weekend.
The bistro I was due to meet James in was busy, but not packed, as I checked in with the hostess.
“I believe your date is waiting for you,” she told me. “He said he was meeting a ‘cute brunette that would most likely be a regular here’. That must be you. I’ve seen you in here pretty much every week over the past two years.”
Of course, James would guess I’d suggest a place I’d already reviewed and loved.
“Uh, yeah.” I gave the hostess an awkward smile. “That’s me.”
“He asked for a table in the back.”
James sat next to my favorite window that looked out on a small garden with a patio in the back. Lounging in his chair, an ankle propped on his opposite knee, andThe Wall Street Journalunfurled in his hands. Gone were the linen shorts and button-up shirts I’d grown used to seeing him in over the weekend. In their place was his usual uniform of a perfectly tailored suit, shined shoes, and a tie that no doubt matched some subtle hue in his pocket square. His signet ring caught the light as he turned a page, and just like that, it was as if his armor had slid right back into place.
“I believe this is your table.” The waiter gave me a wide smile before she left the two of us alone. James dropped thepaper, a subtle smile playing on his lips as his eyes twinkled with mischief. Those eyes, dark and intense, slowly scanned me, lingering on every detail. Everywhere he looked, I could feel the ghost of his fingers trailing over my body.
We’d done this once before—met outside the parameters of our arrangement. And now we’d crossed that line again. No longer were we toeing it, dancing back and forth. We had dived headfirst into the unknown. Drenched ourselves in the ambiguity of it.
James stood once he realized I hadn’t made a move to join him.
“How was work?” He leaned down. His lips brushing against my cheek as he slipped my work bag from my shoulder and slung it over one side of my chair.
“Anthea liked the article. I think she even laughed.” James wrapped both of his hands around my upper arms. “I’m not sure I’ve ever heard her laugh before. Not a genuine laugh. Her fake laugh is this airy, haughty sound that she uses to pretend she’s entertained by someone. But she gave me areallaugh today.”
“I read the article,” James said as amusement danced across his face. “It was good. I especially liked the part where you described Mr. Old Fashioned as a ‘wet dream straight out of a romance novel’ when you first laid eyes on him behind the wheel of the sailboat.”
Heat flared across my cheeks as James gave me a knowing smile.
“Do you want to take a seat?”
I glanced at the chair across from where James had been sitting. It could be so easy to slip into that seat and have lunch with him. It wouldn’t be any different fromwhat we’d been doing over the past couple of months. But thiswasdifferent.
I knew it.
He knew it.
Yet we were skirting around it just the same.
With every minute I spent with James, I wanted more. More of his smiles. More of his witty remarks. More of his playful bars. More of him. Maybe it was time that I made that known.
Once I’d gotten to know the real James behind the finance bro bravado, I was naïve to think that spending time with James would lead to anything other than this very moment. To think I could ever avoid developing feelings for him was almost laughable. It was time that I stopped avoiding reality and stopped ignoring the feelings that had taken root inside of me.
“I enjoy spending time with you.”
James’s eyebrows shot up, but he smiled. “And I enjoy spending time with you.”
The heat that had started in my cheeks shot straight down to my stomach as his words settled in, lighting the blood in my veins on fire.
“So, we can spend time right now together,” James drew out. “Over lunch.”
“And what about when we complete our fifth date in a couple of weeks?” I asked, my feet still unable to take me toward the awaiting chair. “Will we still spend time together, then?”
Nerves twisted in my stomach, the same ones that usually kept me second-guessing myself. But the conversation I’d just had with Anthea—her swooning overmywords,overmyMr. Old Fashioned—had stirred something inside me. A flicker of belief that maybe I was allowed to ask for what I wanted, even if my voice trembled while doing it.
Understanding dawned on James’s face as he realized the reason for my current hesitation. His hands slid down my arms to slip into mine. Despite the chaos of the restaurant surrounding us, the two of us stood holding hands and all but careened toward a point of no return.
