Page 31 of Hot Stuff
“Do I want to know the other things?”
She shrugs and rolls her hand to get me to answer her original question. “What else do you need to do?”
“I’ll be attempting to contact Kristina to give her an ultimatum.”
“Fuck off or I’ll ruin you?”
I laugh. “Pretty much.”
“What about the owner of the Knights?”
It’s my turn to shrug. “Don’t know if I’ll do anything about that unless Kristina pushes my hand.”
She nods. “Okay.”
“Do you want to come to my place for dinner?” I don’t know who’s more shocked by the invite, her or me.
“Tonight?”
“Yes.” The more I think about it, the more I want to see her in my space. Not that this suite isn’t great but it’s not personal. There’s nothing of either of us here.
“Sure. What time?”
I can see she’s wary but in what I’m coming to understand is typical Oakley James style, she’s marching toward whatever challenge is tossed in front of her.
“How about I let you know where I am later? I’ve got to head to my agent’s office and probably my lawyer’s at some point too.”
“Do you have a grill?”
“At my place?”
“No, in your pocket.” She rolls her eyes at me with a laugh. “Yes, at your place. I can pick up the makings for a steak dinner if you’ve got somewhere to cook the steak.”
I grin. Having her in my space, doing something so domestic, so couple-y, gives me a burst of joy so consuming I know I must look like an idiot.
“You like the idea of cooking dinner with me?”
“You didn’t say which of us would be cooking and either one or together is perfect. Whatever you want to do.”
“You can cook without assistance?”
“I had to when I moved out of home. If I wanted to maintain my body in peak form, I had to fuel it with the right meals.”
She nods. “Okay, we’ll cook—together—at your place tonight. Text me the address and time later and I’ll pick up what we need on the way.”
“All right, it’s a date.”
“Is that what it is?” she asks with a grin.
“It’s dinner with my woman. Yes, it’s a date.”
“Don’t dates usually require eating out?”
“We could do that but if the press release goes out this afternoon, going out will be a nightmare. Plus, I’m not sure if you want us to be seen together in public yet.”
“Thanks for that consideration. I’ll need to run it by Nat, Blake, and Cami before I can decide the best way to deal with the private part of our relationship. The professional connection definitely can’t be revealed yet.”
“Of course not. You have to announce the franchise first.”
