Page 230 of One More Kiss

“I’m actually going to be buying a house to remodel.”

“That sounds like a lot of fun. If you need a decorator, let me know.” She grinned.

“I will.” Their eyes held for a few moments, but in those moments, it felt as if everything else around them fell away.

Bailey cleared her throat. “So, um, do you have any family here?”

He shook his head. “My parents moved away a few years ago and are somewhere on a cruise right now. We don’t have the greatest relationship.”

Sensing he didn’t want to talk about it anymore, Bailey changed the subject. “Well, if you need some random work until you find a house, I’m looking for someone to help me move a bunch of old furniture for my client. We’re redecorating her house.”

“Count me in.”

“Awesome! Can you start tomorrow?”

“Definitely.”

“Sweet. Well, I’d better get going. It looks like my Uber is here.”

“I know we just met, but I feel like it would be the roommate thing to do to tell you to be safe.”

“I will be, want me to bring you back some food?”

He laughed. “No, thanks, I’ll order some pizza.”

“You got it.” She waved and shut the door behind her.

The drive to the restaurant was short, and she was pleased to see Brett standing out front, waiting for her.

“You look absolutely stunning, Bailey.”

“Thank you.” She beamed at him. “You clean up nice too.”

He opened the door for her and gestured inside. “Shall we?”

Bailey walked past him and into the dimly lit restaurant. She had skipped out on lunch, so she was starving, and the scents of seasoned steak filled her lungs.

She’d always been a meat-eater, so the fact that he was bringing her to such a nice steak restaurant on their first date scored him major brownie points.

“Lawson—party of two,” Brett told the hostess, who looked him up and down as if she wished he were on the menu instead. Bailey just smiled kindly at her—no sense in getting jealous—and followed her over to a small table lit by a single tealight candle in the center.

“The special this evening is the house sirloin served with sautéed mushrooms and a garlic sauce.”

“Thank you,” Brett said easily.

“Anytime.” The hostess smiled flirtatiously and then disappeared to help the next customer.

Bailey browsed the menu as Brett ordered their wine and finally settled on the special the hostess had told them about.

“They have great vegetarian options here too,” he said easily.

“Good to know, but I’m not a vegetarian.”

“No?”

“Nope.” She laughed. “Steak is a particular weakness of mine.”

He nodded but stayed silent until the waitress arrived to take their order.

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