Page 24 of Mr. Flirt

The server came over to take our drink order. I asked if Lucy would like to share a bottle of wine with me, and she agreed. The server wandered off, and I brought my attention back to Lucy.

She closed the menu and slid it to the side. “I might as well just get this out of the way with you now.”

“Yeah?” I asked. “Lay it on me.”

“I know that I’m going to be single for the rest of my life or at least until I hit retirement age.”

I leaned closer and tipped my head slightly. “And how do you know this?”

“I don’t trust men or women to be in a relationship. I’ve seen one too many times when one of the two gets their life ripped away from them because their partner couldn’t be trusted. All for a little nookie.”

“Nookie?” I prompted.

“Nookie,” she repeated.

“Is that a legal term or…”

Lucy chuckled. “It has made its way into my defense a time or two,” she confessed.

“You feel really passionate about your clients,” I said softly. “They’re lucky to have you, even if it is to the detriment of your love life.”

She shrugged. “I don’t mind.”

“That’s too bad.” I actually felt bad for Lucy and wondered if she truly meant it.

“Well, I’ve seen quite a few marriages hit the thirty-year mark. No infidelity. Plenty of happiness. Lots of sexy times or, in legal speak, nookie.”

She burst into laughter. “Did you just say sexy times and nookie while wiggling your brows?”

I frowned. “No, I didn’t wiggle my brows.”

Lucy’s laughter was incredibly soft and everything I’d love to listen to late at night while curling up on a couch to watch a scary movie.

Okay, buddy. Hold up. Getting ahead of ourselves.

The server brought over our wine and poured. I sniffed, sipped, and nodded as he did our pours.

Lucy was watching a floatplane land, and she looked at peace. She’d obviously wound down from me riling her up earlier.

I felt kind of bad about it.

We placed our orders, and I waited for the server to leave.

“If you’re pretty certain there’s no love in your future, what made you come to dinner tonight?”

Lucy looked straight at me as her cheeks turned rosy. She took a sip of wine and smiled without saying a word.

“I told you.” She grinned. “I’m addicted to the game you developed. I need secrets, workarounds, you know…deets.”

I laughed and shook my head. “And here I thought you were going to tell me you felt like a fling.”

Her eyes widened. “A fling?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“Why a fling?” she whispered, glancing around the dining room.

“You’ve made it very clear how you feel about relationships, so I figured a fling was my only shot.”

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