“We aren’t really serious,” Ally told Mia nervously. “I mean, we’re just dating, getting to know each other.”
“Carnally,” Asha added with a smirk.
Ally elbowed her friend lightly. “It’s nothing serious.”
Mia’s brows narrowed and her eyes danced with mischief. “You don’t know Travis well enough then. Even when he was a boy, if he decided he wanted something, he got it. He’s annoyingly persistent when he covets anything. He’ll have a ring on your finger within a month.”
“I don’t think he’s like that with me. I’m sure he won’t,” Ally denied, embarrassed.
“He will,” Asha agreed with Mia ominously.
“Do you care for him, Ally?” Mia asked, concerned.
“I do. Probably more than I should at this stage of our relationship,” Ally admitted, knowing she was beginning to care way too much, too fast. “I’m just a little scared. I just got out of a bad relationship.”
“Travis isn’t like that, Ally,” Mia replied softly. “When he cares, he cares deeply. His affections might not be easily gained, but once you have them, he’ll never betray you. And he wanted the unicorn for you to show he cares because he isn’t good at giving or receiving affection. Honestly, I’ve actually never seen him care about a woman this way, and I knew when he finally fell, he’d fall hard. Please don’t hurt him. No one deserves to be loved more than Travis. And when it’s the right woman, he’ll love her obsessively and forever. It’s just the way he’s made.”
Ally’s heart squeezed inside her chest, knowing she’d give anything to be that woman. In the week since she and Travis had first made love, his affection was already changing her, making her hear his voice inside her head instead of all the negative things she’d always believed about herself. “I wish I could give him something,” she mused quietly, thinking about his unrelenting support, his faith in her.
“I think you already have,” Asha assured Ally. “He’s happy.”
Mia nodded her agreement and the group of women launched into more general conversation. The lunch was a totally enjoyable interlude, and Ally had fun getting to know Maddie and Kara better. It was obvious to her that all the women at the table loved their alpha male husbands to death, even though they good-naturedly complained about them being overprotective and overbearing at times.
Ally’s phone pinged in her purse as they were getting up to go their separate ways. Pulling it out, she smiled as she saw the text message from Travis:
I need to get rid of this damn desk!
He’d complained more than once how the desk distracted him, about the images he had throughout the day. Her heart flip-flopped at the thought, that she could actually be a distraction to a man as driven as Travis Harrison.
She said her good-byes to all the women, promising to become one of the regular members of their lunch club. Once she reached her car, she leaned up against it and texted:
As your assistant, it’s my job to find you a new one then, Mr. Harrison.
It only took a moment to get a reply:
Like hell you will. Nobody else is using this desk. I guess I’ll just be a masochist. How is your day?
She already knew he’d vehemently refuse to get rid of it, but she laughed out loud anyway before replying:
Good. Just had lunch with the girls. How about you?
He answered simply:
I miss you.
Ally’s heart melted, and she traced the words on her phone with a sigh. When Travis said or did things like that, her whole being ached for him. Travis wasn’t a demonstrative or bullshitting type of guy. Those words were sincere, an expression of his emotions at that moment, and she cherished them because she knew he didn’t express himself lightly.
She answered:
I miss you, too. I’ll make you dinner.
His answer came quickly:
I’d be happier if you’d actually be my dinner.
Ally barely stifled a moan at that thought. She needed to fan herself, and it wasn’t because of the humidity and heat of the Florida sun. There was nothing hotter than Travis’s demanding, bossy, alpha ways in the bedroom, and the way he mastered her body. But she answered him cheekily:
I offer to cook for you and all you want is sex?
It took a few minutes to get his reply:
I want a whole lot more than sex. And women don’t usually cook for me. Thank you, Ally. I’ll see you around six.
She frowned at his response, wondering exactly what he meant. Women didn’t cook for him? No…they probably didn’t. He did most things alone, and if and when he did have a date, she was pretty certain the woman would expect the finest from Travis Harrison. Did he actually think she’d been chastising him? She’d just been playing with him. She didn’t question whether or not he was using her anymore just for sex, and his answer had sounded rather remorseful. And for the very first time she realized that “thank you” was actually in his vocabulary. And it touched her that he was thanking her for something so very simple. She didn’t want to see him be sorry for joking around with her. Truth was, she loved seeing him fun and playful, and his dirty talk always turned her on. It was doubtful that anyone else saw him that way. She answered: