Ashley was right. He was the one to pursue her. From the first look he’d fallen for her. A lot of the guys had found her attractive even though at the time they’d never admitted the truth.
Staring down at his paperwork, he shook his head. He couldn’t focus anymore. When she’d quit last night he thought all hope was lost. Seeing her stood in the doorway, the hope to rectify his wrong had started to fill him. She’d crushed that hope the same way he’d crushed all feeling from her.
Ashley may think this was the first time he’d seen or heard from her, but it wasn’t. Her name got around, and she’d built herself quite a reputation. Jonathan knew her reputation was entirely his fault. He’d been the one to drive her to become the woman she had, and he would live with that for the rest of his life.
Chapter Seven
By Friday Amber was on tenterhooks over her upcoming date. Dale had given her the afternoon off to get ready. He would be picking her up from her apartment at seven. She’d spent an hour going through her wardrobe before settling on a deep blue cocktail dress and black heeled shoes to match. The color wouldn’t contrast too much with her red hair.
She laid out the clothes then started to pamper herself. Filling the tub with smelling salts, she took her time washing. Amber shaved her legs and under her arms before soaping her hair.
In an instant the time was gone, and she applied a layer of lipstick to her lips. Smacking them together, she heard the door sound. Her heart galloped inside her chest. Walking to the door, she wiped her sweaty palms down her dress and opened it. Dale stood with a bunch of red roses.
He wore a suit, black, that molded to all his hard muscles.
“Good evening,” he said, gazing up and down her body. “You look absolutely beautiful.”
Her cheeks heated at the compliment. “Erm, thank you. You look very handsome.”
She smiled at him. This felt wrong. Amber belonged to Elijah.
“These are for you.”
Accepting the roses, she invited him into her apartment while she set about putting them into a measuring jug. She’d smashed the vases, aiming them at Elijah’s head and missing.
“This is a nice place,” he said.
He’s trying. This is my first date. Try!
“I love this place. I’m hoping to get more pictures up someday of my friends and stuff. So far, I’ve been working.”
She put the roses away and met him in the sitting room. He kept staring at her. “Are you ready to go?” he asked.
“I’d love to.”
He’d not told her where they were going. The less she knew the better. She found herself getting anxious, and knowing would give her more reason to cancel on him.
They walked silently down to his car.
Dale stopped as they hit the fresh air. “You’re nervous, and I don’t want you to be nervous.”
“You’re my boss. It sort of goes hand in hand with nervous.”
“Will you think of me as your boss when I do this?”
His lips were on hers in the next second. She tensed up at the feel. His kiss was strange. Elijah’s lips were commanding whereas Dale’s kiss was passionate yet different. There was no underlying control or domination.
Breaking from the kiss, she looked at him. “It helped a little,” she said, smiling.
“Good. Come on.”
She didn’t ask any questions, and when they got into the car the conversation started toward work, their only neutral ground.
He pulled up outside of Wade’s place, and Amber’s heart leapt in her chest. “You’re taking me to Wade’s?”
“You know this place?” he asked, parking up.
“I know Wade, and I come here with my girlfriends regularly. It’s a great place.”
“I love this place as well.”
They headed inside, and she held onto his arm. Wade was serving up at the bar, and she saw her girlfriends in their booth. She gave them a wave, following Dale toward the bar.
Dale was served by one of the part-time barmen.
“Hey, Amber, I didn’t see you come in with the others,” Wade said, flagging her down.
She stopped with her drink in hand. “I’m on a date, Wade.”
He looked at Dale then at her. “It’s nice to meet you, man.” Wade shook his hand.
Rolling her eyes, she tugged Dale away from the bar.
“What was that all about?” he asked.
“I knew Wade in high school. He’s being protective, and he has the biggest crush on one of my friends.”
They found a seat away from the dancing. So far she hadn’t seen Elijah, which she was thankful for.
Once they were seated, Dale reached across the table to grip her hand. “I’ve wanted to ask you out on a date for some time.”