“Sorry, he really is a saint.”
“Now that’s just too damn bad.”
Jamie snorted. “If her name’s really Sugar Darling, I’ll eat my combat boots.”
Whoa, what was with him? Jamie was usually a role model for how a man should treat a woman. Always polite, considerate, and seemingly interested in whatever they had to say, although that didn’t seem to be the case with Sugar.
Sugar grinned, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Guess you’re gonna have to eat those boots, lover boy. Name really is Sugar. Says so right on my birth certificate. Wanna see it?”
“Don’t call me ‘lover boy,’ and no, I don’t want to see your birth certificate. Let’s go, Maria.”
“I think he likes me,” Sugar said after Jamie walked away.
Maria thought he did, too, but also that he’d let someone pull his fingernails out with pliers before he’d admit it.
The girl sighed. “Does he have a girlfriend?”
“Not at the moment.” Maria groped in her purse for her cell phone, pulled it out, and clicked on contacts. “What’s your number? Maybe I’ll try to arrange something.”
“I hope so. I’d really like to see him again.”
“You owe me big time,” Jamie said when she slid into the driver’s seat.
“Crapola.” She reached over and squeezed the muscled arm Sugar had drooled over. “Admit it, you were intrigued.”
Jamie snorted. “Not even.”
“Liar.”
As she backed the car out of the parking space, she glanced at Jake’s door. Where are you, Jake?
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Jake tugged at his collar for what seemed like the hundredth time in the last hour as he watched Maria eat her dessert. And for the same number of times, he thanked his lucky stars he had a job where he didn’t have to wear a tie. He was nervous as hell for a lot of reasons.
Planning dates wasn’t his forte, and special ones? Never done it. There was so much riding on this night and how Maria would react, but that part was for later. He’d chosen an upscale Italian restaurant, a place where they could dress up, and she would like the food.
At the moment, she was licking the last of the chocolate gelato off her spoon, and if she didn’t stop moaning and put that pink tongue back in her mouth, he was going to take her on top of the table, audience be damned.
He subtly readjusted himself, then tugged on his shirt collar again. The two dozen roses he’d held out when she’d answered the door had delighted her. The lasagna had disappeared from her plate, and the gelato had been devoured to sounds that had him hard and aching. A success so far, but there was still a big surprise to come and he wasn’t sure what her reaction would be.
She set her spoon down. “That was delicious.”
“You’re delicious. And beautiful.” Her almost-black hair hung down her back and over her shoulders, looking soft and glossy. The red silk dress hugged her curves, and he’d already glared at two men who’d eyed her in appreciation.
“Thank you,” she said with a smile that was both sweet and sexy. “You’re not so bad yourself, Tiger. You wear a suit very well.”
“You don’t think I’m handsome in jeans and a T-shirt?” he asked, teasing her.
“I think you’re hot no matter what you’re wearing . . . or not wearing.”
That did it. “Check,” he called when the waiter passed. If he didn’t get them out of the place, he really would do something to embarrass her.
“So where were you?”
He grinned. “You’re persistent, I’ll give you that. What did I say the last ten times you asked?”
“That you’d tell me when it’s time.”
Her lips formed an adorable little pout, drawing his attention to them. “I need to kiss you.”
“Will that get me a bigger tip?”
When had the waiter appeared? Maria burst into laughter, and pressed her napkin against her mouth. “Funny,” he said, keeping a straight face.
“I thought so,” the waiter quipped, giving Maria a wink.
Jake tsked. “Winking at my woman? There went any hope of a tip.” After signing the check, and leaving a generous tip, he walked Maria out, his hand possessively at her back.
At his car, he pressed her against the door and braced his arms on either side of her head. “I really do need to kiss you.” He lowered his mouth and brushed his lips over hers, a soft teasing touch. Then a little nibble at one corner of her mouth before moving to the other side. What he wanted was to thrust his tongue into her mouth and see if she tasted like wine and gelato, but he resisted, or tried to, until her lips parted.