He still didn’t look convinced that my outlook had changed. I’d never asked a man on a date in my life. Hell, I hadn’t been on a date in more than twenty years, so who was I to judge how things should happen? I sat up taller and chugged back the rest of my wine before shifting to look directly at Ford.

“Would you…go out to dinner with me tomorrow night?”

“Can’t. Have a meeting in the city in the afternoon.”

“The night after?”

Ford’s thumb rubbed his bottom lip as he assessed me. “Do you feel bad for me because my parents were killed and I raised my little sister?”

I was honest. “Yes, I do. But that has nothing to do with why I’m asking you out.”

Usually his face was pretty easy to read, but this time I couldn’t see what was going on inside his head.

He stared at me some more before speaking again. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why do you want to go out with me?”

“You mean why today, when I’ve said no before?”

He shook his head. “No. I mean, tell me the reasons you want to go out with me.”

I squinted, unsure if he was screwing around. When I realized he was waiting for an actual answer, it didn’t take long to think of one. “You’re smart, funny, handsome, and mature.”

“So you aren’t just going out with me for a pity date?”

I smiled. “No. Definitely not.”

Ford knocked back the rest of his second drink and slammed the empty glass down on the table. He curled a hand around my neck and pulled me toward him. His lip twitched at the corner. “Just so you know, I would have taken a pity date. I don’t give a shit how I get it. But it was nice to hear you say those things.”

I play-shoved at his chest, though he didn’t budge.

“As long as you’re asking me out, how about you come here and kiss me for a change?”

I smiled and leaned in to brush my lips against his. When I went to pull back, Ford wound his fingers tightly into my hair and kept me there, deepening the kiss. It was hard and needy, and before it broke, he nipped at my bottom lip, causing a sting of pain.

I found myself thinking this kiss marked the official start of my summer fling—it was hard, needy, and had the sting of pain—a lot like how things would end come Labor Day.

“It’s about damn time,” he growled. “We already wasted almost half the summer.”

Chapter 15

* * *

Ford

I’d made reservations for two nights later at Blue—a new, high-end restaurant overlooking Lake Montauk. The dining room had dark walls, candlelit tables, and a view that made you forget you were only a few minutes from a highway. Soft music drifted in from a piano in an adjacent room being played by a man who sounded like a young Ray Charles. I’d never taken a date to a place that had slow dancing before.

“Wow. This is really nice,” Valentina said as I pulled her seat out.

Pushing her chair in, from the angle I stood, I could see right down her sexy, red dress. I leaned down, kissed her bare shoulder, and whispered in her ear. “I really love your dress. Especially the view from right here.”

Val looked up and followed my line of sight straight down to her cleavage.

She laughed. “And here I thought you actually liked the dress.”

“I do.” I winked. “I can’t wait to see it on your floor later.”

I took my seat, and the waiter arrived to take our drink orders. We ordered a bottle of the cabernet Val loved, and I deferred to her when he offered a sample to taste before pouring. Watching her swirl the crimson liquid in her glass and raise it to her lips made me realize I probably should have taken care of business before dinner. Even the lipstick mark she left behind on the rim of the glass turned me on. I had to discreetly adjust underneath the table when I imagined what that mark might look like on my dick.

Val leaned in when the waiter disappeared. “What’s going on in that head of yours? You’re staring like you’re deep in thought.”

I swallowed and blinked a few times. “Nothing. Just thinking about a meeting I had earlier today.”

She squinted. “You’re full of shit.”

That made me smile, because I was full of shit. But what I’d been thinking wasn’t exactly appropriate first-date material.

“I was just thinking how gorgeous you look tonight.”

She lifted her wine glass and brought it to her mouth again. I couldn’t wait to taste it on her lips later.

“That’s it?” She arched a brow. “You weren’t thinking about anything else?”

“I don’t think you really want to know.”

“Of course I do. Tell me.”

“You won’t hold it against me if it’s inappropriate?”

She smiled, and a devilish gleam sparkled from her eyes. “Of course not.”

Fuck it. If you really want to know… So much for being a gentleman, then. I waited until she set her glass back down on the table and pointed my eyes to the lipstick marks on it.

I leaned in and lowered my voice. “I was imagining looking down and seeing that mark around my cock.”

Val let out a nervous laugh, and I took a drink from my own glass to cool off. After that, our always-easy conversation felt off. We talked about my week in the city and what she’d been doing while I was gone, but it felt first-date awkward now and not like me and Val. I hoped I hadn’t actually upset her with what I’d said.

By the time we’d finished our appetizers, I needed to say something.

“Did I…take it too far with what I said earlier about the lipstick? I didn’t mean to offend you.”

Val wiped the corners of her mouth with a napkin. “No. You didn’t upset me. You were being a perfect gentleman. I asked you what you’d been thinking about.”

“Then is something bothering you? It feels like something changed after I made that comment.”

Val looked back and forth between my eyes and swallowed. “It’s me. Not you.”

“What’s going on?”

“I’m…nervous…about…you know.”

My brows furrowed. “What?”

She looked around and then leaned in and lowered her voice. “Sex.”

“Why?”

“Because I haven’t…it’s been…I was married for…” She shook her head. “I’ve only ever had sex with Ryan.”

Oh wow. I had no idea. But of course that made sense. She’d been with him since high school.

I tried to make light of it, calm her nerves. “I’m sure it hasn’t changed much. Candlewax dripping, riding crops, all four holes.”

Her eyes widened. “Four? What are the four?”

I laughed. “Relax. I’m kidding.” I shook my head. “Nothing has to happen until you’re ready. So stop thinking about it. You really need to stop overthinking everything and just take things as they come.”

She took a deep breath. “Okay.”

Things felt more relaxed after that. The waiter brought our dinner, and we fell back into our usual, comfortable conversation.

“How are things going between you and Bella?”

“She wasn’t around when I got home today, so I still haven’t seen her since that night. I texted her to check in while I was gone, but I only got one-word answers in response. Fine. Yes. No. Okay. Pretty sure she wanted to add fuck you to the end of each of them, but managed to restrain herself. I don’t get it. She does something wrong, and then she acts pissed off at me, like I’m to blame.”

“She’s deflecting. If she’s pissed off at you, she doesn’t have to look inward. But Bella’s a smart girl. She knows she was wrong.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sure you were no angel in college.”

“That’s the problem. I remember what I was doing at her age.”

Valentina smiled. “I skipped over the years of partying. I pretty much went from playing with dolls to having a real live one.”

After dinner, Val excused herself to go to the ladies’ room. While she was gone, I went over to the piano player and made a request. I guess he hadn’t had many because by the time she came back, he’d started to play my song: “Lady in Red.”

I stood. “Dance with me?”

“I’d love to. But I have two left feet, so I’m not responsible for any injuries.”

Even though it felt completely foreign to take a woman out on a date and ask her to slow dance, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to hold Valentina close. We walked out to the dance floor, and I wrapped her tightly in my arms. She had one hand on my shoulder and the other clasped with mine.

“Did I mention how gorgeous you look tonight?”

“You did. I believe it was while you were looking down my dress.”

“I can’t help myself. I’m just so unbelievably attracted to you.”

She blushed. “Thank you. The feeling is mutual.”

I felt light—not just on my feet, but in my chest and in my mind. If someone had asked me a few months ago if I’d felt like I was in a dark place, I would have thought they were crazy. But we can adjust to almost anything—we start to be able to see in the darkness after a while, find comfort in it, even.

Val tucked her head into my chest, and we glided around the dance floor. It might’ve been the first time I was grateful my mother had forced me to learn how to dance. I felt content, swaying with this woman in my arms.

I knew Val needed to go slow, and even though I hadn’t had sex in a while, that was perfectly fine for me—this feeling was all I needed from her right now.

***