girl was supposed to behave, all the limitations she was supposed to put on her own appetite.
“Is there any other way?” Artie asked, winking.
The slice of pie turned out to be large enough for the two of them plus half a dozen friends, if they chose to invite any. There weren’t any other diners to recruit, though. Somehow, the restaurant had emptied out while they sat there. With a shock, Emily realized it was well after ten o’clock.
Tyler laughed at her surprise. “That’s what happens when you don’t start dinner till nearly eight. Perils of being a ballplayer.”
“Tell me about that. What other ‘perils’ do you face?”
“Oh, the trauma,” he moaned, but he laughed. “Long plane trips. Lonely hotel rooms. Lousy restaurant food—not like this—and no one to share it with.”
“Sounds terrible,” she said wryly.
“But I get to play ball for a living so I won’t complain.”
She laughed. In fact, she realized she’d been laughing all evening. Her cheeks ached from smiling so much. She couldn’t remember the last time a man had amused her like that, had let her relax and just enjoy his company.
“We should let these people go home,” Tyler said, nodding toward the door to their now-private dining room. He was right. The staff must be waiting for them to clear out.
As if by magic, Artie reappeared, seeming to produce the bill from thin air. Emily reached for her purse, only to be stopped by Tyler’s amused smile. “Don’t even pretend you don’t understand an invitation when you hear one. I asked you to dinner. I certainly don’t expect you to pay.”
When a man asks you to dinner, he has one thing on his mind .
That was Aunt Minnie’s voice. That was the rule Emily had heard from the first time she came home begging to go out on a date with a high-school classmate. Dinner, a movie, a trip to the mall… According to Minnie, men offered their wallets for one thing, and one thing only.
And watching the casual way that Tyler signed the credit card receipt, not even bothering to read the bill, to make sure it was correct, Emily had to say she wasn’t concerned about her aunt’s acerbic observation. Tyler might have one thing on his mind, but that thing was absolutely front and center in Emily’s mind as well.
Tyler held her chair as she rose from the table. He slipped easy fingertips under her elbow, gently guiding her through the restaurant, out the door, to his car, which sat alone in the parking lot. He stood closer than he needed to as he opened her door, and she felt the heat of his body as she eased past him to take her seat.
Her lips tingled in anticipation of the kiss he would give her when they arrived at her house. Her lips hadn’t tingled since… Ever.
And for the first time since meeting Tyler Brock, she imagined telling him her secret, telling him she was a virgin.
Oh, she wouldn’t do it. She knew that. She’d made the mistake of telling another man, a guy she’d trusted, her One False Love, as she’d taken to calling him in her most sardonic moments. One False Love was a guy she’d dated for almost six months. She knew she’d never loved him, but she’d begun to think she wasn’t ever going to love anyone. Not like that. She’d been ready to use her One False Love to just get past the whole virginity thing and join the not-so-secret society of women.
But when she told him, he freaked out. He remembered a business meeting, something he needed to be up for early the next morning. It was like he thought she was putting the weight of the world on one roll in the hay, like she was trying to sleep with him, marry him, and rope him into fathering a dozen children, all in one night.
He broke up with her by text the next day. One False Love. She wasn’t going to make that mistake again. Not ever.
The street was quiet when Tyler braked to a stop in front of Minnie’s mansion. Emily suspected crickets were chirping, but she couldn’t hear them over
“Is there any other way?” Artie asked, winking.
The slice of pie turned out to be large enough for the two of them plus half a dozen friends, if they chose to invite any. There weren’t any other diners to recruit, though. Somehow, the restaurant had emptied out while they sat there. With a shock, Emily realized it was well after ten o’clock.
Tyler laughed at her surprise. “That’s what happens when you don’t start dinner till nearly eight. Perils of being a ballplayer.”
“Tell me about that. What other ‘perils’ do you face?”
“Oh, the trauma,” he moaned, but he laughed. “Long plane trips. Lonely hotel rooms. Lousy restaurant food—not like this—and no one to share it with.”
“Sounds terrible,” she said wryly.
“But I get to play ball for a living so I won’t complain.”
She laughed. In fact, she realized she’d been laughing all evening. Her cheeks ached from smiling so much. She couldn’t remember the last time a man had amused her like that, had let her relax and just enjoy his company.
“We should let these people go home,” Tyler said, nodding toward the door to their now-private dining room. He was right. The staff must be waiting for them to clear out.
As if by magic, Artie reappeared, seeming to produce the bill from thin air. Emily reached for her purse, only to be stopped by Tyler’s amused smile. “Don’t even pretend you don’t understand an invitation when you hear one. I asked you to dinner. I certainly don’t expect you to pay.”
When a man asks you to dinner, he has one thing on his mind .
That was Aunt Minnie’s voice. That was the rule Emily had heard from the first time she came home begging to go out on a date with a high-school classmate. Dinner, a movie, a trip to the mall… According to Minnie, men offered their wallets for one thing, and one thing only.
And watching the casual way that Tyler signed the credit card receipt, not even bothering to read the bill, to make sure it was correct, Emily had to say she wasn’t concerned about her aunt’s acerbic observation. Tyler might have one thing on his mind, but that thing was absolutely front and center in Emily’s mind as well.
Tyler held her chair as she rose from the table. He slipped easy fingertips under her elbow, gently guiding her through the restaurant, out the door, to his car, which sat alone in the parking lot. He stood closer than he needed to as he opened her door, and she felt the heat of his body as she eased past him to take her seat.
Her lips tingled in anticipation of the kiss he would give her when they arrived at her house. Her lips hadn’t tingled since… Ever.
And for the first time since meeting Tyler Brock, she imagined telling him her secret, telling him she was a virgin.
Oh, she wouldn’t do it. She knew that. She’d made the mistake of telling another man, a guy she’d trusted, her One False Love, as she’d taken to calling him in her most sardonic moments. One False Love was a guy she’d dated for almost six months. She knew she’d never loved him, but she’d begun to think she wasn’t ever going to love anyone. Not like that. She’d been ready to use her One False Love to just get past the whole virginity thing and join the not-so-secret society of women.
But when she told him, he freaked out. He remembered a business meeting, something he needed to be up for early the next morning. It was like he thought she was putting the weight of the world on one roll in the hay, like she was trying to sleep with him, marry him, and rope him into fathering a dozen children, all in one night.
He broke up with her by text the next day. One False Love. She wasn’t going to make that mistake again. Not ever.
The street was quiet when Tyler braked to a stop in front of Minnie’s mansion. Emily suspected crickets were chirping, but she couldn’t hear them over