Page 3 of Snowfall
“Oh. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—"
“No need for apologies, darlin’,” I stop her right there. “I made peace with my past years ago. Got my nickname ’cause my dad taught me to play poker at the ripe old age of four, and I’ve been playing ever since. Pretty good, too.” I wink.
“Hence the name. You’re clever, I take it.”
“When it comes to some things,” I confess wily.
“I’ve noticed,” she smirks.Busted.
“Not as subtle as I thought, huh?”
“Just enough.” She doesn’t shred my ego to pieces.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been in the company of an exceptional woman. Guess I just wanted prolong the inevitable a little longer.”
“What’s the inevitable?”
“Saying goodbye.”
“You have my car. I would have been back,” she states the obvious.
“Why wait till tomorrow when you can have it right now?” I shrug.
Kristen bats her long, thick eyelashes at me.
“Guess I never thought of it that way.”
“Life’s short. Strike while the iron is hot,” I relay just as we pull to her house/condo-looking thing.
“I admire your directness.” She reaches for the door handle.
“Up for just a little more?” I delay her departure.
Kristen turns her body toward me. I’m not sure what she does for a living, but I’m guessing it’s something important and high-profile, because as elegant and proper as she is, she is just as confident and commanding.
“You have my attention.”
“You’ve had my attention from the moment you walked into my shop.” I’m direct. “And I would really like to see you again.”
“You are. You have my car,” she jokes. I appreciate her sense of humor.
“I’d really like to take you out.” I clear my throat. This shit never gets easier. “For dinner, maybe, and a ride on my bike.”
Her dark eyes grow wide and round.
Rejected. Dumbass.
“I’ve never been on a motorcycle before.”
“Oh, well, I’m good at breaking cherries,” I toss out a snarky response.
Kristen makes a funny face, then she bursts out laughing. It’s a glorious sound. One, I’m convinced, in a nanosecond, I’d never get tired of hearing.
“I would love to go out with you.” She smiles so brilliantly I feel the warmth in my soul.
“Tomorrow night?”Does that sound too desperate?
Kristen looks down at her phone and scrolls through something.
