Page 18 of Allegiance
“Do you want me to pick you up at work or at your place?”
Lena didn’t want him knowing about the restaurant. If things worked out between them, she’d share that part of her life, but if they didn’t, then she wouldn’t have to worry about him coming to her place of business and bugging her.
“I’ll meet you. I’m usually all over the county, so it’s easier that way.”
“Right.” He turned away and went over to one of the printers. “Come over here. I’ll make you a stack of flyers for free so you can hand them out at parties between now and when the high-quality ones are done.”
Taking in a deep breath, Lena went behind the counter and stood a sizeable distance away from Tank. Frankly, she couldn’t trust herself around him. He was giving off a ton of sexy vibes, and if she didn’t get out of there soon, she feared she’d do something that would embarrass the hell out of her.
She pressed her lips together as he fiddled around with the printer. Turning, he handed her his phone with an empty contact screen. Without thinking too hard about it, she typed in her information, with a quick note in quotations next to her name.
Looking at the screen, he gave her an incredulous look before tucking the phone back into his pocket. “What the fuck? You noted yourself as ‘the caterer’ in my phone?”
“I don’t know how many women you have listed in there.”
He let out a long, low whistle and smiled. “I can see I’ve got to stay on my toes with you, Lena.”
“Just for one night.” The words just flew out of her mouth, but she didn’t bother to take them back.
“You’re gonna be trouble, aren’t you?”
“That all depends on your behavior, Tank.”
Lena couldn’t keep a straight face. She laughed as she slipped her fingers around the stack of freshly printed flyers he handed her.
“That’s really endearing.”
“What?” Her laughter died away when she met his suddenly serious gaze. “What are you talking about?”
“The way you crinkle your nose up when you laugh. It’s cute as hell.” He said it in a matter-of-fact tone, as if it made total sense that he was pointing it out. “And now you’re looking at me like I’m nuts. Aren’t you used to compliments?”
“Something like that,” Lena muttered, hugging the stack of flyers to her chest. Feeling a light blush flushing across her cheeks, she took a step back, knowing she needed to go before things went any further between them. “It was nice seeing you.”
It was a lame exit, especially when he was taking her out to dinner on Saturday. But his comment, and the desire in his eyes, put her a little off her game. Hell, he knocked her off her feet in ways no one else did, or had done in a very long time.
“I’ll call to let you know which restaurant we’re going to. I’d call around now, but you seem a little harried.” His eyes and face were bright with their flirtation.
“You can tell so easily that it’s been a rough week for me?”
“Trust me, I’m smarter than I look.”
Lena was prepared to let the comment sit between them as she sashayed out of his shop and back into the sunshine, but she couldn’t let it stand. The question bounced around in her head until it was flying out of her mouth.
“Who says you aren’t smart, Tank?”
Chuckling, he stepped out from behind the desk so that they were only a few inches away from each other. “Not anyone who knows what’s good for them. It’s the usual first impression I give off to most people, though. You know, big, dumb jock, or scary enforcer.”
He didn’t look away when he said it, and she could tell he didn’t care one way or the other what people thought of him, and she liked that.
“I’m sure the women get a very different impression.” She tilted her head, almost daring him to call her a liar.
“It can go both ways, but a majority of chicks dig me.” He ran a hand over his head, his grin spreading even wider. “I like how chatty you are when you’re not at work. Maybe I should take advantage of my good luck and take you to dinner tomorrow night. I wouldn’t want whatever this is to wear off and be sitting across from a mute all night.”
“First of all, that’s mildly insulting,” Lena scoffed, adjusting the stack of papers. “Second, let’s meet at Crawley’s on Saturday.”
He hesitated, which caught her by surprise. “Why the fuck are we meeting at a bar? I’m taking you out for dinner.”
“I don’t want you to get the wrong idea, and this keeps things casual. We can go to the restaurant from Crawley’s.”
