Page 16 of Offside Possession

“Love you, too, Stells,” Rainy said before ending the call. I straightened the yellow and white polka dot halter sundress I had put on after my shower, then headed inside the place and waited for the hostess to see me, when I felt someone tap my shoulder.

“Excuse me, are you Stella Miranda?” a deep, masculine, almost familiar voice asked, and when I turned, the world slowly came to a halt.

“You!” the two of us exclaimed with sheer and utter surprise.

He was there.

Right there.

In front of me.

We stared at one another for a long moment. Butterflies of excitement floated low in my belly. My Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome Stranger stood just inches away from me, his hand still cupping my bare shoulder as we stared at one another. I couldn’t tell you what was happening around us, if it was full or empty or what it smelled like. Not when all I could seem to focus on was him.

“Hey.” I smiled softly, almost shyly. In flats today, standing so close made me realize just how much shorter I was than him.

“Trouble.” The nickname sounded familiar, almost intimate, as he grinned and shook his head, his brows bunching together. “What are you doing here?”

“Brunch,” I answered and tried not to wince. Would he think I was on a date with someone else?

“Brunch?” he repeated, but I couldn’t get a read on him.

“Yup.” I nodded. “You?”

“Brunch, too.” His lips started to twitch almost like he thought something was funny. Almost hilarious by the way his dark eyes shimmered.

“I’ve heard it’s a good spot for… brunch.” I almost winced at the terrible small talk I was making. What the hell is wrong with me!? I was the queen of small talk!

“I’ve heard that, too.” His smile grew broader, almost like there was some kind of secret he was onto and I wasn’t.

“What is it?” I asked, feeling slightly self-conscious. I glanced down at my dress just to make sure the halter part hadn’t somehow come undone and my boobs were on full display. Nope. All safe there. I wiped at my face. Had my lip gloss smeared? Mascara run?

“What’s so funny?” I finally broke down and asked.

“Stella, baby, you’re really not putting it together here, are you?” he asked softly. His hand dropped from my shoulder but immediately found mine.

Our fingers seamlessly tangled together like they had been looking for one another for a lifetime and had finally found each other. I glanced down and blinked at the sight of his hand in mine. It was something so easy, so simple. Innocent. But the heat that swirled inside of me was anything but innocent. It reminded me of tangled bed sheets and limbs and sweaty bodies writhing against one another all night long because they couldn’t get enough.

The hostess called out a name, but I was simultaneously too focused and too flustered by my one-night stand showing up where I was, that I didn’t really pay attention until my handsome stranger started to walk, his free hand on the small of my back while I tried to figure out what he’d just asked as I followed him to a booth in the back.

“Thank you. I got it from here,” he said politely to the hostess, who was seriously obvious as she checked him out. I wanted to stomp my foot or say something to her, but he wasn’t mine. Shit, I didn’t even know his name! For all I knew, he was married with two kids and a Golden Retriever. He said he didn’t, but between my sisters and me, we’d heard and seen it all. He could have easily lied.

“Sounds good. Your server will be right with you,” the hostess said, and he pointed at the booth seat. Still weirdly on auto-pilot, I slipped in, and he slid right next to me.

“What are you⁠—“

“What sounds good to you?” he asked, opening the menu.

“What?” I gawked at him.

“Food? Brunch? I know I worked up an appetite.” His grin turned lethal, like he was determined to get my panties to go up in smoke.

“Look, I don’t know what you think you’re doing but— Wait a second, how did you know my name?” My sinfully sexy stranger was at least enough of a gentleman to not flat out laugh at me.

“I was wondering how long it was going to take you to notice that.”

“No, seriously.” I frowned

“Stella—“