Page 28 of Double Booked

“Fine.” He spun around and shoved his hands in his pockets.

She carefully stepped out of the tub and wrapped the towel around her, tucking the ends tightly over her chest. “Okay. I’m good.”

He slowly turned and faced her, his gaze drifting over her, and pausing where the towel was joined above her breasts. He swallowed hard before speaking. “I heard you call me the first time, and I thought something was wrong, so I ran downstairs instead of answering.” His explanation came out in a rush, like he felt bad for catching her unaware.

“It’s fine. I’m just mad at myself for forgetting a towel.”

“How was it?” He motioned to the tub.

“Great. I feel a lot better now.”

“I’m glad.”

She’d been worried about him seeing her in a bathing suit, yet standing here in a towel didn’t feel any less revealing. They stared at each other for a moment, both unmoving. Finally, she said, “I should get dressed.”

“Right. Yeah.” He moved aside and indicated for her to go first.

Once they were inside, she hurried across the kitchen, anxious to escape into the bedroom.

“Eden.”

She paused and turned around.

“Are you hungry?”

“I’m always hungry.”

He chuckled. “Why don’t we use one of the restaurant gift cards and go out for dinner?”

She blinked a few times, thinking it sounded suspiciously like a date. He didn’t date though, so it couldn’t be that.

“It’s like free money, so we might as well use them,” he said.

She was right then. This was definitely not a date. “Okay.”

“Okay?” He sounded surprised.

“Why not?” She didn’t want to keep discussing it while she was dripping water on the floor. “I’ll be ready in less than an hour.” With that, she slipped into the bedroom and shut the door. She leaned her back against it, her heart beating uncommonly fast.

Typically, when a man and woman who weren’t related went out to dinner on a Friday night, it was considered a date. In this case, she had no reason to be nervous because neither of them were interested in dating, and especially not each other. That settled, she began getting ready, assured that this was not a date, and feeling positive Cole would agree.

Ten

This feels like a date, Cole thought as he went upstairs. He stripped off his clothes and turned on the shower. As he was washing his hair, he recalled Eden picking the leaf out of it and laughing. He liked the sound of her laugh and wanted to hear more of it. Her ex had stolen some of her joyfulness, and suddenly, he wanted to be the one restoring it.

While rubbing soap over his body, he thought of seeing her in the hot tub. Her black swimsuit was conservative, but it didn’t hide her luscious curves. Her attempt to conceal her nipples had failed because he’d glimpsed them before she’d covered herself. He was getting hard at the mere thought of it. Cursing himself, he lowered the water temperature.

After rinsing off, he stepped out of the shower and pulled a towel off the bar. Usually, he towel dried his hair and styled it with his fingers. Then he recalled her describing his messy hair, and considered blow drying it instead. Stop being a dork. Why was he trying to impress her? She had zero interest in him or any other man, thanks to her jackass boyfriend. Assured of that, he styled his hair the usual way. Then he got dressed in his outdoorsy style, in faded jeans and a flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up. At least he was clean and presentable, and that was all that mattered. Finally, he went downstairs to wait for her, but was surprised to find her sitting on the couch reading.

“You took longer to get ready than me,” she teased.

“I took a shower.” And thought of you.

She stood. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah. Let me just grab the gift card.” He moved past her, trying really hard not to stare, but she looked and smelled great. She must have put on some body lotion after the hot tub, and the sweet scent permeated the air. Her hair was down and softly curled, and he noticed she was wearing makeup. It wasn’t overdone but highlighted her pretty blue eyes and full lips. Was this how she dressed for a date?

He tucked the gift card into his wallet while she put on her coat and grabbed her purse.