Page 29 of Dream Date With the Millionaire
Funny how the three of them had grown closer since then, even though they’d never met in person, but Dani really wished they could. She couldn’t afford to go anywhere. So far neither Marissa, with her upcoming wedding, or Grace, with her pregnancy, had time to fly to San Francisco. Maybe someday.
Sanfrandani: Sorry, I was getting a glass of water.
Kangagirl: I thought you lost your connection.
Sanfrandani: Nope, thirsty. So, the movie turned out to be one of these epic battle guy flicks. No plot. Lots of special effects and death.
Englishcrumpet: Forget the bloody movie. Tell us about you and Bryce.
Sanfrandani: LOL! I am!
Sanfrandani: The movie was so bad all we could do, other than leave, was make fun of it as we watched. Bryce has the best sense of humor. We couldn’t stop laughing. People must have thought we were drunk or something.
Kangagirl: Were you drunk?
Sanfrandani: No, we drank wine with dinner, but we were just having fun at the theater.
Englishcrumpet: Tell us what happened next.
Kangagirl: And don’t leave anything out.
Dani imagined her two friends, oceans away, with their gazes glued to their monitors, waiting for her to finish telling them about the date. She knew what they wanted to hear—details describing a romantic evening for two, complete with tender gazes and passionate kisses. Too bad nothing like that had happened.
Sanfrandani: The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful. He drove me home, walked me to the door and said goodnight.
Englishcrumpet: Did he kiss you?
Sanfrandani: No.
Kangagirl: Did you kiss him?
Sanfrandani: No.
As she stared at the “no” on her screen, regret and disappointment gnawed at her. She knew better than to have expectations for a not-a-real-date, but still…Dani wasn’t used to a guy not staring at her body or trying to steal a kiss. Especially when she wanted him to kiss her.
Sanfrandani: There was the almost kiss during the movie, but that’s it.
Kangagirl: You didn’t mention an almost kiss. What happened there?
Sanfrandani: Oh, sorry. It’s almost one in the morning here. Past my bedtime.
Englishcrumpet: We can wait to hear the rest if you’re tired.
Sanfrandani: I’m not sure I could sleep right now.
Kangagirl: Good, because I’d rather not wait!
Sanfrandani: Well, we were sharing a bag of popcorn. Bryce leaned over to whisper something. We both reached into the bag at the same time, and our hands touched. Really our fingers. They sort of intertwined. I looked at him. His face was so close to mine. He was staring at me.
Kangagirl: Sounds romantic.
Englishcrumpet: Very.
Sanfrandani: It was the perfect moment for a kiss. Even the music soundtrack was right for it. My heart was pounding. I wanted to kiss him, but then I turned my face away.
Englishcrumpet: Why?
Sanfrandani: I didn’t feel right, kissing him without him knowing the truth about me.
Kangagirl: This is serious.
Englishcrumpet: No kidding. You must really like him or you wouldn’t have worried about what he would think if he found out the truth.
Kangagirl: Did you make plans to get together again?
Sanfrandani: We didn’t, but…
Englishcrumpet: You like him.
Sanfrandani: More than I thought I would. But we only just met so I’m not sure why I feel this way. I mean he’s gorgeous and all that, but still it’s a bit disconcerting.
Kangagirl: Been there, done that.
Englishcrumpet: Welcome to the club!
Sanfrandani: I said LIKE not LOVE.
Kangagirl: We know.
Sanfrandani: I just wish I could be honest with him.
Kangagirl: If that’s what you want to do, then tell him the truth.
Englishcrumpet: He’s going to find out at some point if you keep seeing him.
But Dani didn’t know if she should keep seeing him. Being honest with Bryce could jeopardize her job. She couldn’t afford to be without a paycheck or she would have quit. She’d already wasted over six months of her life at Hookamate.com.
Kangagirl: If you’re not sure what to do, then wait. You’ll know when the time is right.
Dani hoped so.
But, after hearing what Bryce had to say about where she worked, she wasn’t sure he’d understand anything she had to say. And that realization tied her insides up into a knotted jumble.
Englishcrumpet: Think about what you might want to do, Dani. After all, what do you really have to lose?
My job. My heart.
Dani wasn’t sure which she wanted to keep safer. Both were at stake and that scared her. Maybe it would be better if she never saw Bryce again.
She thought about his green eyes and his beautiful smile that warmed her heart.
Maybe not.
On Saturday morning, Bryce crawled out of bed. A sleepless night left him longing for extra shut-eye, but he couldn’t fall back to sleep. Caitlin wanted to meet him for brunch in an hour, but he wasn’t that hungry.
