Page 52 of Dream Date With the Millionaire
“Uncle Edward and my father aside.”
“Uncle Edward was cute.”
“And harmless. My father, however, is the ultimate player,” Bryce explained. “He doesn’t respect women or treat them well, but he has enough money he’s willing to spend that some don’t mind.”
“Like your girlfriend?”
“Ex-girlfriend,” Bryce clarified. “She had her eyes on my father from the beginning and used me to get to him.”
“I’m sorry.” Dani reached up and caressed his face. “I hope you know I would never…”
“I trust you, Dani.”
He kissed her gently, soaking up the feel and taste of her. And then something changed. Something in him ignited, catching fire. He couldn’t get enough of her kiss—of her. With his hands in her hair, he backed her up against the door. She pressed against him. His lips moved over hers. Dani tugged at his shirt, impatient. She was with him all the way.
Bryce pulled back to look her in the eyes; her pupils expanded.
Her face flushed, she moistened her swollen lips. “I think we know where this is going.”
“I hope so.”
That shy smile of hers appeared. “I really like you, Bryce. I want to invite you in, but I don’t want to make any mistakes or do something we might regret later if we go too fast.”
Not what he wanted to hear, but so what? She was worth waiting for.
He took a deep breath. And another.
“You are a smart one.” Bryce looked into her eyes. His affection for Dani grew with each passing second. “We’ve got plenty of time ahead of us.”
“Us,” she repeated, her eyes twinkling.
Bryce nodded. He liked the sound of us. More than he’d thought he would.
“And, for the record,” he said, running his finger along her jawline, “I like you, too.”
On Monday, the clock still hadn’t struck midnight. Sure, Dani was back in her routine and at work, but she felt as if she were still floating from Saturday night. The entire weekend, really. She’d joined Bryce and his family for brunch on Sunday. All of the Delaneys made her feel so welcome. And Bryce made her feel so…loved.
Forget about falling for him.
She’d fallen, body and soul.
Dani might as well wrap her heart in pretty paper, tie the package with a neat bow and stick a tag with Bryce’s name on it.
Could love happen so quickly?
Marissa and Grace thought so. Dani wanted to believe, too. She didn’t know what else this all-consuming wonderfulness could be.
An emergency meeting at Blinddatebrides.com meant she couldn’t see Bryce tonight, but he’d called, texted and e-mailed her. That had kept a wide smile on her face the rest of the day at work.
At her apartment, Dani found a breathtaking bouquet of stargazer lilies waiting for her with a note:
Thinking of you. Missing you. Can’t wait to see you. B.
Happiness consumed her. Definitely love. She held on to the vase and swirled. She couldn’t wait to hop onto chat and tell her friends. A happy ending might be in her future after all. She sure hoped so.
Tuesday morning, Dani sat in her cubicle, thinking of ways to build the Hookamate.com community. Even though she had two job interviews, courtesy of Bryce’s contacts, lined up for later in the week, she wouldn’t allow herself to do a lousy job at Hookamate.com, even if she hated working here. She’d made up for not going on any more dates by writing some killer content for the site that had earned her high fives from the engineers.
But each ping from her e-mail in-box captured her attention. She wanted to hear from Bryce, even though she was meeting him for lunch in less than an hour.
“I knew you were good, Danica,” James said from the opening of her cubicle. “I just didn’t know how good.”
She kept working at her computer. “Is revenue up again this month?”
“Yes, and traffic, too, but that’s not what I’m talking about.” Paper crinkled. “Way to go, getting on the inside. I’ve got to hand it to you, Danica. I didn’t know you had it in you.”
The approval in his voice made her nervous. Made her turn. He held a copy of the Life section of the newspaper in his hand. “What are you talking about?”
He showed her the society page, specifically a picture of her with Bryce and his father. The description identified her as the date of Bryce Delaney, CEO of Blinddatebrides.com.
Her stomach roiled. She hadn’t wanted James to find out about her and Bryce this way. Not until she had a new job and was ready to quit.
“Congrats on hooking a really big fish,” her boss said. “What kind of inside info have you found out?”
Inside info?
