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“Sure” I shrug, trying to play it cool

He smiles

“Wesley” He leans closer to oes funny

“Pardon?” His grin shows off a perfect sht teeth were attractive until now, but there is so sexy about his

“Nae hand out in my direction, and my stomach dances with nervous butterflies as I dropat him once more

That’s when I notice that his eyes are blue, but not just any blue They re Island near my parents’ house, where I spent most of my childhood

“I’ er calloused one as I watch him smile

“Nice to meet you, Mackenzie”

“Uhyeah Nice tohis thumb slide over the pulse at my wrist while our eyes stay locked

“Here’s your change, and a fresh drink,” the bartender says, breaking the moment

I pull my eyes and hand from Wesley’s as the bartender slides the cash across the top of the bar toward me and sets my new lemon drop down on a fresh napkin

“Thank you” I clear et myself under control This proves to be impossibly hard to do since I can feel Wesley’s eyes still on h

“What are you drinking?” the bartender asks him

I pick upwith my hands so I won’t fan myself

“Bud, in the bottle,” he says

I feel his hand coh my sweater

I try not to look at him

The bartender bends at the waist and straightens back up a second later with a beer in her hand that she sets in front of him after she opens it

“Do you want me to start a tab?” she asks

I watch in the mirror as he lifts his chin and hands her a credit card She sets it behind the bar at the register before walking off once more to tend to her other customers

“So what brings you here tonight?” Turning my head toward Wesley at his question, I wonder if I should lie Then I wonder why the hell I’ that since he doesn’t know me anyway It would make no sense to lie to him

“I was supposed to meet someone here for a drink, but he stood me up”

“So appalled on my behalf

My lips twitch into a sh

“Yeah”

“Idiot” He shakes his head as his eyes roam over me He takes a pull from his beer, and my stomach dances once more

“Why are you here?” I ask after ato fill the silence that has settled between us

“I needed a beer” He nods toward the bottle in his hand “It was a long day”

“Work?” I ask

He nods onceI can’t understand yet, but know I don’t like So about it makes me feel uneasy, like I want to protect him

“Sorry,” I say softly, fighting the urge to reach out and touch him

“Don’t be I’ve got a cold beer into a beautiful wo up”

The word beautiful uilty He has no idea that the wo with isn’t who I really am I don’t normally look like this or drink martinis He doesn’t know that I prefer to drink beer and never wear makeup unless I have to Even the clothes I have on aren’t mine They’re Libby’s My closet consists of mostly T-shirts and jeans I want to tell him all that, but I don’t Instead, I decide to pretend for a little while longer that I’m someone else, that I’m the kind of woman a man who looks like he does wo

uld be interested in

Two hours later, as I settle into the backseat of a cab with Wesley next to

I’ve had only two lovers in -term boyfriends I didn’t sleep with until ht stands Or at least I’ve never had one before, but soet out of the bar I don’t even think I realized that soret it for the rest of my life

The door slaives the driver directions to his place I’m suddenly unsure of my decision

“Hey” His voice washes overto the junction between hs

My pulse quickens, and white-hot lust shoots throughhis gaze, I see that the sa my suddenly dry lips, I watch as his eyes drop to s as he leans in

The first touch of his lips to mine is soft and exploratory—a tease of what’s to coue to his bottoainst ue into my mouth to toy with htens and tilts it, sending a sting of desire through me

Pulling back when the cab comes to a stop, I pant as he pays the driver I take his hand when he offers it and allow hi the door behind us, he keeps my hand firmly in his as alk down the sidewalk and toward a set of stairs that leads to the bottom level of a townhouse After he unlocks and opens the door, I start to walk inside ahead of him He stops me, wraps his hand around my waist, and moves his face close to ainst my lips as he speaks

“You sure about this?” he asks

My pulse, already thundering away, speeds up

“Yes,” I whisper without having to think about h his hair It’s just as soft and as thick as I thought it would be I pull his mouth doard mine