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"Just a few minutes late, you jerk, and you replaced me with…that thing." She waved in front of my face, making me blink in confusion.
He looked at his watch. A few minutes must have been the understatement of the century.
So I leaned a bit to the side to get a better look at her. The blue sheath dress. The high heels. The expensive manicure. No, this woman was definitely not a match for the man I had just met.
"If you were really interested, you would have been on time," I said without a hint of emotion on my face. "Don't you think that would’ve been the right thing to do?"
"Excuse me?"
"Your chance for a date with him just died. Have a nice evening."
It wasn't just my gaze that shifted to the man at the center of it all. While she seemed to expect him to put me in my place, he didn't spare her a glance. His eyes had been on me all along. And still were, causing heat to course through my body for the first time in months.
With an indignant hiss, the woman beside me stormed off.
"Seems like I owe you one for saving me from another dating disaster."
"Your name?" I replied before he could finish his sentence.
He reached out his hand, and I took it with both of mine because I could never have encompassed it otherwise. Wrinkles formed around his eyes again. This time, however, they were joined by an honest, stunning smile that would have swept me off my feet had I not been sitting. "Gray."
Everythingabout him was gray. His gaze. The streaks in his well-groomed beard. His hair. The jacket. Yet no color, nothing had ever looked better than on this man. Clearly, I was developing an interest, and despite the monotonous label, he shone brighter than the damn Toronto skyline through the window behind him.
The longer his hand was in mine, the more overwhelming and powerful the urge became, like something melting, to slide to the floor.
"Guess that means you're officially not a stranger anymore, Gray," I murmured, letting my thumb glide over the tattoo beneath my finger, and finally, even though it felt absolutely wrong, I let his hand go.
He breathed a sigh of relief. "Lucky me."
The empty dessert plates were between us. It was the moment when you leave the restaurant and go home. Right?
However, that would also mean returning alone to an apartment where I no longer wanted to be and…
Everything around us was forgotten. I looked up into Gray's eyes. "Since you're not a fan of those dating apps and the idiots who hang out on them… will you take me to my apartment?"
He tilted his head. "Is that all?"
Even though I knew what he was implying, I almost wished he was hinting at something else.
Slowly, I shook my head. "No. The whole thing. I can't manage it alone."
"Then consider it done." Without hesitation, he stood up, circled the table, and took my jacket, holding it out for me so I just had to stand and slip into it.
There it was again. The tingling all over my body because he did something so effortlessly that was actually far from it.
Nervously, I reached for my phone. "I should go and pay," I muttered, turning around and nearly bumping into him.
My gaze drifted higher. Further. Until I had to tilt my head back slightly to actually see his face. I had been aware that he was tall. But Gray was…massive. Not just tall but broad and sturdy. I doubted he had ever seen the inside of a gym. His build appeared like it was the result of hard, honest work.
I swallowed again, not only because his hand had supportively closed around my arm but also because he looked at me as if I had lost my mind.
"The bill has already been settled, Amelia." He spoke as if it were a simple fact and it was silly of me to expect anything else.
Perplexed, I raised both eyebrows. "Thanks?"
"Always."
What was brewing in my chest felt so intense that I wanted to pound my fists on the table to make it feel less overwhelming.
