Page 68 of The Bluffing Game

I hurry to my car, get in, and drive the fifteen minutes to the house. As soon as I get out, I see Sage running out of the door.

“Do you know what time it is?” She sounds frantic.

“I’m so sorry. Everything just went much later than I’d expected.”

“You didn’t pick up my calls. You didn’t text me. I didn’t even know what to tell my date.”

Her hair is long and wild. She looks stunning in a black skirt and sequined silver top. She’s got on shimmery blue eyeshadow, and her lashes look longer than I’ve ever seen. Her lips are bright red, and she’s wearing heels. She looks seductively sexy.

“I’ve missed my date now. Can you believe this?” She shakes her head.

“I’m sorry. I totally lost track of time.”

“And what is it with you men and time?” She sighs. “I can’t believe you didn’t text me or call me. I was also worried. I didn’t know what happened.”

“I’m sorry. I won’t let that happen again.” I feel a twist of guilt and remorse. I was irresponsible because I was jealous, and that is not okay. I have to be a better man than that. Especially now that I’m a dad.

“I would hope not,” she says.

“I think you look really pretty. Beautiful even,” I say as I look down at her. “I’m sorry you missed your date.”

“Yeah, well, he rescheduled, so …” She shrugs.

My heart contorts. I don’t want to hear that information.

“It’s going to be okay, I suppose. It just looks really bad that I wasn’t there.”

“Let me make it up to you,” I say softly, my heart racing.

I stare up at the moon and the sky and the stars. Her face radiates passion as she glares up at me. I want her to forget her date. I want her to fall for me, enough so that she can forgive me for being a jerk who has already told her some lies.

“How are you going to make it up to me? I’ve already eaten mac and cheese with Toby, who’s asleep, by the way.”

“What if I did what your date was likely going to do at the end of your date tonight?”

“What would that be?” She stares at me.

“Well, if I had been your date and you were wearing that outfit, I’d grab your hand like this.” I pull her down the couple of steps onto the driveway, and I start humming under my breath.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s a beautiful night. If I were on a date with you, I’d pull you into my arms like this, and we’d dance back and forth under the moonlight and the stars.”

I twirl her around, and she giggles as her hair goes flying.

“And then I’d pull you into me like this.” I grab her around the waist and stroke the back of her hair.

She’s breathing deeply now as she looks up at me, lips parted. “What are you doing, Dalton?”

“I’m just giving you the good-night kiss that your date would’ve wanted to give you.”

I press my lips down on hers, and this time, I make sure it’s more than a peck. I hold her to me, running my fingers through her silky hair, and she reaches up and squeezes my shoulders. Her lips part just enough to slide my tongue into her mouth. She tastes sweet, and she feels soft. I deepen the kiss. She moans as she runs her fingers around the nape of my neck and presses herself into my body. I grab her by her hips and bring her in so she can feel my hardness against her stomach, and she stills. We continue to kiss, and my fingers slide down the side of her body. I love the feel of her. I love the taste of her. I want this to go further. I want to take her into my home. I want to make all her dreams come true. And then she pulls back, gasping for air.

“I don’t think the kiss would’ve gone on longer than this,” she says, blushing deeply.

I grin down at her, my heart racing as I press my fingers into her wrist. “But it would’ve been a mighty good kiss, right?”

“One of the best,” she says. “I might even have given him a second date.”