Her bottom lip was caught between her teeth as her gaze stayed on him. “Please, Rory… don’t make fun of me.”
“I would never do that. You are the most beautiful woman in the room. And I’m damn lucky to be sitting here with you right now. Not just because of your beauty but because you’re giving me the chance to get to know the real Sandy.”
They were silent for a moment, but their gazes never wavered. The noise of the room fell away, leaving only the two of them in their own world, much like their dance and kiss months earlier.
Finally, as though the words were dragged from her, she spoke. “Sandra.” Her chest heaved with each breath. “The real me is Sandra Michelle Carmichael.”
A slow smile spread across his face. “It’s nice to meet you, Sandra Michelle Carmichael. I’m Rory. Rory Michael McBride.”
Laughter burst forth from her lips, and her eyes sparkled. She continued to smile her slightly crooked smile for a moment before slowly shaking her head. “Am I crazy?”
“For what? For letting me sit here and make sure you’re safe? That’s being smart. For forgiving me? Probably, but I’m glad you did. For offering me a chance to prove to you that I’m a better man? No, absolutely not.”
“Wow, you do have these lines down perfectly,” she said, her voice still soft but her smile wide. “Even if they’re true, they’re still great lines.”
“I won’t be using them on anyone else.” They continued to sit in silence, smiling at each other for another moment. “I know they have food here, but I’d like to take you to dinner.”
“Now?”
“If we’re starting anew, there’s no time like the present.” He held his breath, only letting it out when she nodded slowly.
“Okay, but let me run to the ladies’ room first.”
“I’ll walk with you—”
“Rory, I can go to the ladies’ room by myself.”
He looked toward the hall where the restrooms were located and smiled. “Okay, then I’ll go talk to Blay at the bar.”
Her gaze followed his and she rolled her eyes. “Fine.”
Holding his hand out, she placed hers in his, and he assisted her from the tall stool. Keeping his hand on her lower back, they made their way to the bar. She continued down the hall and he stood where he could talk to Blay and yet keep his eyes on the hallway.
Blay looked over his shoulder as Sandy disappeared then turned back to Rory. “I get the feeling I should apologize, bro.”
“Apologize?”
“There’s something between you and Sandy, and when you asked me about her months ago, I advised you to remember how much work you had in front of you to become a paramedic.”
Shaking his head, Rory said, “You were right. I absolutely needed to focus on what I was doing. It was me that fucked up. Instead of being honest and telling her that I had a lot going on and thought it was better if we stayed friends, I let it slip that I’d listened to what some of the others said about her being rich and high maintenance.”
Blay winced. “Ouch.”
“Damn right. I hurt her feelings and that’s not the kind of person I am.”
“And now?”
“Now I’ve had the chance to see that she’s hard-working, dedicated to her job as well as her friends, and she may have a rich daddy, but she doesn’t live like it. We’ve had a chance to be around each other recently, and I’m learning there’s a lot more to her than I initially thought. And that doesn’t say anything about her but says a lot about me, and I wasn’t happy with what it said.”
Blay grinned, clapping him on the shoulder. “Good on you, man.”
Torin walked over, his eyes shifting between the two. “You need another one or are you good?”
“I’m good.” He tossed some money onto the bar. “That’s for me and to cover Sandy’s Lemon Drops.” Seeing Torin’s tight face, he added, “Are you okay?”
“Can’t fuckin’ believe someone got roofied in my bar. The police haven’t made an arrest yet, but I heard through the grapevine that there were two other bars in the area that recently had the same thing happen. What doesn’t make any sense is that the women were roofied, but the man just left. Thank God he didn’t assault them, but no one can figure out what he’s doing. And to me, that makes him dangerous.”
“Fuck,” Rory cursed. “I hadn’t heard that.” The click of heels on the wooden floor sounded down the hall, and he gave a quick shake of his head toward Blay and Torin. By the time Sandy reached his side, the three men had deftly switched their conversation to the game on the television. Looking down, he smiled. “Ready for dinner?”
She nodded, then said her goodbyes to the others, and with his arm around her shoulders, he escorted her outside. With her protectively tucked into his side, he breathed a sigh of relief. “How about I drive and then bring you back to your car?”
She twisted her head around and peered up at him. “How about you follow me home and then we can walk to a little place not too far from where I live?”
They had stopped outside her SUV, and he turned to face her. Bending so his lips were close to hers, he nodded. “Sounds like a great plan.” He battled the desire to take her lips but standing outside of the Cock was too much like their first kiss… a good memory, but perhaps not best repeated when they were so new. Instead, he placed his lips on her forehead and kissed lightly.
Two hours later, after a delicious Italian dinner, wine and dessert, fun conversation, and laughter, he stood on her front stoop and kissed her the way he’d wanted all evening.
His hands cupped her cheeks, and he tilted her just enough to guide their lips together. Gentle movements, slow and steady, he swallowed her delightful little moans. She opened
