by Maggie Way
“It didn’t mean anything?” he asked, perplexed.
“We just needed to get it out of our systems so we can move on.” Maddie wasn’t sure how she’d move on without having more of him, but maybe he would take the first step in backing off.
“I’m not sure we achieved that,” he said, brushing a hair from her face.
She didn’t lean into his palm — as desperately as she wanted to — and instead took a deep breath. “I really need to get back to my office. We can talk later about when to set up a mock therapy session.”
“Have dinner with me.”
She stopped and looked at him. “Why?”
His smile threatened to tear down her defenses. “Because if that kiss didn’t mean anything, I’m a eunuch.”
She’d felt how much he wasn’t a eunuch during that brief kiss. “Interesting metaphor.”
“Just have dinner with me. We don’t have to talk about Chocolate or the center, or we can if you want. I just want a chance to get to know you better.”
She was ready to tell him she’d think about it, but her dad’s words echoed in her mind. The free-spirited Maddie wouldn’t even think twice. She’d go out to dinner and enjoy it even if there wasn’t a spark. After that kiss, Maddie knew sparks weren’t a problem, and that kiss was the free-spirited woman she’d always been, not the one who tried to keep herself on a short leash.
Except she’d worked so hard to get where she was. She hadn’t met her goals yet and dating was off the table until she was in control of her life.
“I can’t,” she sighed.
“Why not?” His thumb brushed across her lower lip, leaving a tingle that made her dizzy.
“I have goals. I can’t get distracted.”
“Is this about going to the gym?” he asked.
She nodded before shaking her head. “It’s about my life.”
He brought her hand to his mouth, his lips pressing gently against her palm and making her head spin.
“It’s just dinner,” he said.
“Okay,” she whispered, closing her eyes as his warm breath skated across her skin.
“Maddie?” he asked.
She didn’t realize her eyes were closed until she opened them and found his questioning gaze. “Yes,” she said.
“Yes?” he asked, obviously surprised.
She nodded, her goals a distant thought behind the giddiness coming to life.
“Friday night?” he asked. “I’ll pick you up at six.”
“Sounds perfect.” She gave him her number and address. “I really should get back to work.”
“Of course. Let me walk you.” When he held out his arm, she couldn’t resist wrapping hers through it.
Because Maddie was a glutton for punishment as much as she was morbidly curious, she asked the cards the one question she should have avoided.
Should I date Darren?
She got the Victory card.
Maddie didn’t even have to read the book that went with the oracle cards to know what the Victory card meant. It was a resounding Yes, as clear and direct as the sun in a cloudless sky.
“Okay, if you’re going to be that way,” she drawled while shuffling the cards, “then should Rissy and I partner with Darren?”
After cutting the deck, Maddie slid the top card away and turned it over, revealing the Angel of Balance.
She flipped open the book and nearly dropped it as she read the words. The card meant equilibrium was coming into her life but she had to be mindful of balancing her goals with her emotional energy.
This was like the intuition cards. She had been getting the intuition cards quite often and it made her crazy because she had stopped trusting her intuition years ago and she had yet to regain that balance.
Once upon a time, she relied on her intuition to guide her. There hadn’t been one stand-out event that influenced her lack of trust. It was a culmination of bad decisions and though Maddie was working to regain control over her life, she had yet to start trusting her intuition.
It seemed the universe was telling her she needed to.
“You’re not helping,” she muttered as she placed the card into the middle of the deck and shuffled once more.
“Talking to your cards again?” Clarissa snickered.
Maddie nearly jumped out of her skin as the cards slipped. “Dammit, Rissy, you have got to stop doing that to me.”
Clarissa laughed as she shut the door to Maddie’s apartment. “You have to stop being so uptight.”
There was that word again. Maddie knew she’d reigned in her wild side, but she didn’t consider herself uptight by any means. “You been talking to my dad?”
Clarissa looked confused. “About what?”
“Never mind.” Maddie swept up the cards, but when she did a rogue card flew across the floor. Rogue cards were their own messages, not to be ignored. “Oh God,” she mumbled when she saw the card.
“What is it?” Clarissa asked.
Maddie held the card up.
“Door to Romance?” Clarissa laughed. “Does that mean what I think it means?”
All Maddie could do was nod. She’d never gotten this card before. It seemed to elude her when she wanted it. Funny how now that she didn’t want it, it was dropping into her lap.
“What exactly did you ask your magical voodoo cards?” Clarissa asked. She wasn’t a believer in the spiritual despite Maddie’s lifelong efforts to sway her. Clarissa was more practical. As a veterinarian, she believed in medicine and science, not the spiritual energy that Maddie believed influenced everything.
“I asked if I should date Darren.”
“What?” she squealed. “If you’re even asking the question, that means you want to.”
Maddie just shook her head again.
Clarissa’s smile was gone. “Mad, come on. It’s not like you to avoid a date. I think you’re taking this self-improvement stuff a little too seriously.”
“I kissed him. Right on Main Street, in front of the book store.”
Clarissa’s smile returned as she held up her hand for a high five. Maddie laughed and smacked her hand. “That’s my girl. So, how was it — and just summarize. I don’t need the gory details.”
“It was like being struck by lightning,” Maddie admitted. Her lips tingled thinking about it.
“So …”
“So … I told him I’d go on a date with him.”
“Yes!” Clarissa declared, doing a fist pump.
“You don’t get credit for this,” Maddie chided. “I came to this all on my own.” The repeated accusations that she was uptight pushed her a little. The truth was, Maddie felt like herself when she was with Darren — outside of the gym, anyway.
“I know, but maybe this means I get the old Maddie back.”
“It’s a date, Rissy. I’m not going back to baking and binge eating. I’m still going to go to the gym and I still have nine pounds to lose.”
“You can do all that without having a stick up your ass all the time. Giving up chocolate and men at the same time was pretty dumb.”
Perhaps, but for Maddie they seemed to go hand in hand. Men made her crazy and she was a comfort eater. Add her brother’s deployments and it was a formula for disaster.
“I really like him, but if I date him, I’m not sure he’s the best option for a business partner.”
“Why don’t you ask your magic cards,” Clarissa suggested.
Maddie shook her head. “I did.”
“And?”
“If the universe has its way, I’m going to be spending a lot of time with Hot Shirtless Guy.”
Chapter Ten
Maddie had missed this, the dressing up, the stylish hair, the fancy make-up. Most of all, she’d missed the anticipation.
Some people jumped out of airplanes or off bridges for the adrenaline rush, but for Maddie, that rush came from a first date, and a first kiss, and making love for the first time.
She loved firsts and while she didn’t have th
e first kiss to look forward to, her adrenaline was pumping thinking about the first kiss of the first date.
“Welcome back,” she said to her reflection. The red dress was probably too much for a first date, but when she’d seen it a month ago at Dressed to Kill, a small dress boutique on Main Street, she had to have it. She’d bought a size ten as motivation to keep losing weight and nearly cried when she’d been able to squeeze into it tonight.
The simple wrap dress with the plunging neckline was snug, mostly around her breasts that didn’t seem to want to drop in size, but it wasn’t terribly uncomfortable.
“You’re hot,” she said and winked at herself in the mirror before delivering an air kiss.
She finished off her make-up with a dark red lipstick that matched the polish on her fingers and toes and put on the horseshoe ruby solitaire necklace Matt had bought for her for their birthday a few years back. Their birthstone was citrine, but they shared red as a favorite color, so Matt had gone with the ruby.
“Be safe, Matty,” she said as she touched the stone, hoping her brother would feel her prayer.
Maddie made it to the kitchen in time to hear the knock at the door. The anticipation of seeing Darren, and of him seeing her in this dress, surged into her chest, ratcheting her heart beat up as if she was running a sprint. Then it scattered, sending a fluttering sensation to her belly and south.
“Calm down. No sex on a first date.” While she might be a free spirit and was known to be reckless at times, Maddie wasn’t that promiscuous. It would kill the rush of anticipation, not to mention destroy her personal moral code.
She opened the door with a smile to find Darren standing there with a small bouquet of red roses.
His eyes widened as they moved down her body. He’d seen her in spandex, so he knew she was curvier than average, and while she wasn’t confident in her gym attire, this red dress empowered her and pushed her body image issues aside.
He was wearing red too, the deep red tie knotted loosely over a black shirt. Her fingers flexed, thinking about using the tie to pull him down for a kiss, and when she caught herself licking her lips, Maddie decided she’d better say something.
“Hi.” It wasn’t much, but it was a start.
“Hi,” he responded, his eyes moving back to hers. “You look amazing.”
“Thank you. You do too.” Maddie nodded at the flowers. “Are those for me?”
Darren shook his head as if shaking himself out of a trance and the action made Maddie’s thighs clench. “Yes, sorry.”
He held out the flowers and Maddie took them. When her hand brushed his, that lightning bolt she’d felt when she’d kissed him struck again.
“Jesus, Maddie,” he said, stepping to her.
Maddie went into his embrace, her lips crushing against his as her arms went around him. Every inch of skin and nerve ending came alive. She resisted the urge to climb up his body and instead just enjoyed the feel of his lips and warmth of his mouth.
When someone came out of the apartment across the hall and uttered an apology, Maddie peeled herself off Darren.
Darren cleared his throat and nodded at the flowers. “Maybe you should put those in water.”
“Right,” she said, smiling, “water.”
She wiped the lipstick off his lips with her free hand, loving how his pupils dilated as she touched him. When she moved over to the sink, Maddie was aware of his eyes on her. “You can close the door,” she suggested, glancing back at him.
“If I do that, I might forget my parent’s raised a gentleman. I made a reservation at the Hale. We don’t want to be late.”
“The Hale?” she asked, grabbing a vase from the shelf over the sink. “That explains the tie, kind of fancy for a first date.”
“Well, if I hadn’t worn it, you’d be upstaging me even more with that dress.”
“This old rag?” she laughed.
He looked at her once more, shaking his head as he licked his lips. He smoothed a hand over the tie. “This is my date tie.”
“Date tie?” she dared ask.
“I own three ties, one for weddings, one for funerals, and one for dates.”
“You only have one tie for dates?” she asked.
“I don’t go on many dates,” he admitted, which Maddie found great pleasure in.
“What about weddings and funerals?” she asked.
“Fortunately, I haven’t been to many funerals and I try to avoid weddings.”
She looked at him, raising a brow. “I have nothing against people getting married,” he said, holding up his hands as if to surrender. “They just remind me I haven’t found my soul mate yet.”
Maddie’s heart raised both hands, waving them and screaming, “Here, I’m right here.” She shook off the sensation, but not before she realized she was smiling.
“Are you laughing at me?” Darren asked, tilting his head.
“No, not at all. I’m impressed, actually.”
He straightened — if he were a peacock, he’d be flaunting his feathers. “Good. That’s what I was going for.”
Maddie filled the vase before setting it on the island in the middle of her kitchen. “You might even get a second date.”
“Excellent,” he drawled, his smile warming every part of her.
Maddie switched off all the lights and hit the night light on the hood over the stove. Then she took Darren’s arm.
She took the stairs with care, not accustomed to walking in heels, grateful she had his arm to keep her from taking an embarrassing tumble. He held open the door and helped her into his truck, which had been cleaned or detailed based on the smell. She loved the efforts.
Maddie scooted to the center and buckled herself in as Darren came around and opened his door. He paused for a second and smiled, as if he was happy she’d chosen the center seat. “Your truck is big. If I sit over there I feel like I’ll have to yell to have a conversation.”
“I’m not complaining,” he said, climbing into the driver’s seat. “It might be a bumpy ride, so you’re more than welcome to put your hand on my thigh if you need to hang on to something.”
She didn’t need the invitation, but was happy to know he wanted her hands on him as much as she wanted to put them on him. After he put the truck in gear, his arm settled around her, pulling her even closer.
She was killing him. As her finger drew little circles on his thigh, Darren resisted the urge to adjust the erection growing more uncomfortable by the minute.
Thank goodness the drive up to the Hale was a short one.
He hadn’t had a girlfriend sit in the middle of the bench seat since high school. Not that Maddie was his girlfriend — not yet. A man could hope.
“Have you ever eaten here?” he asked as the truck climbed the winding road that led to the high-end resort.
“We had our prom here, but that was ten years ago and I haven’t been back since,” she explained.
Maddie at her prom must have been a sight to see. With her hair pulled off her face but still falling down her back in loose waves begging for his hands to get tangled in them, he imagined her in a red dress, fancier than the beautiful one she wore now, but still hugging her sensuous curves. Darren could almost feel her skin forming goosebumps as he lowered the back zipper, letting it drop to the floor before he…
Yeah, he needed to cut that shit out right now. This was a first date and just because she kissed him with the passion of a woman who seemed to want more, he wasn’t going to cross that line, not tonight. It might take every ounce of willpower he had, but Darren was not going to give in to his desires.
“I’ve never been here, but I hear the food is good.” It was small talk, which he hated, but his brain was too far gone to say anything meaningful.
When he found a parking spot in the dirt lot, he climbed down from the seat and held out his hand for Maddie. She slid out of the truck and against his body. Darren had to step back. If he kept contact with her inviting curves, he might just lift her bac
k into the truck and take her right there in the parking lot.
“Shall we?” he asked, holding out his hand.
Maddie’s mouth curved into a smile so devastating Darren’s legs nearly crumbled.
Her hand was soft but cold. “Are you warm enough?” he asked. It was a warm night for April because of the thick cloud cover, but she wasn’t wearing a coat.
“I’m fine. I always have cold hands.” She gave his hand a squeeze before adding. “It’s a sign of a warm heart.”
He was sure her heart wasn’t the only thing warm about her. “You’re a bit superstitious,” he said, remembering her excuse for kissing him. “Did you ever get into a fight the other day?”
Maddie laughed. “Not unless you consider the one sided argument with my oracle cards a fight, then no. So I guess that makes you a fool.”
Darren laughed. He was a fool, but being a fool for this woman wasn’t bad in his book. “Oracle cards, huh?”
“Yeah. Clarissa calls it voodoo, but I believe there’s an energy surrounding us, driving us to our destiny if we’re open to it.”
“Like in Star Wars?” he asked.
“Yes, if you want to subscribe to the sci-fi angle. I meditate, I read my cards, and I try to stay open to the coincidences in life and the meanings behind them. Everything is a message about our destiny, but if you aren’t open to it, you miss the messages and end up on the wrong path.”
“So what was the message that made you argue with the cards?” he asked. Darren wasn’t one for prayer, but he was aware of coincidences. He’d never thought of them in a spiritual way as Maddie had just explained, but it made sense. There were a lot of coincidences bringing them together.
“It’s personal,” she said.
“Another one of your dirty little secrets?”
“This one might be a big, dirty secret,” she laughed. “Maybe I’ll tell you if we make it to a second date.”
It was the second time she’d alluded to a second date. That couldn’t be a coincidence.
When they stepped inside The Hale, Darren had to stop to take in the grandeur of the resort. A wide staircase curved upward right in front of the entrance. The large lobby was finished in cherry hardwood trim and pale yellow walls, all of the furniture elegant and well-placed to make it seem spacious and welcoming.