I usually didn’t talk about my nieces. People didn’t care, but Val seemed interested. I liked that a lot.

A waiter passed by, asking if we wanted the tab. I nodded, even though I wanted to drag out our lunch date because I hadn’t had nearly enough time with her, but I had a meeting across town.

I automatically reached for the tab as the waiter brought it, but Val put her hand on a corner.

“No, mister. We’re sharing the tab. We agreed.”

“I didn’t explicitly agree.”

Her jaw dropped, and her green eyes were so full of fervor that I wanted to kiss her until she wrapped those long legs around me and begged for more.

“That’s not how I remember it. You nodded.”

I held both hands up in surrender. “True, true. I’m a man of my word.”

“Uh-uh. I’m not sure I believe you.”

She glanced at me suspiciously right up until we each paid, then said, “Before I forget, have you confirmed with Kate that you’re coming to the event?”

“I haven’t gotten to that yet, but I’ll send her an email.”

“I have access to the guest list since I know some of the guests. I’ll put you on it. It’s going to be great, even though it’s going to be tiring for me. I’ll have to mingle a lot.”

But mingling didn’t last the entire night. After everyone had a few cocktails on board, it was pointless anyway. They wouldn’t remember the conversation the next day. The venue where the gala was taking place was surrounded by a large garden. I could take Val out for a stroll after she was done mingling, maybe share a glass of wine in private, get to know her better. Get a taste of those lush lips too.

I’d been fantasizing about tasting them since this morning. I’d barely kept my thoughts in line, which was a definite first. I’d always been able to keep a clear head at work. But I kept reverting to that view of her cleavage. If I sucked on a nipple, would she roll her hips against me? How responsive would she be to my touch?

She took her overlarge phone out of her bag, setting it on the table.

“Let’s see, here is the guest list.” She pulled up a spreadsheet. It had four columns. Name, Plus one, Email, Phone Number.

My imagination had been spiraling out, but it came to a screeching halt when I saw there was a name in the Plus One column next to Val’s name. She was going to the event with someone. Was it just a date, or did she have a boyfriend?

I was fighting to clear my thoughts as Val asked, “Are you bringing a plus one?”

“No.”

“Can I have your last name, email, and phone number?”