She shrugged as if it didn’t matter, but I could tell that it did matter to her. I didn’t push the issue, though. It clearly made her uncomfortable, and why should she share something so personal with me, after all? We barely knew each other. I set out to take her mind off it instead, all the while trying to ignore the thought that she wasn’t taken anymore.

“No pancake this morning?” I asked.

“Nope.”

I leaned in a little closer, touching her forearm, craving the contact. Her gaze dropped to my hand on her arm, and she licked her lips.

“How about if I buy it for you? Does that count?”

“It definitely does.”

“But your conscience wouldn’t be guilty.”

“You’re even better at finding tricks and loopholes than I am.” She smiled at me.

“What if I buy two for me and then decide I’ve had enough after the first one? Would be a shame to let the other go to waste.”

“You never run out of arguments, do you?”

“Not when I’m after something,” I admitted.

“And what you’re after now is me having a pancake?”

It crossed my mind to lay out my cards and tell her exactly what I was after, but I couldn’t be that direct. Yet.

“I want to turn this morning around for you. Don’t let that moron waste more of your time than he already has.”

I kept her gaze for a beat, then another one. I could tell she didn’t want to look away first, but eventually she did, shaking her head and chuckling.

“Do you always employ such dangerous tactics to lift someone’s mood?”

“I’d categorize this as ballsy, but I’m happy to show you my dangerous side too.”

Val swallowed. “Well, I’d love to find out exactly how you distinguish ballsy from dangerous. I have a hunch that our definitions differ, but duty calls. I must do some things for the charity event too. At this rate, it’s feeling more like work than fun.”

“We’ll enjoy ourselves too.”

“Define enjoy,” she challenged with a smile while pulling her hair into a ponytail. The movement of her hands made her chest rise and push forward. She bared her neck. That skin looked so kissable, so touchable that I was barely fighting the urge to find an excuse—any excuse—to touch her. I looked at her mouth long enough for her to notice. Her eyes widened. She felt the chemistry between us too.

“Nah, and spoil all the anticipation? I’ll show you when we’re there.”

I rose from my chair at the same time as her.

“I’ve been to enough events to know they’re not my kind of fun.”

“But you didn’t have me to keep you company.”

Her lips parted slightly. Then she narrowed her eyes.