Free Into The Fire (Gorgeous Entourage #1) by E. L. Todd Page B

I accepted his apology, he
didn’t know what else to say. He even seemed awkward. He wore jeans
with a hole near the pocket and a t-shirt, like always. “So…can I
still come over for dinner?”
    “Is that all you care about?” I asked. “The
free food?”
    “Actually, I care more about the beautiful
woman cooking it—not wearing lingerie.”
    He was such a smooth talker. I tried not to
smile but it was hopeless. “Where did you come from?”
    “I was born in Connecticut.”
    I rolled my eyes. “No, I meant ten minutes
ago. Were you at home?”
    “No. I was at work.”
    “You just left work at the drop of a
hat?”
    “It’s pretty laid back there. My client
canceled their appointment so I wasn’t skipping out on
anything.”
    “Well, you didn’t need to stop by.”
    “I would have called but you told me not
to.”
    “I was just mad.”
    He shifted his weight. “You want me to bring
anything?”
    “Just yourself.”
    “Cool,” he said. “No flowers or
something?”
    “Why would you bring flowers?”
    He shrugged. “Isn’t that a custom?”
    “When you’re going on a date.”
    “Oh, okay.” He snapped his fingers. “Gotcha.
I guess I’ll see you then.”
    “Yeah.”
    He headed to the door. “Since I know where
you live, can I just have your number? I feel ridiculous calling
you at the office all the time.”
    “We’ll see…”
    He rolled his eyes. “I’ll be there at seven
unless specified otherwise.”
    ***
    There was a knock on the door at seven
sharp.
    I was finishing everything in the kitchen so
I called out. “It’s open.”
    Ash walked inside, an arrangement of flowers
in his hand. “Dude, I could have been a serial killer and you just
let me walk inside? You won’t let me walk you home but you’re chill
over this?”
    “I knew you were coming.” I turned off the
oven.
    “What does that matter? I still could have
been a weirdo.” He walked around the kitchen table and approached
me, the sunflowers in hand. “I got you these.”
    I eyed them in his hand and felt my stomach
tie up in knots. I’d been given flowers before but it didn’t mean
as much. “What are these for?”
    “Well, two reasons…” He held up one finger.
“I was a dick to you earlier today so I thought this would make up
for it.” He held up a second finger. “I was hoping I could get your
number if I were sweet enough.”
    “Whatever the reason, they’re beautiful. I
love sunflowers.”
    “I think they’re really cool. They’re big and
bright and not cliché like roses.”
    I grabbed a vase from under the sink and
placed the flowers inside. “Thank you. That was very thoughtful of
you.”
    “So…can I have that number?”
    “Why do you want it so bad?” I filled the
vase with water then set it on the table. “You can call me at the
office whenever you want.”
    “I don’t always feel like talking on the
phone so I want to be able to text you. Come on, give it to me.” He
wiggled his eyebrows in a ridiculous way.
    “Is that supposed to convince me?”
    He shrugged. “Works on everyone else.”
    No, your good looks works on everyone
else. “I’ll think about it.”
    “Man, you’re such a tease. I let you sleep
over and you won’t even give me that?”
    “I’ll give it to you if you can guess
it.”
    “Are you crazy?” he asked. “That’ll take me
three hundred years.”
    “Three hundreds years?” I asked. “That’s
oddly specific…”
    “You would put an end to this conversation if
you just handed it over.”
    I pointed at the table. “Sit down.”
    He remained standing.
    “Do you want dinner or not?”
    That got him in the chair. “What are we
having?”
    “Filet mignon, brussel sprouts, and mashed
potatoes.”
    He rubbed his palms together greedily. “Fuck
yes.”
    I served the plates then sat across from
him.
    “Shit, this looks good.” He shoved a brussel
sprout into his mouth. “Even the green balls are good.” He
practically inhaled his food, stuffing