Free Turn The Page (Kissed by A Muse Book 2) by S.K Munt

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    Leigh laughed nervously, certain that she was imagining the way that his voice had lowered. ‘Isn’t that what you just did?’ She shook her coffee cup. ‘Unless you put it on my room tab…’
    But Bruce laughed and shook his head. ‘No, this one’s on me.  But I’m thinking more along the lines of the kind of drink where you end up inviting me up to your room for coffee afterwards- rather than me just finding excuses to come up to your floor with coffee at the ready.’
    Leigh had been stunned by the initial offer, but now that he’d elaborated on his plan- the kind of plan that involved her inviting him into her room intentionally, her heartbeat began to pound and pump dread through her veins.
    ‘Oh man… I’ve crossed a line, haven’t I?’ Bruce stammered, breaking the silence while Leigh swallowed and pushed her glasses back onto her nose. ‘Leigh, I mean- Miss Dallas-Hone-’
    ‘That’s why you’ve been so nice to me?’ Leigh interrupted, lifting her eyes to his. ‘Because you wanted to ask me out?’
    Bruce stared at her for a second, looking like he was in two minds about how to respond, but eventually he sighed and held up his hands in a helpless gesture. ‘You’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever met,’ the words were powerful, and the accent slayed her. ‘I couldn’t be anything BUT nice to you but yes, I’ve been hovering because I wanted to see you again.’
    ‘Me?’ Leigh scratched her damp hair, moving it until it covered the small zit she’d seen forming near her temple after her shower and feeling incredibly self-conscious. She was used to people hovering around her because something about her apparently begged her to be babied, not because they found her sexy. Pretty, perhaps. Striking maybe- but sexy? No. ‘You sure you don’t mean like, um… unusual?’
    ‘No.’ Bruce cupped his coffee and looked at her with frank interest- interest so blatant that she couldn’t believe that she hadn’t noticed it before. ‘I’m going to level with you, Leigh; asking out guests is a big hotel no-no, and I can understand why, so if I’m crossing a line here, feel free to report me because I deserve it.’ He smiled apologetically at her. ‘But I don’t know how to not ask you out, and I’m going to run out of excuses to fuss over you now that you’ve found your stuff so…’ he blew out his breath and shrugged. ‘I’m asking you out- employee of the month be damned. You name the night and I’ll show you the real Niagara- and a good time.’
    Leigh sat back in the chair and scratched her head. At a loss for how to respond. Maybe he could use ‘sexy’ as a noun for her now, but that was going to change once he actually got to know her. ‘Bruce…’
    He groaned. ‘That is not an encouraging start to an answer…’
    She laughed. ‘I haven’t even started yet!’
    ‘I’m sorry- I’m just nervous…. I babble when I’m nervous.’
    Leigh lifted her eyebrows. ‘Seriously?’ She held up the hem of her dress. ‘No… seriously? This is making you nervous?’ Bruce nodded and Leigh chuckled. ‘I don’t know. I mean, you seem really nice, and I was always partially team Jasper… but…’
    He glanced over at her, his expression both hopeful and terrified. ‘But…?’
    ‘I don’t really date,’ she said finally, squirming. ‘I mean, I go through the motions of meeting people but…’ she winced, knowing that if she admitted the truth: ‘No one compares to the fictional men I take to bed every night,’ she wouldn’t have a date offer left to turn down, because he’d flee, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted him to flee just yet so she finished with: ‘It never goes anywhere.’
    Bruce turned back to her, cocking his head. ‘Well, of course it doesn’t, or you’d be here on a honeymoon like everyone else, and my ex wouldn’t be selling my Harry Potter box set on E-bay right now... But it only has to go the right way once, doesn’t it?’
    ‘Harry Potter