Your French Kisses by Lauren Blakely

Author:Lauren Blakely [Blakely, Lauren]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little Dog Press

4

Herb

* * *

As we walk to the warehouse, we talk.

“Ever been to an escape room before?” We turn down a lively block in Tribeca.

She wiggles her eyebrows. “That sounds like a come-on.”

“Maybe it is.” I dive into an exaggerated seductive voice. “Want to come see my . . . escape room, baby?”

She purses her lips then drags a hand down her chest. “Oooh, yes. Show it to me now.”

I growl, keeping up the routine, loving how easily I’m clicking with this woman. “Level with me. Are you an escape room virgin?”

She drops a demure expression on her face. “I am indeed.”

“Me too,” I say, returning to my normal voice. “But Evie thinks it’s perfect for us since I love puzzles and you presumably do too.”

“Crazy for them,” she says, emphasizing the words with passion. “My job is kind of like a puzzle. Being an ethical hacker. You have to get into everything backward.” Then she talks more about some of the work she does, and it’s fascinating. She practices hacking into security for banks, then giving them advice on where they have holes. “And it’s sort of similar to what you do,” she says. “Which is a puzzle too.”

Instantly I know what she means.

“Since my patients can’t talk?”

She smiles and nods. “Yes, that does make it quite a puzzle. It’s like you need a whole other language.”

We chat more as we weave through the moonlit streets in lower Manhattan, and as we do, I take a moment to admire her. I was being honest when I said if she wasn’t pretty, it wouldn’t matter.

And I meant it. To me, this kind of chemistry—instant and electric—matters so much more.

But I still find it kind of hard to believe she’s as gorgeous as she is, and as interesting as she is. Clearly, something has to go wrong, like it did with Sandy.

I tense momentarily, picturing my ex.

Seeing her face.

Feeling the gut punch of her news that she was leaving on a jet plane.

But I don’t want Sandy to infect this night.

I hoist those thoughts right out of my mind.

We stop at a light, and I put a hand on Olivia’s arm then run my palm down her skin. “I hope I’m not being too forward by touching your arm.”

She gazes at me. “You can definitely touch my arm. In fact, I hope I’m not being too forward by saying it gave me the shivers.”

“Good shivers?” I ask as a cab screams by.

“Definitely the good kind.”

“I can work with good shivers.”

The light changes and we cross. “Good shivers are another item on the checklist,” she says.

I mime checking it off.

She flashes a smile that ignites me, and I wonder why I took so long to say yes to Evie. But then the last time I felt this way was Sandy and—

Nope. Not going to do it. Not going to let her ruin the best night in ages.

No. Years.

Just focus on tonight.

When we arrive at the warehouse, the gamemaster opens the door and lets us inside, his tone that of a clandestine fellow from decades ago.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.