Page 88 of The Scientist
“We still on for tonight?” he’d asked when I answered the call. I guess we weren’t mincing words. I smiled. Was he really that unsure of how I felt about him?
“Who’s this?” I couldn’t help teasing him a little.
“HA-HA. Answer the question.”
“So bossy.” I laughed, picturing him impatiently waiting for me to answer. He would need me to say the words to really believe it. “What time are we leaving, boss?”
“I’ll pick you up at six.” His tone seemed more relaxed now.
“By pick me up, do you mean walk across the grass?”
He ignored my joke. “Dress warmly.”
"Are you going to tell me what we’re doing?”
"It’s a surprise.”
"I think Ted Bundy said the same thing to all his victims.”
He laughed, and I relished the sound.
I smiled and said, “But if this has really all been some elaborate plan to get me alone in the wilderness somewhere to finally get rid of me then at least have the decency to take your shirt off while doing it. I might not even notice it’s happening that way.”
I could almost see the smile on his face through the phone as he said, “I’m really glad we’re doing this.”
“Me, too,” I agreed.
That conversation was playing over again in my mind as I tore through my entire wardrobe, unable to find a damn thing to wear. I finally settled for a tight-fitting, long-sleeved sweater dress that hugged each and every curve. It was on the shorter side, so I paired it with some over the thigh, high-heeled boots so that a little bit of skin was peeking through around my thighs. It wasn’t as cold tonight as it had been last night, but I grabbed my overcoat from the downstairs closet just in case.
Lex knocked at the door precisely at six o’clock. Hopefully, I was dressed okay for whatever he had planned.
I opened the door to see him standing there in darkjeans and a soft, cream-colored pullover, looking like a whole snack. His eyes took in every inch of me, starting from my face and moving down, stopping at the exposed skin on my thighs.
“Fuck,” I heard him mutter under his breath. “You look incredible, Hadley.”
“So do you,” I said. I usually hated first dates. They were always so awkward, but I already knew this man, and I was eager to explore all the parts that I didn’t know.
As we got into the car, he wasn’t saying much. He never did, but his energy seemed a little off. It suddenly occurred to me why that might be.
“Are you nervous?” I asked.
“Yes,” he admitted with a chuckle. “But I always am around you.” I smiled at him and he said, “If I’m being honest, I kept waiting for you to change your mind all day.”
“Why would I do that? I’m finally living out my mother’s dream for me—going on a date with a hot doctor.”
He laughed, and the tension in his posture seemed to relax a little. “I don’t think I’m the kind of doctor she meant.”
I shrugged. “Tomato, tomahto.”
I studied his profile as we drove along the highway. The squareness of his jawline, coupled with his straight nose and those thick, beautiful lashes framing his brilliant brown eyes had me wanting to crawl into his lap and taste him all over again.
“So, can you tell me what we’re doing?” I asked as a distraction from my own ogling.
“We’re going to dinner first, but then after is the surprise.”
“Am I dressed okay?”
He looked over at me, his eyes zeroing in on my legs again. “Not really,” he said with a swallow. “But I don’t think I want to stop looking at you in this outfit.”