Page 41 of The Secret Heir Next Door

Shit. He’s right.

I jump out of the car and race after her.

“Serena!”

She doesn’t slow down. She continues to walk ahead.

I mean, it’s a great view. The black dress that she’s wearing shows off all of her amazing curves.

“Listen, I’m sorry if I was rude or came off as a jerk. I…I don’t know how to navigate any of this, okay? I’ve never been in a real relationship before, and I’ve certainly never felt a connection with a woman before like the one I feel with you.”

“You have a shit way of showing that,” she snaps.

“I do. I don’t know what’s gotten into me. It’s like…all I want to do is kiss you, but I can’t understand how to convey that.”

She grabs my shirt and pulls me into a hot, passionate kiss.

Damn it, why didn’t I think of that?

She pulls away and rolls her eyes as she starts back into her apartment.

“Can we talk about this?”

“Not tonight. I need action, not words.”

And just like that, she disappears into her apartment building without a second thought.

I slink back to the car. Dante’s in the front seat, trying to hide a smirk.

“That’s the one,” he says with a chuckle.

“Excuse me?”

“She’s the one, sir. Did you ask her on a date?”

“Shit, no.”

Dinner tomorrow night at eight. I’ll pick you up.

“Tell me that you didn’t just text her asking her on a date,” Dante laughs as he pulls away from the curb and starts toward my house.

“Why?”

“Because you should ask her in person. Asking her tonight, when you’ve been drinking and just left a bar, well, it looks like you’re only interested in one thing.”

“I didn’t think about that.”

“I’m sure you didn’t intend to come off like that, but she won’t see it that way.”

I blow out a breath and look down at the message. She read it but didn’t respond.

Lovely.

The next day,I’m back in the office, trying to focus on work. But my mind keeps drifting back to the incident in the candy store. It wasn’t an incident. I lost my virginity. It was serious—full of intense feelings. I can’t stop thinking about Serena, her touch, her kiss, and the way she looked at me in the dark. It’s all mixed up in my head, and I can’t quite make sense of it.

As I sit at my desk, my phone buzzes with a message.

I have everything finalized for the party. Would you like to meet to discuss?