Page 10 of Decidedly Off Limits

I’d feel better if you went on a double date with Erin and Darren.

And I’d feel better if you weren’t with the SEALs, but we don’t always get what we want.No matter how much we might’ve wished for it.

We texted back and forth a few more times before signing off. Liam had to get back to duty…and I had a date to get ready for.

I retrieved my clutch from the bed and walked downstairs. I slipped on my sandals, and once again wished I could wear stilettos like Holly. The sandals had a heel, but nothing that made me look sophisticated or sexy.

But maybe looking sexy had nothing to do with the type of shoe you wore. Maybe it was all about your attitude.

I puffed my chest out. I was confident. And there was nothing sexier than confidence.

Or so I’d once read in a romance novel.

As I was thinking sexy thoughts, the doorbell rang.I’m a sexy Norse goddess. I can make guys come at the mere sight of me. I giggled at the last one and opened the door.

And then my mouth flopped open. The guy in front of me could’ve been a Viking, if we still lived in that era. His straight blond hair brushed against his unshaven jaw. Height and build? Definitely that of a Viking.

The only difference between Stephen and a real Viking was that his hair was combed and he wore black dress pants and a white dress shirt.

“Hi, Kelsey?”

I nodded, my ability to speak temporarily on hiatus.

“Are we still on for tonight?”

Again, I nodded.

The Viking, I mean Stephen, chuckled. “Erin never mentioned that you couldn’t speak.” His warm laugh caused an equally warm reaction to hum through my lower body.

My lips finally decided to cooperate and a smile broke out on my face. “That’s because I can. You…you weren’t what I was expecting.”

He leaned his hand high against the doorframe. “And whatwereyou expecting?”

Not a hot Viking, that was for sure. “Well, considering this was a blind date…” I let the rest of my sentence hang, figuring he knew exactly what I meant.

He chuckled again, and my girlie parts grew even more excited. “I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure what to expect either. But Erin insisted you were gorgeous and I would thank her profusely for setting us up. She even told me where she was registered for her baby-shower gifts.”

I grinned until my cheeks hurt, in a good way. “That sounds like Erin.”

“So, are we still on for dinner?”

“Definitely.”

No, Stephen hadn’t arrived at my house on a horse or dragon. He’d pulled up in something much better. I didn’t know much about cars, but I knew guys had wet dreams over the sleek black sports car in front of me.

“Nice car,” I said, because it was true and because I could tell the car was his baby. Judging from the way it gleamed, he obviously worshiped it.

That annoying, know-it-all voice in the back of my head whispered,But would he worship you as much as he worships his car…or is there only room for one girl in his life?

I gave the voice the cold shoulder. This was just a date. We weren’t getting engaged.

He opened the passenger door for me. I sat on the seat and sank into the soft black leather. Wow. The seat was comfier than my couch.

“How do you know Erin?” I asked as we drove to the restaurant.

“Through the ad agency she works for. My company is a client of hers.”

“Oh, aren’t there rules against best friends of ad agency employees dating the employees of their clients?” I joked.