Page 95 of One Killer Night

“Sucker,” I say quietly, my eyes locked to hers. “Too bad you’re taken.”

Goldie repositions her arms by sliding them under my jacket as she shivers. Damn, I thought I’d considered everything when I brought a sweatshirt to go over her jumpsuit, but clearly that’s not warm enough.

I let her go, forcing her to do the same as I shrug off my jacket and wrap it around her shoulders.

“What about you?”

“I run hot.”

“Yeah ya do.” She grins. “Whoa. Déjà vu. That keeps happening tonight. It’s almost as if someone planned it that way.”

I run a hand over her waist, smirking. “Who, me? Listen, keep my coat warm for me, okay? I have to go back to the apartment for a second. I forgot something.”

She smiles. “Is it a present?”

I shrug, playing it cool and teasing the fuck out of her. “Maybe. Like I’d tell you ... You’re terrible with secrets.”

“Tell me,” she fake whines, pushing her bottom lip out.

But I dart down quickly and suck it into my mouth before kissing her. She melts into me as everything slows to a stop around us.

It’s just me and her, kissing in this park. Just like last time.

I pull away, but her eyes stay closed, so I kiss the tip of her nose. “I’ll be right back. Trust me, it’s worth the seconds we’ll be apart.”

Because it’ll mean a lifetime together.

I smile at the same time she does, but all I’m thinking is that I can’t stop with the cheeseball lines. This one’s not going in the speech, but “We’ll walk this path together” still has potential.

“Fine,” she grumbles cutely. “But if you’re gone more than ten minutes, I may find a new sugar daddy. I can’t make any promises. I’m thirty-one and in my prime.”

I chuckle, walking backward. “I’ve been warned.”

She bites her bottom lip as I give her a wink before I turn and jog back to our place. But all I can think is how to work being her “forever sugar daddy” into my speech.

Chapter Twenty

Goldie

I look over my shoulder into the dark, the view of my neighborhood blurred by all the Halloween lights strung up over trees and railings. Doesn’t matter that Noah’s already disappeared around the corner to get my birthday gift; I still can’t stop smiling about it.

What more could he want to give me tonight? It’s been incredible. He is incredible. Not only did he bring everyone together to celebrate me, but he’s also re-created our first date along the way, and that’s so romantic.

A thought suddenly springs forward, making me smile wider:Is he going to propose?

No.Would he . . .

I pull his jacket tighter around my shoulders, turning my head to smell his cologne while trying to change the subject with myself before I look up and watch my sister.

She’s watching Chase ... and his new girlfriend.

I hum-laugh. “You know if I didn’t know any better ...”

Her face whips to mine, the brunette wig she’s wearing swishing with her, which is disconcerting since the fake body stuck to her side feels like it’s staring at me too.

“Finish that sentence and it’s red to the rum ... If you must know, I was actually thinking, ‘Howis that happening?’ Him having a girlfriend feels like a crime against humanity. Is she doing community service?”

I laugh, bumping shoulders with my coworker, who laughs, too, until that damn thought pops back up in my mind, swirling around and tempting me with giddiness.