main lobby of the hotel after she got the call from the front desk alerting her that he was ready for her. But she was running late. He was just going to have to wait. She took her time applying her lip primer, lip balm, lip plumper, lip liner, lip stain, and lip-gloss, in that order. Her lips looked . . . perfectly kissable. Just the way she liked it.
She gave herself a little kiss in the mirror and was ready to head out the door. On second thought, her earrings looked totally wrong with the Michael Kors island print maxi dress in petal pink that she was wearing.
The yellow earrings clashed big time with the pink palm tree print. She spent the next ten minutes digging through her oversized jewelry box that she had brought with her for that very reason. A girl could never be too prepared.
By the time she made it down to the lobby bar where Ky was waiting, he had three empty drinks sitting in front of him. Oops. She must’ve taken longer to accessorize than she thought. No matter. One of the best-kept secrets of her dating game was to always keep a man waiting. Then he really appreciated the time he got to spend with her.
She walked slowly to where Ky was sitting at the bar. She’d hoped he would turn his head at the sound of her heels so that she could make her slow-motion grand entrance. But no such luck. He sat slumped at the bar with his head in his hand, completely engrossed in what sounded like a very boring conversation with the bartender.
She tapped him on the shoulder. “Hey, babe! Did I keep you waiting?”
The look on his face gave her the answer. She was going to have to butter him up and get him out of this funk so that he would stop being irritated with her for making him wait. Sometimes, on very rare occasions, the “make him wait” plan backfired. It just sucked that one of those times was on camera.
She laced her fingers through Ky’s other arm that was hanging at his side. “I am so, so very sorry I kept you waiting,” she cooed into his ear.
She dropped her voice lower to a whisper. That was a great way to create instant intimacy on a date. The guy always had to lean closer to hear what she had to say.
“If you want to know the truth, I was just really nervous about this date. It took me so long to decide what to wear because I couldn’t make up my mind. I just wanted to make a good impression!”
There. She’d played the innocent, girl-next-door card. That normally got her out of trouble. Ky gave her a forced smile. He got up from his barstool and gestured to the driveway in front of the hotel. “Well, now that you’re here, we can get moving.”
Um, that was a little businesslike for a first date, wasn’t it? Ky’s mood didn’t seem to be improving. He led her to a Hummer limo waiting at the curb. He got in first. She scurried in after him before he closed the door in her face.
They sat in the limo in silence. She decided to speak first. After all, three cameramen were documenting their every move. She didn’t want to make her first date segment totally snooze-worthy for all the viewers at home, did she?
“So, can you tell me what we have in store? Or is it a sur- prise ?” She giggled.
Ky replied in a flat voice, “It’s not a surprise. We’re going rock climbing.”
“Oh.”
Rock climbing? What a horrible idea for a first date! And why didn’t anyone tell her that they were going to be doing something active? She definitely wouldn’t have worn a $200 dress if that were the case. And her Miu Miu sandals were brand-new. If she scuffed them, she was going to freak. How could she put this delicately . . .?
“Oh. That sounds really interesting!” She forced a bright tone in her voice. “But I’m afraid that I didn’t bring any type of rock-climbing gear with me. So are there any other activities we could do instead? Like I said, I’m just really excited to spend time with you, no matter what we do.”
And I wouldn’t mind a hot air balloon ride, she grumbled to
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