embarrassed to be seen with her?
He must’ve seen the questions in her eyes. “Have you been there?”
Lorelei James
“No.”
“Good. I wanted to take you someplace neither one of us have been for our first date.”
“You’re determined we’re really gonna do this dating thing?”
“Yep.”
“Have I mentioned I suck at dating?”
“But, you haven’t dated me.”
“I’ve known you for three years. What’s so different about dating you?”
“I’ll be a perfect gentleman.”
“Then no way do I want to date you, McKay.”
“I’ll be a gentleman for two weeks, then all bets are off.”
“If I refuse?”
“Too late. You already agreed to my terms.”
“I was under duress.”
“Good to know my kisses fluster you that much.” He smooched her nose. “Let’s go.”
The Pizza Barn didn’t exactly drip romance. The square table was standard, covered with a red and white checked tablecloth.
Plastic flowers jammed in a Perrier bottle coated with dripped wax was centered between a shaker of Parmesan cheese and crushed hot peppers.
“Do you know what you want?”
India batted her lashes and cooed, “Guess.”
When the waitress came by, Colt offered India a smug smile and recited their usual pizza order. “A large pepperoni with green olives and two mugs of rootbeer.”
112
www.samhainpublishing.com
Branded As Trouble
After she’d dropped off their drinks, she’d warned them it’d take at least an hour to get their pizza. India said, “Why do you think the wait is so long? There’s hardly anyone in here.”
“Because they want customers blowing tokens in the arcade.
Which is a great idea.” He scooted out of the booth. “Come on, let’s check out the games.”
Colt dragged her to the arcade and bought twenty bucks worth of tokens. She watched as he played every game from simulated golf to shooting hoops. Damn man made every shot. He was probably a helluva basketball player in his day.
When he hopped into a virtual NASCAR machine, complete with padded seat, steering wheel, goggles and gearshift, she allowed a weary sigh to escape.
“Don’t you wanna play?” Colt indicated the empty machine next to his. “Or are you afraid I’ll beat you?”
“I know you’ll beat me,” she retorted as she slid into the seat.
“I suck at this kind of stuff.”
“Didn’t you play video games in high school?”
“Not really. Unless you count the time my boyfriend dragged me out of the fall festival and down the street so he could challenge the high score on Pac-Man at Burger King.”
“Seriously?”
She crossed her hand over her heart. “No kidding. I never fully recovered.”
“I’ll bet the game was the only place he scored that night.”
“You got that right.” Well, they’d scored some premium grass right after that, but it wasn’t something she wanted to confess to www.samhainpublishing.com 113
Lorelei James
Colt. She blew out an impatient breath after struggling with the mass of wires attached to the goggles.
“Here, lemme help you.” Colt brushed her hair from her face; his touch lingered on the curve of her neck. India held perfectly still, hoping he’d kiss her. But he only eased the helmet on with a friendly pat on her helmeted head. “Ready?”
“No.”
He dropped four tokens in the slots anyway. The racetrack roared to life inside her goggles and she was lost to everything but the thrill of the chase.
It wasn’t much of a contest. Colt won every game. Evidently gentlemanly behavior didn’t include allowing your date to win even one race.
India ripped off the goggles with mock disgust. “I give. Now can we play a game that I might have a chance at beating you?”
“Like what?”
She spied the skee-ball racks in the corner and grabbed his hand. “Like that one.”
“Sugar, have you ever played?”
“No. But how hard can it be? Bowling with croquet balls?” She preened a bit. “I rock at croquet. Bet I can kick your butt.”
“What
He must’ve seen the questions in her eyes. “Have you been there?”
Lorelei James
“No.”
“Good. I wanted to take you someplace neither one of us have been for our first date.”
“You’re determined we’re really gonna do this dating thing?”
“Yep.”
“Have I mentioned I suck at dating?”
“But, you haven’t dated me.”
“I’ve known you for three years. What’s so different about dating you?”
“I’ll be a perfect gentleman.”
“Then no way do I want to date you, McKay.”
“I’ll be a gentleman for two weeks, then all bets are off.”
“If I refuse?”
“Too late. You already agreed to my terms.”
“I was under duress.”
“Good to know my kisses fluster you that much.” He smooched her nose. “Let’s go.”
The Pizza Barn didn’t exactly drip romance. The square table was standard, covered with a red and white checked tablecloth.
Plastic flowers jammed in a Perrier bottle coated with dripped wax was centered between a shaker of Parmesan cheese and crushed hot peppers.
“Do you know what you want?”
India batted her lashes and cooed, “Guess.”
When the waitress came by, Colt offered India a smug smile and recited their usual pizza order. “A large pepperoni with green olives and two mugs of rootbeer.”
112
www.samhainpublishing.com
Branded As Trouble
After she’d dropped off their drinks, she’d warned them it’d take at least an hour to get their pizza. India said, “Why do you think the wait is so long? There’s hardly anyone in here.”
“Because they want customers blowing tokens in the arcade.
Which is a great idea.” He scooted out of the booth. “Come on, let’s check out the games.”
Colt dragged her to the arcade and bought twenty bucks worth of tokens. She watched as he played every game from simulated golf to shooting hoops. Damn man made every shot. He was probably a helluva basketball player in his day.
When he hopped into a virtual NASCAR machine, complete with padded seat, steering wheel, goggles and gearshift, she allowed a weary sigh to escape.
“Don’t you wanna play?” Colt indicated the empty machine next to his. “Or are you afraid I’ll beat you?”
“I know you’ll beat me,” she retorted as she slid into the seat.
“I suck at this kind of stuff.”
“Didn’t you play video games in high school?”
“Not really. Unless you count the time my boyfriend dragged me out of the fall festival and down the street so he could challenge the high score on Pac-Man at Burger King.”
“Seriously?”
She crossed her hand over her heart. “No kidding. I never fully recovered.”
“I’ll bet the game was the only place he scored that night.”
“You got that right.” Well, they’d scored some premium grass right after that, but it wasn’t something she wanted to confess to www.samhainpublishing.com 113
Lorelei James
Colt. She blew out an impatient breath after struggling with the mass of wires attached to the goggles.
“Here, lemme help you.” Colt brushed her hair from her face; his touch lingered on the curve of her neck. India held perfectly still, hoping he’d kiss her. But he only eased the helmet on with a friendly pat on her helmeted head. “Ready?”
“No.”
He dropped four tokens in the slots anyway. The racetrack roared to life inside her goggles and she was lost to everything but the thrill of the chase.
It wasn’t much of a contest. Colt won every game. Evidently gentlemanly behavior didn’t include allowing your date to win even one race.
India ripped off the goggles with mock disgust. “I give. Now can we play a game that I might have a chance at beating you?”
“Like what?”
She spied the skee-ball racks in the corner and grabbed his hand. “Like that one.”
“Sugar, have you ever played?”
“No. But how hard can it be? Bowling with croquet balls?” She preened a bit. “I rock at croquet. Bet I can kick your butt.”
“What
Similar Books
