Running To Him - Forbidden Hearts Series Book 6

23| Throwing Gas On The Fire

Jamie Lovette was a lot of things.

She was a person who tended to overthink more than anyone else I knew. She was also included in the small percentage of people who liked pizza flavored chips. Most importantly, she talked a lot. Especially when she was nervous or anxious. I couldn't even count on my fingers how many times she would start rambling when she was uncomfortable back in New York.

But this...This was the first time I've ever seen her speechless. It obviously wasn't a secret that she was attracted to me and we had a connection. The amount of times we've already had sex was proof of that. But the way she was looking at me right now was different. I felt a twinge of hope that whatever this was between us was more than sex.

"You're right on time," I said suddenly, trying to break the silence. "Dinner has another fifteen minutes or so if you want to change or anything."

That seemed to snap her out of it. She took a step back and cleared her throat. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea." She continued to take backwards steps towards the staircase that led to her loft. "I'm just going to shower. Then I'll meet you down here."

"Sounds good."

After she disappeared upstairs, I went back to getting everything prepared for our romantic dinner. As if on cue, the pasta was finally done. I drained the noodles and seasoned them before pouring them in a large bowl and setting it next to the one filled with spaghetti sauce.

One of the things I learned about Jamie during our whole fake date arrangement for Harper's wedding was that she was a huge fan of Italian food. Spaghetti was one of her favorites. Ever since she got here she's been trying different kinds of French food, so I figured this would be a nice change of pace.

Once I had everything set up on the table and ready to go, I grabbed her favorite bottle of wine and two glasses, setting them next to the rose I got for her. The only thing left was the music. Luckily Jamie wasn't the only one who was a fan of vintage things, because my boss kept an old record player here in the warehouse. Jamie was so astonished the first time she saw it.

Out of the stack of records I had brought for us to choose from, I went with Frank Sinatra first. Just as "Fly Me to the Moon" started playing, Jamie came down the stairs.

Now it was my turn to be at a loss for words. Her hair was curly and loose, draped over her right shoulder. But that's not even what held me transfixed. She was wearing a dark red silk dress that hugged her body perfectly.

There was a red flush to her cheeks as she awkwardly looked down at herself. "I wasn't really expecting a night like this when I decided to come to Paris. This was the only nice dress that I had in my suitcase. To be honest, I don't even remember packing it."

"I'm glad you did," I told her honestly. "You look stunning."

The corners of her mouth lifted with an impish smile. "Thank you." Her blue eyes ran over me from head to toe. "You don't look so bad yourself."

"This old thing?" I teased. "I just had it laying around."

She chuckled at that. "Oh, I'm sure."

I reached for the rose and offered it to her. "For you, beautiful."

Taking it from me, she lifted it to her nose. "This is really sweet of you, Ollie. I mean, all of this is...Wow."

"Mission accomplished then, huh? Since 'wow' is what I was going for, I guess we can cancel dinner."

She elbowed me playfully. "You're too much."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." I stepped away from her and pulled out the chair at the head of the table. "Join me?"