“That’s the third time you’ve asked that in the last fifteen minutes.”
“Oh, is it?” She looked crestfallen. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He watched a lock of hair escape her ponytail and dance across her cheek. He wanted to touch it, but she’d probably be too skittish. “You don’t have to be nervous around me.”
She looked over at him and laughed, and for a moment, he had the uncomfortable feeling that she was going to say, But you’re Robert Cannon, billionaire and TV mogul and my one-way ticket to sugar-daddy-ville. Of course I’m nervous. But instead, she said, “Do you realize I haven’t been on a date in two years?”
His mouth curled into a reluctant smile. Of course Marjorie was exactly who she seemed. He was just nervous over nothing. “That so?”
Marjorie leaned in, tucking her arms close to her body. “Believe it or not, I don’t get asked out much.”
“Now, I choose not to believe that,” Rob said, but he felt a possessive streak of pleasure at her words.
“I’m afraid it’s true,” she said with an expressive sigh. “You’re the first man with enough courage to ask me out in a long, long time.”
He snorted, enjoying the banter. “There’s no courage involved in asking a pretty girl out.”
“There is if she can beat you in basketball,” Marjorie teased.
“I find that hard to believe,” he scoffed. Why was she putting herself down? So she was tall? He dated models all the time and they were tall. Maybe not as tall as her, but who cared? He didn’t. “I play a mean round of hoops.”
“Do you?” She looked interested. “I played in high school until some of the parents got upset. We weren’t a big enough school for co-ed teams, so I played with the boys. I was pretty good, though, when I did play. At least, I was once I figured out the secret advantage.”
“Secret advantage?”
“Boobs. Seems the boys were afraid to guard me once I grew boobs.”
He threw his head back and laughed.
Her smile was pleased, easy now. “It’s true. They didn’t know where to grab me and so I could make it all the way down the court in no time. Why do you think the parents wrote and complained?”
“Because they were shi— er, not nice people?” Damn. He probably shouldn’t cuss around her. She was a sheltered virgin, right? So his normal foul-mouthed conversation was probably a no-go. He eyed the cleavage she was currently trying to tug her clothing over. The night was a windy one, and her nipples were visible through the thin fabric.
And if he was going to be a gentleman, he wasn’t going to stare at them, goddamn it. Not matter how much he wanted to reach over and touch them.
“Well, that, too.” Marjorie said, drawing his attention back to the conversation. He forced himself to meet her gaze, and couldn’t remember exactly what they were talking about. She glanced around as the boat sped through the dark waters and hunched over a little, crossing her arms over her breasts.
“You cold?” He moved to take his jacket off and offer it to her.
“Not cold.”
He studied her, trying not to look down at those enticing and too-obvious breasts. “You sure? You seem . . . uncomfortable.”
She gave him a shy smile. “I’m not dressed all that nice for a dinner date. Not like you.” She licked her lips nervously as she studied his suit, and he wanted to taste that darting tongue. “I didn’t bring anything dressy to the island.”
“You look fine. Don’t worry about it.” It was he that should be feeling all out of sorts. He was in a goddamn suit. With goddamn cufflinks, for chrissakes. But he’d dressed up for his date with Marjorie, sure that she wouldn’t want to go out with a guy who tended to wear a slobby t-shirt and jeans to four-star restaurants. Right now he felt a bit like a fucking show pony. Which was a bit ironic, considering that Marjorie practically had her tits hanging out of her dress.
Not that he was complaining about that part. It just didn’t seem . . . virginal. That’s all.
Then again, in his line of work, he didn’t exactly fall over a lot of virgins. Maybe this was just how they all dressed nowadays.
She glanced around as if seeking something to talk about, then looked back at him. Her eyes were full of amusement. “This boat must have been expensive to charter just for two people.”
“Maybe it was.” He had no idea. He didn’t really look at price tags anymore.
“You know you didn’t have to get this just to impress me. I would have been just as happy eating dinner at one of the resort restaurants.”
He wouldn’t have been, though. With his luck, Logan would show up, and he didn’t want anything interfering with his date with his cute blonde amazon now that he had her to himself. Don’t tell me how easy a date you are or I’m going to end up disappointed if this date ends with anything less than your legs wrapped around my face.
Of course, that’s what Normal Rob would have said. Nice, Datable Rob said, “Don’t be silly. I wanted to treat you.”
Man, Datable Rob was such a bland putz. He hoped Marjorie appreciated him, though.
She was smiling, though, and leaning over so much that her tits were about to pop out of that flimsy dress. Christ. It took everything he had to keep eye contact with her. “So do you date a lot, Rob?”
It should have been a coy question, but Marjorie’s wide-open gaze told him that she was serious . . . and she probably wouldn’t like the answer. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her that he could snap his fingers and get more pussy than a regular man could ever dream of.
But she was watching him with that earnest expression and Rob realized that he was probably just as rusty at dating as she was. The girls he normally “dated”? They approached and propositioned, and he let some of them fuck him in exchange for getting on TV or getting into an exclusive party. That wasn’t really dating. Dating was spending time with someone that you were interested in to learn more about them. He sure as shit didn’t want to learn anything about the parade of disposable tits and ass that were readily available.
So he said, “Yeah, I guess I’m pretty out of practice, too.”
She leaned in, and he got another glimpse of those gorgeous shoulders and a hint of cleavage. “I won’t hold it against you.”
Will your thighs? Hold it against me, that is? But Bland Rob smiled and said, “Why, thank you.”
Chapter Eight
The boat ride ended far too soon, and they made it to Le Poisson, a ritzy little restaurant near the docks of a neighboring island. Chinese paper lanterns lined the docks and white tableclothed tables lined the patio, and there was the faint sound of live music from inside.
As they walked into the restaurant, he watched her visibly tense and her hands went to hold her short, floppy skirt down. He’d known that was coming. Le Poisson was a black-tie sort of place and she was wildly underdressed. Still, if she acted like she owned her look, no one would think anything of it. But judging from her hunched shoulders and unhappy expression¸ that was too much to hope for.
Rob put a hand to the small of her back in solidarity and guided her forward. “No backing out now.”