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enough on hiding my initial reaction.
    “Sometimes, if you feel the pressure, it’s good to… you know... spend some time alone before the date so you’re not amped up the entire time. Works wonders.” He stops picking his nails and shrugs again. “Just a suggestion.”
    “I take it you’ll be getting off early today, then.” Oh crap, that came out wrong. Way wrong. His lips pop open in a half smile like he can’t believe that came out of my mouth. I slam my hands over my flamed face. “I meant work . You’ll be getting off work early. Should I plan on rescheduling something or do we have any other appointments I need to move, or do you expect me to run them on my own or…or…um…”
    He laughs, leaning back in his chair. I love that he gets a kick out of this. Not. I want to bolt from this room.
    “We’re good on this afternoon. I’ll be here till six. If I need to get off between now and then, I’m not scheduling it,” he teases.
    “Okay ,” I say through my fingers. Then as if things couldn’t get worse, my stomach rumbles like a level five earthquake. How attractive.
    “I need to eat something.” I fumble for my iPad and stick it in my bag.
    “Even your stomach has an alarm.”
    I laugh, because that actually was funny and it’s driving us away from the love life topic. He looks surprised, and I wonder if I’ve laughed a real laugh around him yet. Probably not. I make a point to do it more, because he already looks far more comfortable around me, and we have to work together. I will not screw it up by being a tightass all the time. Only some of the time.
    “Anything good within walking distance?” I ask, swinging my bag over my shoulder and standing. He gets up with me.
    “Yeah. There’s a Baja Fresh around the corner. I’ll head there with you, if you don’t mind.”
    Why the hell not? “Sure.”
    He opens the door for me, and he gets close enough I smell his aftershave. Hmm… not bad. Smells sort of edible. And he looks good in that jacket. If it weren’t for that darn button at the top, he’d be in perfect interview attire.
    “One thing though…” he says, stopping me lightly by the elbow. “No iPad or phone during lunch hour. It’s not paid, so don’t work.”
    Am I that predictable? My hands already want to go for my schedule and I just put it away.
    “Okay… if you let me do one thing.” I reach up to his tie and tighten the sucker. It pushes that top button closed. Even though it’s not done up properly, it already looks a million times more professional. “There. That was driving me crazy.” I smooth the front of the tie down and smile, satisfied with my work. He grimaces like a ten-year-old whose mom is making him go to church.
    I turn on my heel and walk in front of him even though I have no clue where I’m going. When I glance back, he’s loosening his tie.
    ***
    Always wear jeans on date number two. I own one pair, and this is the only occasion I wear them. They’re comfortable, casual, and make my ass look like a rockstar.
    I examine myself in the mirror again, bending over and doing several different poses like I’m having fun, so I make sure my hips move in the right place and my body language says, “Hey, I’m into you. Let’s make a date three after this.”
    And Nate will totally ask me on date number three. I kick ass at date number two.
    Whoa, not Nate… Nick . N names getting all swapped in my brain.
    My doorbell buzzes, and I wipe the corners of my mouth to get rid of excessive gloss and put on my date smile. 6:53. The guy is early . Perfection.
    I open the door, and a wave of AXE cologne smacks me in the face. I’ll probably get used to it as the night goes on. Good thing we’ll be out in the fresh air.
    Nick smiles, gives me a good up and down and smiles bigger. Damn, I’m awesome, because I haven’t even said anything yet and I’m nailing this.
    And he looks awesome too. Casual tee covered with a grey pullover. Loose jeans, with no