Page 24 of Getting Down to Business

“No, thank you.” He pushed the glass away.

“I can’t help but notice you struck out tonight.” It had been almost painful to watch. His game wasn’t bad, but he came off too desperate.

He grinned and she noticed how adorable he was when he smiled.

“It’s quite common.”

“Maybe you try too hard.”

He made a show of looking down at his dress shirt and khakis.

“I’ve got nothing else going on. Not many women are interested in a thirty-three-year-old man who’s broke because he wants to take care of his kid.” Maybe not, but money wasn’t everything. She’d take a nice, broke guy over a rich asshole any day of the week.

“Why haven’t you ever hit on me?” she asked.

“I only hit on pretty girls,” he said, letting his shoulders sag. She frowned and let out an irritated noise. So she wasn’t every man’s cup of tea. She looked a little scary with all the piercings and tattoos. But she had nice boobs and she was put together okay. Who the hell did he think he was?

He looked up at her and his eyes went wide. Probably because she was now glaring at him.

“Oh, God. No. That didn’t come out right,” he backtracked.

She crossed her arms, pushing out her nice boobs that a certain someone must not have noticed.

“How was it supposed to come out?”

“I hit on pretty girls, because I might have a chance at a pretty girl. You’re in the beautiful woman category. I don’t hit on you because you are waaaay out of my league and it’s a waste of time.”

She stood up straighter, stunned by his compliment. She didn’t think he’d be able to talk himself out his earlier comment, but she could tell he was sincere. To keep from grinning like an idiot she bit her bottom lip, catching her lip ring between her teeth.

Doug wasn’t a bad looking guy. He had an adorable smile and nice eyes. He wasn’t buff, but he was solid. She’d heard him refer to himself as chubby, but she didn’t agree. She knew he had a nice sense of humor—and he was obviously brave. Plus he’d just called her beautiful.

“I thought maybe you weren’t into the Asian thing.” She shrugged.

“That’s not it. I’m very into the Asian thing. I mean, not to the point of it being a fetish. Just the right amount of interest.” He let out a breath and rolled his eyes. “You see now why I haven’t hit on you?”

“Well, it doesn’t seem like you have many options left. Maybe you should give it a try.”

* * * *

Doug stared at the woman for a moment, unsure what her game was. Or maybe he’d thought about her so much he was having delusions.

“I don’t even know what I would say. Even when I fantasize about you, we don’t talk.” He closed his eyes when he realized what he’d just said.

Her only response was a giggle. Great, she was amused. It could have been worse. She could have freaked out and called him a pervert. If she knew the kinds of things he’d fantasized about with her she might.

He ran his hand through his hair and laughed.

“Even if I had a chance in hell, it would be difficult to recover from telling you that.”

“I’ll give you a restart.”

“Yes. Because a restart will make a world of difference.”

“Come on. I’m giving you a chance here. You already have hero status. For someone who professes to think I’m beautiful, you seem to be letting the opportunity slip away.”

“Fantasy you is not so bossy.”

“Get used to it.” She smiled and his heart sped up. He hated to break it to his heart that this was going nowhere. And his dick…Well, it never listened anyway, so he didn’t have to bother.