“You too.”
I turned to Lucy, and for once I didn’t know what to do. Do I hug her? Every bone in my body wanted to grab her and pull her as close to me as possible, but I refrained.
“Hi, Lucy.” I gave her a friendly smile, and she surprised the shit out of me when she threw her arms around my neck and kissed me.
Then she broke the kiss, craned her head back a touch, and said, “Hi.” Her eyes had a pleading look to them, but I wasn’t sure what she needed from me.
I gave her another squeeze and released her to turn to the three women who were standing there. “Good afternoon, ladies.”
The finger wiggler was the first to respond. “Hi, Senator, I’m Michelle. I voted for you in the last election.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Michelle. I thought you looked familiar.”
Mason and Lucy both stifled a laugh.
After I greeted the others, I looked at Lucy. “Ready?”
“You bet I am.” She smiled, and I took her hand in mine.
“Mason, do you need a lift? You live near Lucy, right?”
“Thanks, but I drove today. I have to ref a soccer game tonight. I’ll catch you two later.”
After we said good-bye to Mason, we climbed into my car. Once we were driving away, Lucy let out a long breath.
“Care to tell me what that was about back there?”
“Our picture. That’s what it was about.” She rested her elbow on the door and propped her head up with her hand. “Michelle asked me if we were dating, and if we weren’t, would I give you her number. Then you walked up.”
“So you kissed me. Were you marking your territory?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know what came over me. I hope you can forgive me.”
“Forgive you for kissing me?” I reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Never. There’s nothing to forgive. Anytime you feel the urge to place your lips on mine or anywhere else on my body, feel free to do so.” I glanced at her and smiled.
Her face turned a light shade of pink. “Noted.”
“I have a couple of things to ask you. But I’d prefer we weren’t sitting in my car when we talk. Would you like to go get a drink?”
“Yes,” she said with an enthusiastic nod. “I could use one.”
We ended up at an Irish pub not far from there, complete with wood-plank floors, Irish flags on the walls, and the smell of beer hanging in the air. We made ourselves comfortable in a booth, seated across from each other, and waited for our server.
Lucy folded her hands on the table. “You wanted to ask me something?”
Our waiter came up to us, and he looked at Lucy first. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“I’ll have a rum and Coke.”
He turned to me. “And for you, sir?”
“Just a beer. Whatever you have on draft is fine.”
Once he was gone, I said, “Where were we?”
“You were going to ask me something.”
I smiled. “Yes. I’d like to know if you’ll be my date this Saturday night. I have a fundraiser to go to, and as you know, I normally bring Gretchen with me. But this time I want you on my arm.”
I reached across the table and flipped my hand over so it was palm side up. She placed hers on mine.
Wrapping my fingers around hers, I said, “The thing is, I want you on my arm all the time, not just at business dinners or baseball games. I can’t stop thinking about you. We were together all day yesterday and this morning, but I want more. This isn’t all about me, I want to be on your arm too. I want to be the one who makes your face light up, and your freckle dance when you smile.”
Her tongue peeked out to lick her lips, and I could feel my pants tighten.
“So, what do you think?” I asked.
“About which part?”
The waiter placed our drinks down and hurried away.
“All of it. Tell me what I want to hear. Please, Lucy, say yes to everything.”
“You hardly know me.”