I dial Zane’s number because I want to find out where he’s taking me to dinner so I can prepare how fancy to dress—or not.

He answers on the first ring, and I smile thinking about how he’s probably as eager as I am to see how this little dinner will go down, as one to note in the history books.

“Hello?”

His voice is fresh, clean, and intoxicating on the other end.

“Hi,” I say and sway my hips as I look out at the park below my bedroom window.

“Piper?” He sounds like he’s grinning.

“Yep, how’d you guess?” I drawl with sarcasm.

“Just a wild hair.” He laughs. “You aren’t cancelling on me last minute, are you?”

“No, of course not.” I shake my head even though he can’t see me. “I just want to know where you are taking me to dinner.”

“Have you ever heard of Per Se?” he says proudly.

“Of course, it’s right by my house.”

“That’s great. Well, I’ll pick you up at seven then.”

“Well, wait a second,” I cut him off before he has a chance to hang up on me.

“Yeah?”

“There’s no need to pick me up. I can walk. It’s a nice night.”

“Are you sure?” he asks with a surprised energy.

“I’m sure. I’ll meet you there at seven,” I confirm.

“Seven it is,” he quips and we hang up.

At 7:08, I arrive at the restaurant. It’s dark inside, lit mainly by candlelight on the white clothed tables as a pianist vibrantly plays smooth jazz. His fingers pound and hit the keys with urgency and artistic freedom.

“There you are.”

I turn to see a gorgeous, strikingly handsome Zane Tanner with a hungry expression on his face.

Fuck, he is so damn sexy. How the hell am I supposed to survive this dinner without having an orgasm under the table? Hmm…there’s an idea.

“I already have a table in the back waiting for us.” He smiles with a flash of perfect white teeth. “It’s private.”

“Of course it is,” I say with a roll of my eyes and follow him to the back.

He pulls out my chair for me and waits until I’m sitting before he goes to his side to sit down as well.

“So chivalry is not dead after all,” I joke and pick up my napkin to place in my lap. “Or maybe you’re just trying to convince me not to fire you.”

I have to admit I love the way I’m in total fucking control of this situation, at least for now. Or at least I can allow myself to believe that for a little while longer while he works his ass off to pamper me.

“A magician never reveals his secrets,” Zane quips with outrageous confidence.

“Do you like to eat out?” I grin with a devilish smile, deciding to be playful tonight. I can’t fucking resist.

His eyes widen in shock, but he quickly recovers with one of his famous charming grins. “I love to eat out.”

“That’s good to hear. How often do you eat out?” I say and toss my blonde hair over my shoulder.

“As often as possible.”

He leans over the table and stares right through me, making me tremble on the inside. I keep my cool on the outside.

“Interesting.” I nod and take a sip of the water already at the table.

We stare at each other for a few more seconds, each of us sizing the other up a bit. The waiter comes to the table, interrupting my dirty thoughts of having him fuck me right here on the white linen-clothed table.

“Can I get you a bottle of red or white for the table?” The waiter with the nametag “Christof” inflects in a lilting Italian accent.

I look over at Zane and raise my eyebrow.

Zane smiles up at Christof. “Give us a bottle of your finest merlot.”

“Yes, sir,” Christof says with a slight bow, and then he leaves us alone again.

“Wow, are you trying to get me drunk tonight?” I tease.

“Only as much as necessary.” He winks at me and places his napkin in his lap.

“Well, I must say you are doing an exemplary job at trying to woo yourself back into my good graces.”

“One thing you should know about me is that I never quit, and I always win.” He smiles at me with that same self-absorbed confidence.

I take a deep breath, trying to keep my temper even and my head clear. How the fuck can this man both infuriate me and make me totally fucking wet at the same time? Before I have a chance to retort, the waiter is back. He places the red wine on the table and unscrews the cork.

He first pours an inch or so into Zane’s glass, and Zane plays the wine connoisseur part perfectly, swirling the wine around and inhaling a deep-rooted sniff before tasting it.

He pauses a moment as Christof stands there expectantly. I stare at Zane, wanting him to just get over his fucking self for a second and tell the poor waiter whether the wine is good enough for his pretentious ass self.

“It’s delicious,” he finally declares with a smirk.

“Finally,” I mumble under my breath as I roll my eyes and adjust myself in my seat. I give Christof a polite and apologetic smile, although I’m sure he’s used to taking shit from rich assholes all the time.

“So what makes you so cocky?” I peer at Zane over my wine glass as I take a glorious sip.

Fuck, it’s so good. It’s the best fucking wine ever, and it leaves an explosion of divine, luxurious tastes on my tongue.

The sip hits my belly and instantly sends a warm and fuzzy feeling through my bones.

Zane pretends to choke. “I’m sorry, did you just say cock?”

I smirk at him and cross my arms. “You know damn well what I said.”

He grins and takes another sip of his wine. “I’m not as bad as you think I am.”

“Oh yeah?” I scoff. “Well, you have a funny way of showing it.”

“I resent that!” He feigns defensiveness. “I just want to…let’s see, how do I put this? Oh yes…live life to the fullest.”

He raises his glass as if he wants to toast to that slogan, but I don’t take his bait.

“Anyway,” he says and takes another sip, “I just want to apologize for my behavior the other day in your office. It was presumptuous of me to think you would enjoy what you saw.”

He flashes his eyes at me as if he’s trying to read my reaction. At first I laugh so loud it comes out as almost a snort. But then I soften because he’s right.

I still have him hanging in the background of my mind as the perfect baby batter candidate; I just don’t know how to approach the subject with him yet. But I mean, with a cock like that, surely he’d knock me up just like that.

“You do have a way of making an impression on people.” I cut my eyes toward him.

“I hear that all the time.” He leans over the table with a grin.

“And speaking of your cock, it is quite large. I have to say, you win in that department for sure.”

“So does that mean I’m not fired?” He beams with confidence once again.

I look outside the window and watch the people walking by for a moment or two. I don’t know if it’s the magic of Central Park just outside or if it’s the romantic aura of this restaurant, but I suddenly have a change of heart when it comes to Zane.

I turn back to him. “I’ll give you another chance.” I smile. “But don’t fuck it up this time.” I point a lecturing finger at him.

“I won’t let you down.” He grins, and I allow him to kiss my hand.

After dinner, we walk outside, and I’m surprised to see a black stretch limo out front with a driver holding open the back door.

“Is this for us?” I point at it and cock an eyebrow.

“Absolutely,” Zane says proudly. “I like to go the extra mile for my dates.”

“This isn’t a date,” I counter.

“Well, I’m still trying to convince you otherwise,” he says with a grin as I climb into the back seat with him and notice rose champagne sitting on cold ice. Oh fuck.

And…oh yay, fuck!

This is about to get interesting.