The Last Date: An older man younger woman romance novel Read online

  As soon as we got to the restaurant and were seated with a bottle of wine, Jason shifted to face me directly. “Listen, I’m a programmer. With computers, information is reduced to ones and zeros. Positives and negatives. Why don’t we just go over the basics, and if we don’t click, we’ll know immediately.”

  Taking a large sip of wine, I nodded. “Perfect. Hit me.”

  “I love camping, and spend about a week per month in the summer in the backwoods,” he began.

  “I’m a city girl,” I smiled. “Occasionally cottages. No sleeping on dirt. Strike one.”

  Jason swirled his wine. “Let’s see. I’m planning on buying a penthouse condo in a few years. Something big enough that I’ll never have to move again.”

  Shaking my head, I smiled again. “I want a house. I love having a garden of my own. I can’t wait to have my own space so that I can plant vegetables and flowers. Strike two.”

  The server brought our menus, but we both set them down for a moment.

  Jason looked at me carefully. He really was handsome, in a slightly plain, classical way. Maybe he was the kind to grow on a person over time, if he had a killer sense of humor and was a great kisser.

  “Kids?” he asked.

  “One or two, tops,” I said.

  “Strike three,” Jason said, not really looking disappointed at all. “I’ve never wanted them.”

  He reached out to shake my hand again. “Well, it was nice going on a date with you, Sasha. Shall we turn this into a casual hangout? The food really is great here.”

  Shaking his hand, I laughed, the stress of having my game face on instantly dissolving.

  As soon as the server returned, I ordered us two raspberry shots and some cheesy garlic bread, and we got down to the important business of discussing our favorite directors, and everything that was right and wrong with movies today.

  Relaxing around men was something I’d worked at over the years, and chilling out with Jason honestly felt like it was a great learning experience.

  Two hours later, I walked in my front door grinning from ear to ear for the first time in ages. Walking by the living room where my mother was curled up with a book, I called, “I’m home, it was fine.”

  “That’s nice, dear,” she called back. “If you’re looking for a midnight snack, your father might still have the barbecue going.”

  I’d forgotten that tonight was my father’s boys’ night. Every month or two he got together with a few of his old university buddies for burgers and beers. It gave him a chance to show off the scotch collection he was so proud of, like a kid trying desperately to be popular.

  Considering that most of them were millionaires, at least two of them billionaires, and they were mostly stuffy corporate types, I found it quite charming that they liked to unwind like regular guys.

  I’d noticed that over the past few years, new and different men would be added to the group. Some of them were obviously business associates, but some looked a bit edgier. Like they worked security instead of finance. I was just glad that Dad spent a night away from his computer now and then.

  Walking to the kitchen window, I could see there were still several men at the east end of the yard, but nobody was in the pool. I didn’t want to get in their way, but a midnight swim would be the perfect way to unwind.

  Leaving my shoes by the back door, I went out to the pool house, where a few of my bathing suits were stashed.

  The light was already on, so I rummaged in my side of the tiny dresser until my sky blue bikini appeared. Pulling off my dress, I shimmied out of my bra and panties, setting everything on the top of the dresser as I picked up my bottoms.

  As I bent over to step into them, the creak of the washroom door filled the small room. Spinning around, I noticed for the first time that someone else’s clothes were laid across the daybed, as a completely naked man walked toward them.

  He couldn’t have been one of my father’s friends. He was stunning. Maybe in his late thirties, with an incredibly muscular physique, and savage-looking tattoos up both arms.

  His profile was beautifully sculpted, the perfect bone structure making him look like an action star. He was wildly masculine. I’d always secretly dreamed of being with a truly rugged man, but the fancy men my mother kept setting me up with were far more reserved. Even his dark, slightly wavy hair was a bit unkempt.

  As he picked up his trunks, he turned slightly toward me. Something swung between his legs. It was the most unbelievably sexy thing I’d ever seen in my life, causing me to gasp involuntarily.

  As he turned, I saw that his deep eyes were a rich, dramatic green. Then I realized he was staring at me as I stood six feet away from him, completely naked.

  CHAPTER TWO

  * Oakley *

  The beautiful angel in front of me was a vision. A fantasy dream girl straight from the pages of every dirty magazine. But she was far more elegant, more beautiful. Like a cross between a pinup girl and the girl next door, if you lived in a very ritzy neighborhood.

  Why did she have to be blonde? Up until eight years ago, I’d never been able to resist them.

  In a heartbeat, I realized that if I ever hoped to have a real conversation with her, I would have to tear my eyes from her perfect deep pink nipples, her luscious toned legs, and the sweet, nearly hidden pink folds of her...

  Spinning around, I faced the wall. “I’m so sorry. I thought it was just us guys out here.”

  I heard shuffling, likely as she pulled on her suit, which reminded me to do the same. Sure, she was probably getting a very detailed view of my ass, but there was nothing else I could do.

  “Um, I’m decent, I guess,” she said softly. Even her voice was pretty.

  I turned around slowly to see her cheeks glowing a faint red, her hands twitching. Her blue bikini didn’t leave much to the imagination. Those curves, that lovely pale skin. She was so sexy I had to force myself to meet her eyes. In a blink, I realized that her gray-blue eyes were the sexiest part of her.

  Sitting down on the creaky little day bed seemed the most non-threatening move. “I’m really sorry. My endless coffee hit me while I was changing,” I chuckled, gesturing to the tiny washroom. “I wasn’t hiding out here.”

  “I know,” she said quickly. “It’s fine.”

  “You must be Sasha?” I asked.

  “Yes.”

  My head shook. “The way Carter described you, I would have thought you were sixteen or something.”

  “I’m twenty-one.” Her eyes instantly flared, as if she didn’t want me to think of her as a little girl. I certainly didn’t. Not with curves like that, and a sass that was begging for me to give her somewhere to direct that fire.

  “Your dad mentioned that his daughter was off on a date tonight. I guess it didn’t go that well if you’re back so early.”

  She shrugged, stretching the blue fabric as it fought to hold her breasts in place. “It was fine. We realized straight off that we didn’t click, so we just chilled out and had dinner.”

  “Do you go on a lot of dates?” I didn’t even know why I asked.

  “Yes,” she said, rolling her eyes as she leaned on the dresser. “Mom keeps setting me up with her friends’ sons. It’s exhausting.”

  “Funny. Most mothers try to keep their daughters away from boys.”

  “She says I have to learn the art of dating so that I can find the right one.” Sasha looked at me strangely. “Are you one of my father’s friends? I haven’t seen you at these parties before.”

  “I’m Caspian’s little brother,” I smiled. Caspian had known her father Carter for years, so she must have seen him around. “Oakley.”

  Standing slowly, I went over to shake her hand. She shook politely, looking up at me as the front of her thin bikini top revealed that she was either chilly or liked being so close to a big guy like me.

  “You’re obviously out here to swim,” I said, releasing her hand. “Let’s go.” I held the door for her to be a gentleman, not to stare at that tight, round ass as it passed me.

  Some of the guys had been swimming earlier, but they were all over at the tables now, laughing and eating the last of the grilled vegetables and burgers.

  I had to admit, Carter was a pretty good cook on that barbecue, and had excellent taste in coffee. His wife was a bit of a pill, but his house was amazing. Now that I’d met his daughter, I could easily say that she was definitely his best creation, no matter how much he went on endlessly about his low-key investment corporations.

  Hanging back, I watched as Sasha walked to the shallow end. She sat down, swinging her legs in gracefully before slipping into the water. She began paddling around, but I wanted to keep her on edge. Diving into the deep end, I glided through the water until I was up against those perfectly sculpted legs.

  Letting my fingers skim the backs of her knees, I stood up in time to hear her adorable squeal.

  “Sorry,” I said, giving her a wink.

  We swam around a little, as I definitely clocked her staring at me. I gave her dad a nod as he glanced over, luckily when we were across the pool from each other. The light blue water was just cool enough to be refreshing as the heat of the day faded.

  Sasha went over to lean on the steps, and I followed her. “Can I get you a drink?” I asked.

  “No, thanks.”

  The ends of her blond hair trailed through the water like seaweed, and I was relieved that she wasn’t the kind of girl who freaked about keeping her hair perfect.

  Using any excuse to touch her, I reached out to fix a piece of hair that was creating an awkward loop, then tucked it behind her ear. Watching her lips curl very slightly into a smile made my heart lurch. She was intrigued.

  “So, why didn’t your date work out tonight?” I ask
ed.

  Her tongue darted over the surface of that perfect pouty bottom lip, making me thankful for the cover of the water so she didn’t notice my instant arousal.

  “We don’t want the same things,” she said.

  Leaning in, I breathed into her ear, “Did he kiss you?”

  Watching the shiver run through her from my breath on her cheek stirred something deep inside me.

  “No.” Those fascinating gray-blue eyes looked up at me. “Why?”

  “Good.” The dark tone in my voice was unintentional. “The thought of anyone else claiming those lips is painful.”

  Pulling away, her eyes moved to my mouth as I smiled. Let her think about kissing me for a while, then I’ll know if she’s into me.

  “Do you date a lot?” I asked, swimming in a lazy circle around her corner of the pool.

  “You’re nosy,” she said, but her eyes were sparkling. “Yes, if you must know, my mother sets me up every week.”

  “Sounds annoying.”

  Sasha rolled her eyes. “You have no idea. I’d be happy if I never had to date again.”

  My arm floated out to brush her shoulder for half a second. “Do you mean you don’t want any set up dates? Or do you mean no dates, as in, no social meetings that are pre-planned?”

  Her laugh was pure sunshine. “I guess I’d like to meet people naturally. No planned dinners. Nothing forced and stiff.”

  Every healthy man was going to be stiff in her presence, but I kept that to myself.

  “Meeting people naturally, huh?” I shot a glance to the group of lounging men as Carter bragged at length about a certain bottle of scotch.

  Placing my feet back on the bottom, I moved from her right side to her left, passing by her through the water with barely half an inch between us. Leaning in to nuzzle her ear, I whispered, “Is meeting someone when you’re naked natural enough for you?”

  I stepped away before she could gasp, loving the glare she tried to pin me with. She was clearly a bit sheltered. Naive. Those were the dangers of growing up rich in a posh neighborhood where problems were magically solved with money and connections.

  She’d likely never really been with a man. That thought was like a shark circling the back of my mind.

  “So you don’t want dates, but I’ll bet you want a boyfriend someday,” I chuckled. “Don’t worry, angel. We’ll figure it out.”

  “What I want is none of your business,” she said softly.

  “What if I want to make it my business?”

  “What do you mean?” Her wide eyes blinked slowly, clearly enjoying the way I stared at her. Those pupils were huge, as her chest rose and fell more quickly.

  As a big laugh rolled through the group of men behind us, I took the opportunity to lean in beside her ear again. “You’re my main focus now, gorgeous. I’ll tell you the details soon.”

  She turned slightly toward me, our lips so close that for three solid seconds I thought she was going to bridge the gap and kiss me. But she froze. I leaned toward her just enough to barely brush my bottom lip against hers. It wasn’t even a kiss. It was the ultimate tease.

  Backing away as if nothing had happened, I grinned. “I’ll see you soon, sweet little Sasha.” Her eyes blazed, as her slight blush made her cheeks glow.

  Climbing out of the pool, I grabbed a towel from the stack on a lounge chair, joining the other men as I helped myself to some chips.

  It nearly killed me to leave her there to go talk to Caspian, Carter, and the other stuffy corporate types. But I knew that if I wanted that gorgeous angel to be mine, I was going to have to set up a plan to take her.

  And I wouldn’t be taking her on any stupid date.

  CHAPTER THREE

  * Sasha *

  “It’s about time,” my mother chirped, looking up from her crossword puzzle as I walked into the kitchen, following the scent of coffee.

  “It’s Sunday,” I said. “I always sleep in until nine on Sundays.”

  To be honest, I didn’t even know why I bothered saying it yet again. She was one of those people who were up at six am every single day, and thought it was horrific that the rest of the world didn’t follow her example.

  Pouring myself a giant mug, the first quick sip burned my bottom lip a little.

  Then I froze, staring out the window. Just thinking about Oakley made my bottom lip tingle.

  It was stunning how he kissed me without kissing me. Touched me without touching me. Made me want him without giving me any way to contact him. After all of the boring guys I had been forced to interact with, at least he was wildly different.

  “How was your date last night, Sasha?”

  “Fine. But we won’t be seeing each other again.”

  As I sat down beside her, my mother’s face fell. “Oh, no. That’s a terrible shame.”

  “Not really. He’s a nice guy, he’s just clearly not the one for me. I’m also clearly not the woman for him, so we actually had a nice dinner.”

  “Don’t you worry, dear,” she said, reaching out to pat my hand. “I have someone else lined up for you this Saturday night.”

  “No.”

  She shook her head as if I were joking. “Just one more try, for me.”

  “Absolutely not,” I said, the touch of steel into my voice sounding unnatural. “I’ve been playing your game for over a year now, and I’ve had it. At the very least, give me a few months off.”

  I didn’t have the energy to truly fight with her about never again dating from her endless pool of setups, but thought that perhaps the idea of taking a break would be reasonable.

  Her pale pink French manicure tapped against her antique floral teacup. “I don’t like the thought of you going out to parties or anything with strange people around,” she said. “So if you’re not going out with men I select, I don’t think that you should be going out at all.”

  “I was going to go to Sarah’s to watch a movie on Friday,” I said, “But she has some event with her parents that night. Maybe we could switch it to Saturday.”

  She nodded approvingly. “That sounds like a fine idea.”

  My mom absolutely adored Sarah, not just because she was the daughter of a prominent heart surgeon. Sarah and I had been study buddies all through high school and university, so Mom was convinced that Sarah was a good influence. Although I was studying art history and theory, and Sarah studied English literature, with some French and Spanish, we were interested enough in each other’s courses that we managed to quiz each other.

  My dad shuffled into the room, looking every bit like he was up quite late drinking scotch. I watched as he peered into the refrigerator for a bottle of sports drink that wasn’t there.