The Do Over

At the end of class, she was nearly one of the last participants to come up for her CPR card.

Seeing an opportunity to have her stay a little longer, I said, "Um, Daniela, would you mind helping me put away the equipment?" I sounded like a dork, but she had me flustered.

Needless to say, I was conflicted. This was my job and reputation. I had to apologize before she filed a formal complaint. It wasn't just that though. I didn't want her to leave. I wanted to get to know her a little better. I quickly glanced at her left hand and noticed she didn't have a ring on her finger. Now, I needed to know if she was available, hopefully without freaking her out and risking my job.

"Sure, and it's Dani," she said, smiling as she looked at my shirt. "And you're Lieutenant Lucas."

"Liam, but we can keep it formal, and you can refer to me as Lieutenant." I winked.

"Absolutely, Lieutenant." She laughed.

As we started putting away the supplies, I asked, "So, Dani, have you done this before?"

"Done what? Help clean up or CPR?" she asked, her voice soft and sweet, as she tilted her head to the side.

Hot damn, she's flirting with me.

"What?" I responded, my voice low and husky. "Do you mean to tell me that I'm not your first? Damn, I can't believe you've helped others clean up. I'm jealous."

"Oh, don't be jealous." She went to put something in the closet. Looking over her shoulder, she said, "You're the first CPR instructor that I've helped, and I've had a lot of them. It goes with the territory."

I reclined against the table with my arms crossed in front of me. "Oh, so there've been other instructors. I'm not sure I can handle that."

"Yep, but none that I've helped." Fluttering her eyelashes, she shrugged her shoulders.

"I feel a little better, but I'm still jealous."

Shit. I wanted to drag her over to me and pull her in close. Her playfulness was sexy as hell. She had the most amazing smile. She kept looking at me, shaking her head slightly. I wanted to know what she was thinking.

Out of nowhere, she confessed, "I'm so sorry for reading earlier. It was wrong and very rude of me." She had that look of anguish again. "I was just at a really good part in the book, and it was hard for me to put it down. I know what you're thinking…" She hung her head in shame. "My friends staged an intervention, and I'm aware that I need to go to Kindle Rehab to find balance, but it's so hard when I'm Team Kindle, all the way."

I laughed softly and smiled. I like her. "Actually, I need to apologize to you. I—"

"Please." She shook her head and smiled.

I wasn't ready for her to leave. "We're done here, but I'd really love to hear about the book that has you in knots. Maybe we could grab coffee at the Starbucks around the corner, so you could fill me in?"

She checked the time and looked disappointed. "I would really love to, but my friends are waiting for me. We're having a girls' night out. You know, chicks before dicks." Her eyes opened wide, and she blushed when she realized she'd said "dicks" to me.

She's adorable, absolutely adorable.

"Um, maybe some other time?" She added with a smile and a sparkle in her eyes.

"Sure. Sounds good." I nodded. My phone rang then, and I turned to grab it. I instinctively answered it, looking away.

When I turned back around, I watched as she got her stuff before she walked out of the room.

Damn, I'm an ass. "Chris, listen, I have to let you go. Something's come up."

"Wait, don't hang up. I just want to make sure that you aren't going to blow me off tonight," Chris continued.

"I'll be there. I have to go," I said, rushing to get off the phone. I grabbed my keys and headed out the door.

Why did I answer the damn phone? I went out to the parking lot to see if she was still around, and then I saw her car pulling out. Shit! I didn't get her number.