A Date to Remember by LeTeisha Newton Read Free Book Online

remote in hand, he heard the popcorn popping.
    “Where are your bowls?”
    “In the cabinet to the right of the refrigerator,” he called back.
    It was oddly domestic having her getting things together in the kitchen as he set up the movie. It was more like a date night. He’d tried to avoid getting her in bed, where her pull was nearly magnetic, but he’d stepped into another pothole. He didn’t know how to deal with a woman who could interest him even outside of the bedroom. She wasn’t like anything he had ever experienced. She surprised him with the subtleties of her personality. When she’d talked about the kung fu movies, she had spoken from a place of knowledge. She wasn’t just some floozy who was good only for lying on her back. He wished, at this moment, that was all she was.
    When Sam came back in the room, she carried a big bowl of popcorn. He could smell the butter she’d drizzled on top, and his mouth watered. He wondered if she’d put salt on it too. She sat down and produced a small napkin. She opened it gingerly and he could see she’d put salt inside of the napkin.
    “I wasn’t sure how you felt about salt, so I kept it on the side.”
    “What’s popcorn without salt?” he asked.
    “My thoughts exactly.”
    He watched her sprinkle the salt over the popcorn and mix it up. She then set the bowl down on his coffee table and went back the kitchen. When he heard water running, he figured she was washing her hands. She came back quickly enough, curled up on the couch by his side, and put the bowl of popcorn between her crossed legs. He groaned inwardly. He knew something else he wanted to eat in that same spot.
    “Let’s get this show on the road,” she said then, popping a few pieces in her mouth.
    Joel started the movie without saying anything else. He watched as the dying master of the infamous Poison Clan sent his prized student, Yan Tieh, to find out if the skills he taught were being used for evil. But the movie, though excellent, didn’t keep his attention. He couldn’t help watching the woman beside him as she watched the movie. She’d obviously seen it countless times if her repeating whole lines were anything to go by. She was completely engrossed in the film. Every once in a while, she’d lean over and tell him something about Chinese culture, and why some of what occurred was even possible.
    He got a different glimpse of her. This was Sam. There was no artifice here. He could have easily asked Maddox about her, about who she was. Natalie would have told Maddox about her best friend, but, for some reason, he wanted her to tell him. He wanted her to tell him who she was, what was really going on. She wasn’t some sultry seductress now. She was a woman enjoying a show, and including him. She wasn’t trying to take his money, get him to buy her gifts, or gain some claim on his life. She was just here. He may be paying her a lot of money to spend this month with her, but he’d told her that she could spend his money while she was here. She hadn’t yet asked for them to go somewhere shopping. With his type of money, he could have Neiman Marcus opened just so she could shop alone.
    She wasn’t anything like he’d expected. He liked her. He actually liked her.

Chapter Ten
    When the movie went off, Sam clapped and whistled. Joel’s laughter made her smile. She was amped up, ready for an all-night movie date. He had a few movies that she was drooling to see. She hadn’t seen The 36th Chamber of Shaolin in quite some time. The movie had made her stand up and pay attention to Gordon Liu. Joel even had Lady with a Sword , one of the first movies directed by a woman in the kung fu world and starring a female lead. The revenge movie was masterfully done, and Sam wanted to see it in good quality.
    “You have an amazing collection here. 36th Chamber can be hard to find sometimes. So is Lady with a Sword and Master of the Flying Guillotine . I haven’t even seen that one.”
    Excited