Road to Peace by Piper Davenport Read Free Book Online Page A

assistant home early and texted Poppy to let her know she’d be hanging out with Grace for a few hours.
    After taking several cleansing breaths (which didn’t really help), I refreshed my makeup and brushed my teeth, then ran a comb through my hair and headed down to my car. Our offices weren’t far from Serratto, and even closer to my condo, which was beckoning me. I could just blow this guy off and go home. Have some me time, take a bath, drink a bottle of wine.
    I groaned aloud and continued toward the restaurant. My word was my bond and I rarely lied unless it was to spare someone’s feelings, so my fate was sealed… at least for the moment.
     
     

 

    Maisie
     
    H EADING AROUND THE corner from Serratto, I parked with the valet, my legs a little shaky as I climbed out of my car and handed him my key.
    What the bloody hell am I doing?
    I squared my shoulders and took a deep breath, forcing my feet forward as I headed down the street and around the corner. Before I reached the door to the restaurant, I heard, “Hey, Sunshine.”
    I turned to see Hatch walking toward me and my breath hitched. It was warm, but he still had a leather jacket on over a tight black T-shirt, dark jeans and boots. God, he was gorgeous. And what the hell was up with all this “Sunshine” business? I willed my undies to stay exactly where they were, because if he kept saying things like that to me, I was done for.
    I slid my sunglasses onto the top of my head and smiled. “Hi.”
    After closing the distance between us, he wrapped an arm around my waist, and kissed my cheek. “You look beautiful.”
    “Thank you.” I closed my eyes for second, relishing his touch. He also smelled delicious. Holy crap, I was in trouble.
    His gaze scanned my body. “You wear this to work?”
    “Yes.”
    He let out a quiet grunt.
    “Is that weird?” I wore a sleeveless, pencil sheath dress. The top was a herringbone pattern, while the skirt was black and it was finished off with a thin silver belt. I had on a pair of black Louboutin slingbacks and the outfit was all me as far as style went.
    “No, babe, it’s sexy.”
    I sighed. Well, that certainly wasn’t helping the undies stay put.
    We headed inside and, although he let me precede him, his hand stayed put on my lower back as he spoke with the hostess and she showed us to our table. I felt a little bereft when he had to remove his touch in order for me to take my seat.
    He shrugged off his jacket and settled it over his chair, revealing his muscular arms bulging out of his tight, black T-shirt.
    “I’m surprised you could make it,” he said.
    “Me too,” I admitted, setting my menu down so I could look at him. “My friend is taking care of Poppy for the evening.”
    “She could have come.”
    “My friend?” I joked.
    Hatch chuckled. “Sure. More the merrier.”
    “I’m not ready for Poppy to be privy to me potentially dating again,” I admitted. “Regardless if this is considered a date or not, it’s just… well... ”
    “I get it.” He focused back on his menu. “And this is just two people in the same place gettin’ a bite to eat. Not a date.”
    I felt deflated in a weird way. It was painfully evident to me that I wasn’t hip to all the nuances of the dating world, and I probably didn’t want to be. I’d always believed when a man invited you to dinner alone, it was considered a date… but what did I know? Maybe now, everything was casual and a date was something olde tyme people did when they got bored pushing the hoop with a stick down the dirt street. The server arrived and we gave him our drink and dinner orders and then we were left blissfully alone again.
    “I met Kim at the park the other day,” I began, trying to break the awkward silence.
    “Yeah, she told me.”
    Interesting. They’d talked about me. I liked that. I actually liked that a lot. Maybe this wasn’t so bad.
    “How do you two know each other?” I asked.
    “Her old man and I are in the same