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7

"A da… a date?" I stuttered, elation filling me. That crooked smile is still there as he looks down at me. This close, I finally realized how tall he was. I didn't even come to his shoulder. Under normal circumstances, I'd be intimidated, but not with him. There was something about him that both made me feel off balance and comfortable at the same time. Those two things shouldn't coexist, but they did.

"Yes, a date." That damn smile was going to be the death of me. He used it like a weapon. There was no way that he didn't know what that was doing to me. I was way too easy to read according to Angela. Everything I felt showed on my face for the entire world to see. "I would really like to take you out."

"I would really like for you to take me out." The smirk that comes to his face at my word vomit makes my face flame. "I mean," I clear my throat, "I'd like that."

"I was hoping you'd say that." His eyes sparkled, becoming a forest green as he looked into mine, disarming me in the best way. Like there would be anyway I'd say no to him. He was quickly becoming my kryptonite. "I know it's a little sudden, but are you possibly free tonight?"

I open my mouth to answer, but before I can, Angela's voice calls from right outside the doorway. "She's free!"

My hands cover my face as Edward laughs. She was going to pay dearly for that later.

"I'm free." I tell him once I can look him in the eye again.

His smile is megawatt, and if I thought his crooked grin was dazzling, it has nothing on this one. It lights his face up like a firework and my heart skips a beat. "Is seven o'clock, okay?"

"Seven is perfect." I shove my hands into the back pockets of my jeans, forcing myself to stay calm. I could happy dance like an idiot once he was gone, after I finished killing Angela.

"Great." It makes me feel a little better to see that he was elated as me. "I would ask for your number, but I already have it."

"That you do." I think back to giving him my business card at his office. He could've just called me, but instead he came here. That made me feel giddy.

"I guess I can take that painting now." He gives me a sheepish look and I laugh, feeling lighter than I have in a long time. "I would still like to commission something, though." He looks back at the painting. "I have the perfect place for this one, which means I'll still need one for my office."

"If only I was seeing you again soon," I flirt. "Dinner would be the perfect time to talk about it."

"If only." He winks and I die inside, but in a good way.

Edward does end up buying the painting, Angela taking care of the payment side, while I wrap it in brown paper for him. She's being extra nice and attentive, clearly trying to make up for the eavesdropping she did earlier, hoping that I'll forget that I plotted her murder. He leaves with a promise to text me later for my address.

After he drives away, I walk back inside, pressing my back against the door, taking a deep breath. The giddy smile that spreads across my face is involuntary.

"You have a date." Angela says in a sing-song-y voice, making me come back to reality and remember that I have beef with her.

"What you did was so not cool, Ang." I walk over to the register, leaning against the counter as she counts the cash in the drawer, getting ready for the close of business.

She stops counting, looking at me with the proper amount of guilt in her eyes. Damn, if only I was better at holding grudges, it would make ripping her a new asshole so much easier. "I'm sorry. I just got excited for you. I didn't mean to say anything, it just came out."

"Next time a cute guy comes by to talk to me, how about we not eavesdrop." I tell her, my voice no longer has any amount of heat in it. If I was in her shoes, I would've done the same thing, minus the vocal interruption.

She scrunches her nose, looking at me with puppy dog eyes. "I promise I won't do it again." She sticks her pinkie out for me, and I wrap mine around hers, shaking on it. "You have a date." She whispers it this time, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"I have a date."

A/N: I have a long weekend coming and will be working on catching up on my other fics. I was hoping to have another chapter of Single Soon up tonight, but I tried to write the next chapter, but it wasn't coming and I didn't want to force it. that never ends well.

See you next time!