Read Online Date Shark by DelSheree Gladden - Free Book Online Page A

much cleavage show. She had completely forgotten about the button. “One of the models tore it off … she tripped and … oh, never mind.” She sucked in a lungful of air and braved looking up at Luke again. “Did you need something? You said you came back here to find me.”
    Leila’s change in topics prompted Luke to take a step back and let her start breathing normally again. “I wanted to talk to you about doing some shoots for Ana’s website. She said you were looking for a new photographer.”
    “Yeah, our old one moved to L.A. a few weeks ago. Don’t you already have a job, though?”
    Luke shrugged. “Newspapers are a dying breed. They don’t pay as great as people think. I’m always looking for some side work.”
    “Great,” Leila said, glad this wouldn’t be the last time she saw Luke. “Why don’t you call me this week and we can set up a time for you to bring your portfolio by. Ana will want to see it as well. Do you still have my work number?”
    “I do.”
    “Good. This week should be a lot calmer now that the show is over. Give me a call when you have some time off from the paper.” He may be looking for side work, but Leila did remember briefly checking out his credentials after they spoke. Bachelor’s in photography, working on a Master’s, he had been at the Tribune since his freshman year in college and had gotten considerable acclaim in his nine years with them. It would be fantastic to have someone with so much experience shooting for them.
    Leila moved away, her brain already jumping ahead to everything she already had scheduled for the coming week. Mentally she was already halfway through her appointments when Luke grabbed her arm gently and prevented her from getting any farther away from him. Leila looked at him expectantly.
    “Is that the only reason I can call you, to set up an appointment?”
    A dozen different thoughts ran through Leila’s head in that moment. Eli’s advice was by far the most dominant. Luke passed his checklist, and she did want to see him again, but should she say yes if he asked her out? What about hard to get? Leila decided to save that decision for later, maybe after she had been able to talk to Eli about it. First he just wanted to know if he could call her.
    “If you think of another reason to call me besides your portfolio, I don’t think I’d be against that,” she said.
    Luke grinned. His hold on her arm turned even softer, more seductive as he trailed his hand up to her cheek. “Do I have to call? Can I ask you right now if you want to ditch this mess and go get a drink with me?”
    “Now?” Leila’s brain stumbled before righting itself. This was too quick. She needed to talk to Eli first. She tried to come up with an excuse and realized she already had one. “I can’t tonight. Ana and I go out for an early breakfast after every show. But maybe later this week we can do something.”
    Stepping back slowly, Luke smiled. “I’ll see you later this week then.”
    Leila nodded, not verbally agreeing to anything yet. Did telling him “no” tonight count as not accepting a first date? Leila pulled out her cell phone to call Eli, but Ana poking her head into the dressing room put that thought on hold.
    “Ready?”
    “Hold on, let me fix my hair before we go.” Leila tiptoed over discarded clothes to get to the mirrors.
    “What were you doing back here this whole time? I thought you’d be ready by now. Blueberry drenched waffles with a gallon of whipped cream on them are calling my name.”
    Settling for a cleaner version of her ponytail, Leila got her hair back in order and sighed at her clothes. It would have to do. “Sorry,” she said to Ana, “I got distracted.”
    “By what? The interns will clean all this up tomorrow.”
    “It wasn’t the mess. It was the photographer you sent back here.”
    Ana scrunched her face, trying to remember. “The blond one? Yeah, he was distracting.”
    “He asked about a job, and a