One Reckless Night Read Online Free Page A

with included the teardrop earrings and matching necklace
    her mother had given her for her birthday last year. From the look on Dane’s face her extra effort
    was worth it.

    He held out her chair and she thanked him while she sat. When he returned to his chair their
    server approached. She hardly paid attention to what was said. How had she missed how attractive
    Dane was before now? When she first met him she thought he was cute, but now she realized he
    was gorgeous.

    Bayleigh liked his strong, somewhat sharp nose, sculpted mouth, and masculine jaw line. His
    twinkling, dark green eyes that always held an air of amusement were another feature of his she
    favored. His eyes always made her smile.

    “Bayleigh?”

    She blinked and realized her was staring at her. So was the waiter. He must be waiting on her
    drink order.

    “I’ll just have water,” she responded with smile.

    The waiter nodded before walking off. Picking up the menu, she studied it before she
    embarrassed herself any further. She decided to go with the Salmon Cannelloni with lemon cream
    sauce. Her decision made, she looked over at Dane. He was watching her, intently. Bayleigh tried
    not to squirm, but his gaze made her nervous.

    The waiter returned with their drinks, offering her a brief reprieve. She gave her food order
    hoping it would be rushed. No one could talk with a full mouth. The waiter walked away. Bayleigh
    looked over at Dane with a nervous smile. It would be better to get this over with, the sooner the
    better.

    “So what did you want to talk about?”

    “I want to talk to you about last night and how this will affect our friendship going
    forward.”

    Bayleigh nodded, unable to speak, fearful of what he was going to say. She was prepared to
    fight though. Their friendship was too valuable to her.

    He leaned closer to her. “Our friendship as we know it is over.”

    A sharp, stabbing pain went through her heart. This was exactly what she didn’t want.

    “Tonight is about you and me, as a man and a woman.”

    It took her moment to grasp his words but when she did, her eyes widened. “What do you
    mean?”

    He gave her a wicked smile. Was this a joke of some sort? She laughed, figuring Dane was
    trying to put her at ease.

    “What’s funny?”

    Bayleigh stopped laughing at the serious tone in his voice. Her mouth dropped open when
    she realized he was serious. This was insane. She shook her head.

    “No, Dane. I’m not willing to sacrifice our friendship for a sexual relationship.”

    A stunned look fell over his face. “You think I would give up our friendship for sex?”

    She remained silent, not sure what to think, what to do. For the first time in her life she
    didn’t know what to say. Nothing could have prepared her for this. Dane had never showed an
    inkling of sexual attraction to her. Sure he complimented her when she wore her hair different or on
    her cooking when she brought him food, but that was what friends did. Right?

    “What are you saying Dane?”

    For the first time since she met him the smile Dane gave her lacked its normal confidence.
    “I’m saying that I’m attracted to you, Bayleigh. I have been for a while now, I just didn’t want to say
    anything because I was afraid to mess up the chemistry we have as friends.” He sighed. “After what
    we shared last night, I can no longer put my deeper feelings for you aside.”

    Dane stopped speaking as the waiter delivered their food.

    After the waiter left, Bayleigh was still speechless. What was she supposed to say? The last
    thing she wanted to do was ruin her friendship with Dane. It was something she valued greatly. She

    looked down at her food and ate a few bites. The food was good but she barely tasted it. What was
    the point in eating if she couldn’t enjoy it?

    “What’s wrong?” Dane asked.

    Bayleigh gave a slight shake of her head. He’d just dropped a bombshell and her first instinct
    was to run from the table screaming.