Stirred (11 page)

I picked up the rest and laid them beside her pile. Allowing but a moment to pass, I caught her eye and said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you. And I swear, I’m
not
stalking you. I just thought it was, you know, serendipitous, to find that flier and know you were here, so close by. It was like, I don’t know, like gravity, pulling me closer,” I explained and heard her catch her breath.

“Gravity?” she repeated, her eyes wide and glued to my mouth for a moment before snapping up to meet my gaze.

I shrugged. “Yeah. Gravity. Weird, I know, but…there it is. What can I say?”

Her attention moved back to my mouth once more. “Nothing,” she breathed quietly, her concentration broken when the store owner locked the front door and turned off half the lights. She offered me a hesitant, tight-lipped grin. “I’m sorry for being rude. Can’t be too careful, you know. There’re a lot of weirdoes out there.”

I nodded. “I can appreciate that, but I assure you,
I
am not one of them. Never have been.”

She agreed with a casual nod of her own. “I kinda felt that about you. The other night, I mean. You were…I don’t know…different. Most guys would’ve bent me over the men’s room sink after the stunt I pulled.”

I barked a laugh, but instantly reeled it in. “Sorry, it’s just that… Well, to be honest, the thought
had
crossed my mind. But you know, you looked too classy for that, so…” I shrugged yet again, unsure where to go after that admission and pissed at myself for even acknowledging it.

“It’s okay. I’d probably be offended if the thought hadn’t occurred to you.”

She stared at me, and I stared back. Regardless of how this had started or Trinitee’s insistence that I pursue her, there was obvious chemistry between us. Calling it gravity wasn’t off-base at all. So, I decided to go for it. Take the next step.

“Ms. MacLaird,” I began, then thought better of it. “Eden, would you care to have a drink with me? The Matador’s right across the street. It’s quiet, casual, low key. We can chat about your book. I missed your reading, after all. Or maybe we can talk about your cheating husband and disloyal best friend. Whatever you want. Like I said, I’m easy.”

Uncertainty skittered across Eden’s face. She looked around for the store owner then out the storefront window at the pedestrians passing by. “I don’t know…” she answered hesitantly.

“Okay, tell you what. You go put your things away in your car. I’ll walk over and grab us a table. If you don’t show up, I’ll cry in my beer and call it a night.”

She smirked ever so slightly and looked toward the rear of the store. “Okay, well…I’m parked out back. Can I just drive over?”

“Uh, yeah, sure, I guess, but it’s a one-way street, so you’ll have to drive down Market, go left on Shilshole, left again on 22
^nd
, then again on Ballard. It’s a bit convoluted.” I paused and dipped my chin as I looked at her. “Or I could just walk you over myself. I can even carry your briefcase.” I slipped on my most seductive grin, knowing it had worked wonders for me in the past.

It worked on Eden, too. She beamed the most charming smile yet and held out her case for me to carry. I offered my elbow, and she slipped her arm through as the store owner appeared and opened the door for us. We crossed the street to The Matador, where I pulled the door wide.

“Age before beauty,” I threw out with a devious smirk.

She thumped me in the chest as she passed by. “Pearls before swine, you smartass,” she returned with an equally sly grin.

We seated ourselves at a small U-shaped booth in a far, dark corner of the bar. I ordered an IPA and suggested we share a plate of nachos. Eden settled on a Cosmopolitan. I couldn’t help but notice how nervous she appeared as she picked at the chips. She downed her drink in three swallows, so I ordered her another. She drank half of that before even working up the nerve to engage with me. Her face pinkened noticeably, visible even in the candlelit recess of the bar. She sat back in her seat and tapped her fingers against one thigh.

“I’m sorry,” she said as she pulled down at the hem of her short, billowy, black skirt. “This was a bad idea. I should probably go. I’m not very good company.”

I smiled at her and said, “Let me be the judge of that, okay?”

She offered an uneasy grin and finished her second cocktail. I raised my finger at the waitress and ordered her a third. By the time it arrived, Eden was beginning to loosen up. Her eyes focused on me, a subtle spark kindling within.

“So, you know who I am, obviously, but we’ve never been formally introduced. I’m Eden,” she said, her slender hand raised in greeting.

I accepted with my right and placed my left over top, unwilling to let her go too soon.

“A pleasure, Eden,” I said, enjoying the feel of her name on my tongue. With a pause, I gazed into her eyes and answered before I could stop myself. “You can call me…Daniel.”

“I can
call
you?” she asked. “Is that not your name? Are you playing games with me already?” She pulled gently against my grasp, but, though I loosened my grip, she seemed just as hesitant to break contact as I did and only retreated once I let go.

“I rarely play games,” I replied. “In this case, I simply share my father’s first name, so I often use my middle name instead. I hope you don’t mind.”

She considered me for a moment. “No, I guess not,” she said, her uncertainty lingering. “So, what do you do, Daniel? For a living, I mean. You do work, correct?”

“I do, yes, but only part-time while I finish grad school. But even that’s been a bit difficult the last few days. I’ve been very…distracted ever since our encounter last Friday. I haven’t been able to think of much else, really. You made quite the impression.”

Eden began to fidget once again, spinning the stem of her cocktail glass between her fingers. “Yes, well, that was…unexpected, to say the least.” She looked up and caught my eyes. “I hope you don’t think I go around kissing all the boys—” 

“Boys?” I interjected. “I assure you, Eden, I’m
no
boy.”

She held up a hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. I just meant, you know, the considerable difference in our ages and all. I know you’re not a boy.” She snuck a quick glance around the room, then, as she tucked her hair behind one ear, she leaned in closer. “You’re a very gallant young man, and I appreciate your discretion the other night. I was rather upset when you found me.”

“Yes, I remember. And I’ve been curious. So tell me, Eden, how did all that work out for you? Did you confront your husband, or that best friend of yours?”

“Oh, God, no.” she answered with a stern shake of her head. “I’ve been avoiding Declan like the plague, and I haven’t returned any of Aurelia’s calls or texts.”

That surprised me, considering her public persona on social media, not to mention the characters she brought to life. I’d come to think of Eden as strong and self-assured, much like her heroine, not one to tolerate deceit or betrayal. But then again, I didn’t really know her. I planned on changing that very soon. Maybe even tonight if she was game. Though I feared she might flit away at any moment, I itched to test her limits.

I leaned in closer, as well, and stroked the length of her hand, then her wrist, before backtracking and rubbing my finger in circles against her palm. I swept my gaze up to her face and saw her attention was fixed on our hands, but she must have felt me staring, because her eyes snapped up to meet mine as another bright flush crept across her cheekbones.

“You gonna leave him?” I asked. “Get a divorce?”

She was breathing heavily and curled her hand tighter against my intrusion, but, unwilling to relinquish any ground, I flattened my palm against hers and pressed her hand between both of mine.

“I, um…no,” she stammered and shook her head again. “I couldn’t…do that. Leave him, I mean. I… It just… It wouldn’t work.”

I turned her palm upward and stroked the inside of her wrist. Without breaking eye contact, I asked, “And why not?”

“Well, you know, it’s just…it’s very…complicated.” She squirmed in her seat, though I wasn’t sure whether it was from me holding her hand or the subject of her cheating husband.

“What divorce isn’t?” I asked, pausing one heartbeat. “So, what’s the real reason, Eden?”

Though she sighed and her shoulders sagged, her pulse quickened beneath my fingertip. “It’s just that…I rely on Declan financially. He holds the deeds to our homes, our cars, our businesses, to everything really. He hides them from the IRS inside his corporations, over which I have no control whatsoever, at least not while he’s alive. So he has all the power.”

“But you’re doing well in your writing career. Google told me so, and Google never lies.”

Her brow lifted high. “You Googled me?”

I shrugged. “Doesn’t everyone?”

With her eyes tense, she pressed her lips together. “I don’t know about that, but, as far as my career goes, yes, I’m doing well on paper. But it’ll be a while until I earn out my advance and receive any royalties. So I’m stuck, for now anyway. And you know, my mother raised me as a single parent. I remember what it’s like to struggle. It’s not something I ever want to experience again.”

She grew more fidgety, but I couldn’t tell if she was excited or agitated, so I turned her palm flat on the table with mine cupped on either side.

When I felt her pulse calm slightly, I asked, “Have you considered my suggestion?”

Her eyes popped upward. “Your suggestion?”

“Yes,” I said as I thumbed her diamond wedding rings, spinning them around her slender finger. “Retaliation. It might prove quite…satisfying, I would think. Wouldn’t you?”

Eden picked up what remained of her drink, emptied the glass, and placed it back onto the table, her movement slow and deliberate as she stole a few moments to think. She swallowed hard and closed her eyes against me.

My heart raced unexpectedly, and I squeezed her hand. “Make no mistake, Eden. I’m
no
boy. I know you want me. I can see it. I can feel it. Just like I did at the bar when you kissed me. You admitted it then, said it was ‘payback.’
Your
word. Not mine. So…here’s your chance. What are you waiting for?”

Her eyes fluttered open, and a single tear rolled down her flushed cheek. She shook her head, just a tiny bit, but that single gesture said so much, spoke of the tumult roiling inside her.

“I don’t know,” she whispered and turned her hand, tentatively lacing her fingers between mine.

And in that moment, I felt her surrender. I knew I had her. All I had to do was take what I wanted, what she was offering. But something unforeseen shifted inside me, and, while I was sure I wanted her—badly—I wasn’t quite sure why anymore, if it was still just my latest game of conquest, or perhaps something else. Something more.

With her subtle acquiescence, I realized I no longer wanted to be
that
guy—a player. Sure, Trin tried to convince me this might end up being something more, but could it really? If I allowed Trinitee to maneuver me, I was little more than her pawn, and this
was
nothing more than a game,
her
game. And that was no longer something I wanted. To me, Eden was more than just an acquisition. She had a heart—a tremendously bruised one—and she was placing it in my hand. How could I betray that trust?

No way. I couldn’t. I
wouldn’t
. 

But after Hayley, I wasn’t sure how to proceed.

So I thought it best to let Eden pave the way, at least for the moment.
I would take the lead once she acknowledged her own desire, but it was important she made the conscious decision. I brushed her tear away with my thumb and cupped her cheek, reveling when she leaned into my hand.

“You’re right,” she admitted. “I do want you, partly because I just need to feel wanted again. No one has in such a long time. But mostly, like you said, because I want to get back at him.” She paused for a moment. “But…I can’t. That’s not me,” she added. “I don’t cheat.”

“I understand, but…where has your loyalty gotten you, Eden? Why not explore your own needs, like you have the characters in your book?”