by R. J. Groves
‘I’m not taking your money, Mr Ballin.’
His chin lifted. So, it was back to that, was it? ‘Why the hell not?’ He made no effort to hide the annoyance in his voice.
‘Because I’m not your whore.’
His whore? What did she think he was? ‘Take it, damn it. It’s your money.’
‘No.’ She took a bite of her burger.
‘You’re impossible.’
‘And you are a jerk.’
‘I’m just trying to settle unfinished business,’ he growled, begrudgingly tucking the money back into his wallet. He’d find a way to pay her back. If she didn’t drive him insane before then.
‘It’s already been settled, remember? We made a deal.’ She waved her hand across the table to make her point.
But that wasn’t settled. It was simply his body’s stupid illogical tactic to get her to go on a date with him. A rash decision he was starting to sorely regret. ‘It wasn’t a deal, damn it!’ It was a pathetic excuse.
‘You know, it’s impolite to talk about business on a date. And swearing, too.’
He felt the fire rage inside him. ‘And it’s impolite to talk with your mouth full—at any time.’
She stopped chewing, her eyes burning into him with a look that could kill. He could have cut through the tension with his knife. They sat in silence, staring at each other for a moment, everyone around them oblivious to the exchange. Well, as far as he knew. He could see the heavy rise and fall of her chest, the tightness in her expression. He felt himself taking deep breaths, trying his best to calm down. It would do no good to cause a scene in public—any more than they already had.
She swallowed, and for the first time since they’d sat down, picked up her knife and fork. And tucked them together on her plate. She pushed her unfinished plate of food towards the centre of the table.
‘What are you doing?’ he said.
‘I don’t want any more,’ she said flatly.
‘You’re being ridiculous.’
‘I’m not hungry.’
‘You’ve barely eaten,’ he said, cutting into his steak. ‘Eat your food.’
‘Don’t tell me what to do.’
His hands halted, and he looked up at her. She swallowed again, rose to her feet and swung her bag over her shoulder. ‘Where are you going?’
‘I’m leaving.’
‘Why?’
‘Because I’m finished.’
He was about to retort, but she left the table swiftly. He sighed. She might be finished, but he was going to stay and enjoy the rest of his steak. He began to lift the cut piece to his mouth and paused before it got there. He stared at the juicy, tender piece of steak on the end of his fork and swore.
He couldn’t let her go off like this, totally pissed at him. For starters, he’d picked her up and he’d started all of this. And if she was pissed off at him, what’s to say she wouldn’t let it out on Libby’s seven-thousand-dollar dress? He reluctantly lowered his knife and fork—with the steak—to his plate. He picked up his glass of water, which he now wished was something stronger, swigged it down, rose to his feet, grabbed his jacket and walked to the counter to pay.
Damn her.
Damn their deal.
Damn it all.
***
She waited by the curb, her arms folded tightly over her chest, looking up the street to find a taxi. God, he made her furious. Didn’t he realise she wanted to keep at least some of her pride? And there he was waving his stupid money around like it was no big deal—in public. On a date!
She shuddered to think of what people would have thought if she’d accepted it. She wanted to. He owed her, after all. Owed her that and much much more for the psychological inconvenience he’d caused. The arrogant bastard. He had no sense of the world—her world.
She chuckled at the irony of it. She’d wanted the date to go horribly wrong. It had to. As she’d hoped, talking with her mouth full had helped her cause. But she hadn’t thought that she would be angry after it. Quite the opposite, actually. She was supposed to be relieved—happy—that it all went wrong, and now, she just wanted to … to … punch something. Someone. Him, preferably. In the face.
A taxi came down the road towards her and she lifted her hand to hail it. It didn’t stop. She swore and stomped her foot. No doubt the bastard was still in the restaurant enjoying his steak. Probably relieved that he didn’t have to be in her talking-with-her-mouth-full company. The stupid, inconsiderate, frustrating—
‘What are you doing now?’
She frowned when she realised he was standing next to her. He’d followed her? Didn’t he know when enough was enough? She would refuse to look at him. She couldn’t look at him. Otherwise she might just punch him. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad …
‘I’m getting a taxi,’ she said flatly.
Out of the corner of her eye, he could see him looking up and down the street. ‘How’s that working for you?’
Sarcastic little—
‘What do you want, Taylor?’
He slowly pulled out his phone, looked at it, then tucked it back into his pocket. He put his jacket on. ‘Our date’s not over yet, Andie,’ he said, his voice sounding bored. He turned towards her. ‘Or have you forgotten that we made a deal?’
Now, she looked at him. If she ended up punching him, so what? The arrogant jackass deserved it. Her eyes narrowed. ‘I thought you said it wasn’t a deal.’
His nose crinkled in a look that was a bit too endearing for the mood she was in. Damn it. She couldn’t punch him. He was too handsome for his own good, and she couldn’t be responsible for ruining that perfectly straight nose.
‘More of a … compromise … really,’ he said.
She turned back to focus on the street and groaned in frustration. Where were all the taxis when she needed one? ‘Well, I … release you … or whatever … of your obligation or compromise or whatever the hell you want to call it.’
He made a noise that was somewhere between a groan and a snicker. ‘It doesn’t work that way, I’m afraid. I’m a man of my word, and I’m going to follow through with it.’
Oh, she’d bet he was. So sure of himself like that … ‘Well, I don’t want to.’
‘And I don’t care,’ he said.
She frowned at the road up ahead, purposefully ignoring him. Clearly, he wasn’t used to not getting what he wanted. How could he think she’d want to go anywhere with him? Stupid, stupid man. How she’d love to just—
‘You owe me a movie.’
She scoffed. ‘I don’t owe you anything.’
‘Maybe,’ he said. ‘But I’m watching a movie, and you’re coming with me.’
‘What are you going to do? Toss me over your shoulder like a caveman and make me go?’
He shrugged, something flickering in his eyes that made her heart leap in her chest and her toes tingle. The mere thought of him doing exactly that—though not to the movies—made her feel things she shouldn’t feel. Especially for her client’s brother. Her cheeks grew hot as she imagined him laying her on a bed, devouring her with his eyes and giving her body the attention it craved. She swallowed, diverting her gaze and trying her best to bring back the professional side of her. Joseph had never looked at her like that, had never been a giver in sex, only a taker. Why would Taylor Ballin be any different?
‘Well, that’s one idea.’ She felt his warm breath against her ear, sending a delicious shiver down her spine. ‘But I’d rather not cause a scene.’
She sighed, staring down at her foot as she tapped it on the sidewalk. ‘You’re not going to give up, are you?’
‘Nope.’
She squeezed her eyes shut, her mind running wild. She was the fool who’d agreed to his terms. If all she had to do to get him off her case was sit through a movie, then that was what she had to do. ‘Fine.’ She spun on her heel and paced towards the cinema, her arms folded tightly across her chest.
‘Don’t sound so thrilled.’ He’d caught up to her
without even trying, she noticed, glancing sideways at his long strides. He had nice legs, she decided. Nice, strong legs. With a good gait.
‘I’m not. I have other things I should be doing,’ she mumbled, bringing her gaze forward.
With a skip, he was in front of her, walking backwards, a hand on his chest. ‘You mean to say you double-booked on me? That hurts, Andie.’ He gave her a saddened, stern look, but there was something flickering in his eyes.
Her lips twitched, and his eyebrow shot up. She bit into her lower lip, but it was too late. She couldn’t resist the smile that fought through her defences. His lips curved upwards and he adjusted his jacket.
‘The lady has a sense of humour.’
‘And your ego is bigger than your head,’ she said, dropping her arms to her side. His mouth opened wide.
‘And they just keep coming.’
With that, he turned his back on her, slowing down to fall into step with her. She took the brief moment to appreciate how nicely his pants fit his ass. She’d never been one to really gawk at a guy’s ass, but he had a very gawk-worthy ass. She felt the tension start to ease between them. Not by much, but enough to have her stomach twisting in knots. Despite everything, she still couldn’t allow the rest of this date to go well. She brought her defences back up.
Before long, he’d guided her through a set of doors and paused at one of the seats near the ticket desk.
‘Wait here,’ he said. ‘I’ll go get the tickets.’
‘To what?’
‘To the movie,’ he said, his brow furrowed.
‘Which one?’
He told her, and her eyebrow shot up. Had the fool forgotten their deal already? After all, since their date wasn’t over yet, she was relying on that deal to make sure the rest of it went terribly wrong.
‘What?’ he said, narrowing his eyes at her expression.
‘Have you forgotten our deal?’ she prompted. His eyes narrowed further, and she was sure his jaw had tightened. She sighed. ‘The part where I get to choose the movie.’
His lips slowly curved into a grin that showed his teeth on one side. ‘All right, then. What do you want to watch?’
She told him, and he stared at her blankly. She held back a smile. Oh, yes. She had the upper hand now.
‘Seriously?’ he said. She nodded. ‘That must be the sappiest movie out at the moment. Can’t we watch something else? Anything else?’
She shook her head, unable to hold the smile back any longer. ‘You said it was my choice. You shouldn’t have said it if you weren’t willing to follow through.’
He grumbled something about regretting that decision, and she made as if she didn’t hear. ‘What was that?’ she said.
‘Nothing,’ he said, turning away from her. ‘Two tickets for torture coming right up.’
She folded her arms across her chest and sat in the seat. Yes, she was going to make him regret asking her out and haggling her down. Absolutely. She eyed his strong back and bit into her bottom lip. Thoughts of him carrying her drifted back into her mind. She’d given up on the idea that someone would ever carry her—Joseph had certainly never been able to. It was something so silly, so romanticised, for a woman to have a man make her feel light as a feather. She wondered if Taylor was the kind of man to make her feel that way. He certainly looked strong enough.
She shifted in her seat. She couldn’t think that way. As handsome and … attractive … as he was, she knew his type. And she knew how much damage he could do. She wasn’t sure she could handle it a second time around.
Still … it was tempting.
Chapter 6
It was harder than she thought.
She blinked back a threatening tear and swallowed the lump in her throat. Damn it. Why did the sappiest movie showing also have to be the most heart-wrenching? She was hoping for a very girly chick flick, not something that would somehow hit too close to home and make her all emotional and vulnerable. And it was barely half an hour into it.
She shifted in her seat, trying her best to move past the emotional aspect, and eyed him out of the corner of her eye. He had just started eating his chocolate-covered ice cream, his drink in the cup holder between them, and a box of popcorn sitting on his lap. She’d told him she didn’t want anything from the candy bar—part of her plan, of course. Now, she wasn’t sure if he would take it badly or actually be glad to share.
She was starting to wish she’d gone with the buying-too-much-from-the-candy-bar plan instead of the nothing-at-all plan. She’d only eaten a little of her burger and was feeling it. Her stomach rumbled and she hoped he didn’t hear it. Or maybe it would be better if he did. She leaned closer and reached her hand towards the ice cream.
‘Mind if I have a bite?’ she said.
His eyes widened and he shifted his gaze between her and the ice cream. ‘You didn’t want anything,’ he said, leaning towards the ice cream for another bite.
She stopped his hand, and he stared at her again, his brow furrowed. ‘Oh, please,’ she said. ‘I didn’t want anything before, but it looks so good.’
He hesitated. ‘You could go get your own.’
‘But then I’ll miss the movie.’ She batted her eyes. ‘Please, Taylor?’ She drawled out the syllables of his name, not quite sure if it was still part of her plan or if she was actually desperate for some of that ice cream. It did look good …
His lips pressed together into a thin line. Then, reluctantly, he let her have a bite of his ice cream. It not only looked good, it was good. Though that might have had something to do with the fact it was his ice cream, that he’d already started eating. She was sure they hadn’t tasted so good before. She took a slow breath, trying to gain the courage to continue through with her plan. She knew it wasn’t a particularly nice thing, but it had to be done.
She noticed that he hesitated when she gave the ice cream back to him. Why was he hesitant? Why did he seem to study the ice cream before resuming eating it? He didn’t seem to be enjoying it as much, and she briefly felt bad for it. But it was important that the date went badly … wasn’t it?
Her stomach rumbled again. She shouldn’t have left the restaurant without eating her burger. But she hadn’t expected he would still want to see the movie, so she’d figured she’d simply have something at home. She eyed the popcorn, then glanced up at his face. He was focused on the movie. His expression seemed unaffected by the heart-wrenching storyline. He almost seemed … intrigued … by the movie. Was he actually enjoying it? Hell. Truth be told, she would have much preferred to watch the movie he wanted to watch. Sappy chick flicks weren’t really her thing.
Her stomach rumbled again, and her eyes dropped to the popcorn. The smell was too good, and irresistible … She could go get her own. She didn’t really care if she missed part of the movie. In fact, she’d welcome the reprieve. But she’d already told him she didn’t want to miss any of it.
Once more, her stomach rumbled. This time, with a wave of nausea washing over her. She sighed. She was committed, now. She needed something in her stomach. Focusing back on the movie, she slowly reached over, grabbed a handful of popcorn, and started eating it. She thought she saw him glance down at the box for a second, but she didn’t want to risk catching his gaze. She might truly feel embarrassed.
She’d hoped the one handful would have been enough, but apparently her stomach didn’t think so. Not to mention the fact that movie popcorn was basically addictive. She reached over and grabbed another handful, this time feeling his full gaze on her as she ate. She refused to look at him. Focus on the movie. Pure focus. Her mouth felt dry.
***
Damn it.
What the hell was wrong with this woman? Or was it simply every woman who liked to claim they weren’t hungry but then liked to dig into the guy’s food? He focused back on the stupid pathetic movie—he had to at least look like he was interested in it, didn’t he? Admittedly, it wasn’t half as bad as he thought it would be. The creators had done a good job of b
ringing emotions into it. Clearly enough to affect Andie.
Oh, yeah. He’d seen the way she was trying to hold herself together when the emotional impact was high. It had stirred something inside him. Something that made him want to put his arm around her and … comfort … her. He had to remind himself again that this was all business.
But then she’d asked for his ice cream.
And, damn it, he wasn’t one to share his food. He always got exactly the amount that he wanted, and he fully intended on eating it. To have someone else want some was simply annoying. Especially since he had offered to get her some when he was getting his own. She’d said she didn’t want any. Clearly, she was lying, since she’d had half of his ice cream and had been digging into his popcorn. He swallowed the bit of popcorn in his mouth and reached for his drink, only to find he was grabbing onto air.
What the hell?
He looked at the empty cup holder, then at Andie. And his drink. She gingerly sipped it, her lips pursed around the straw in an adorable fashion. Her eyes glued to the screen. His jaw clenched. First, his ice cream—he’d dealt with that, since he still had more food. Then his popcorn, which he might have been okay with if she hadn’t been taking it by the handful. Now, his drink? Well … Food was one thing. A drink was something entirely different. A drink was something he never shared.
Why?
He didn’t know for sure. Perhaps because, for him, it was too personal. Too intimate. And that was something he made a point of staying clear of. Clearly, she didn’t feel the same way about it.
Her puzzled eyes shifted slowly towards him. Then she followed his gaze to the cup she was holding, and to his hand still near the empty cup holder. She held it out to him.
‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I really needed a drink and I didn’t … realise. I thought it was mine.’
‘You didn’t get one,’ he said through his teeth.
She grimaced. ‘I know. Sorry.’ She jiggled the cup for him to take it, and he did. It felt a lot lighter than he’d thought it was. How long had she been drinking from it before he noticed?
He went to take a drink and paused, lowering it to the cup holder. She was still watching him, her brow furrowed. ‘What?’ he said.
