by Parker, Ali
“Fuck no!” he answered. “It’s more about young women see me and think I’m their ticket to an easy life.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Now you are trying to piss me off.”
“No,” he quickly said, turning on the bench to face me. “I’m not trying to do that at all. I don’t think you are doing that. I’m saying the younger ones, they tend to do that.”
“Really?”
He nodded. “Yes. They get this idea we are going to date and I’m going to fall all over them because they are young and interested in me. I’m not a fucking dinosaur just yet.”
I smiled, having a new understanding of him. “I imagine there are some ladies, young and old, who would be attracted to the money. I’m not.”
“Then why did you talk to me?”
“I talk to everyone. You intrigued me. I didn’t know who you were. Honestly, I thought you were one of the ship laborers.”
He burst into laughter. “Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“And you still talked to me?”
“I’m not like that,” I told him. “I really am not interested in anything. I just saw a guy who, for whatever reason, appealed to my need to want to help. Not help but get to know.”
“Am I charity?”
“No. I can’t explain it.”
He didn’t seem convinced. “Me either.”
We sat for a bit longer before we decided to make our way back down the trail. I asked if he wanted to visit the gardens, but he declined. I had pushed him enough for one day. “Was it terrible?” I asked when we reached our cars.
“Was what terrible?”
“Taking a walk with me?”
He offered me a very small smile. “No, it wasn’t terrible.”
“Can I borrow your phone for a second?”
He frowned. “Why?”
I held out my hand. “Paranoid much? I’m going to put my number in.”
“Oh,” he answered and fished it out of the pocket of his cargo shorts. He handed it to me after unlocking the screen.
“Call me if you would like to do this again,” I said and handed him his phone.
“Would you like to do it again?” he asked as if it was completely crazy.
“Yes, I would. Maybe we can get to one of the gardens next time.”
He stared at his phone. “I would like that. Should I give you my number?”
I smiled and nodded. “Yes, please. If I think of anything exciting to do, I’ll give you a call. Unless you call me first. Let me grab my phone.”
“You didn’t take it with you?” he asked.
“Nope. When I am on my walk, I am not on. I have to unplug, or I will go crazy.”
That seemed to surprise him. I grabbed my phone and saw a missed call from my dad. I would call him later. I handed him the phone and watched as his large hands held it and punched in the number. He handed it back. Our eyes locked. My breath caught in my throat. He was intense. I had a fleeting thought about what sex would be like with him.
I quickly pushed it out of my mind. I could not think like that. “Thank you,” I said in a whisper.
“Thanks for today,” he answered, still holding my gaze.
My mouth felt dry. “Okay.”
“Okay,” he repeated.
I found the energy to make my feet move and stepped away. I got into my car, suddenly feeling very hot. I started the engine and blasted the AC. Damn. The man got under my skin. I sensed there was so much more to him than what he presented to the world. I wanted to get to know him better. I couldn’t explain why. It was just something I had to do. I had to know him.
“Xander Holland,” I repeated his name aloud. I looked in the rearview mirror and watched him drive away.
There was something about him. Something raw. Something that appealed to my very soul. He was nothing like the men I usually dated. Nothing.
Chapter 9
Xander
Charlie was sitting outside the building where he worked. I was meeting him for lunch. Technically, I was bringing him lunch to make up for ditching him at the party the other night. He wasn’t truly mad. We both knew from the very beginning there was no way I was going to stay the entire time. It didn’t matter. He was a little pissed. I would make up for it with burgers and fries, and all would be well.
I parked my car, hanging the parking pass from my rearview mirror before climbing out. I sauntered across the parking lot, carrying the bags in my hand. He was staring at his phone, obviously texting someone.
“You can’t ignore me forever,” I told him.
“It won’t be that hard,” he said, dropping the phone down. “You don’t talk much.”
I sat down and pushed a bag toward him. “I brought a peace offering.”
He reached into the bag and pulled out one of the burgers. I grabbed one for myself. The waxy paper the burger was wrapped in was covered with grease stains, ketchup, and melted cheese. He took a big bite before wiping his mouth. “Where did you go?” he asked. “I saw you talking to some woman and then you were gone.”
“I told you I was leaving,” I reminded him.
“I didn’t think you were serious.”
I shrugged. “I was.”
“Who was the woman? The way you were looking at her seemed like you were enjoying yourself.”
“How was I looking at her?”
“Like you wanted to eat her.”
I almost choked on the burger. “Bullshit.”
He grinned. “You had that look in your eye.”
“What look is that?”
“The look that says you want something. I’ve seen you get that look in your eye before. That car, your boat, an excellent ship. You want her.”
I ignored his accusations. “What about you? Did you hook up with the lovely lady you were fawning all over?”
He groaned. “I lost her.”
“What do you mean you lost her?”
“We agreed to go back to my place. I told her I was going to grab one for the road. She said she was going to grab her purse. This, mind you, came after a rather hot and heavy fifteen minutes crammed in a bathroom stall in the ladies’ room. I walked outside and saw my Uber. I waited for her. She never came out.”
“You lost her,” I said with understanding.
He sighed. “I lost her. I went home alone with a serious case of blue balls. She was hot. She was wild. And I lost her.”
I had to laugh. “I cannot believe you lost a person. That is a new one.”
“What about you? Did you get her number?”
“Why would you ask that?”
“Because like I said, I saw the way you looked at her. She was also looking at you like you were a scrumptious snack.”
I grabbed a box of fries and snatched one. “I don’t think so.”
“I saw her.”
“I insulted her,” I confessed.
“What do you mean you insulted her? What the hell? You cannot be that bad at flirting.”
I smirked. “Apparently, I am. I was talking shit about the party planner. I mentioned how much of a waste it was. I even insulted the decorations.”
He shrugged. “So?”
“She was the party planner.”
He burst into laughter. “Damn, that’s bad.”
“It was, but it wasn’t really that bad.”
“I know you are a novice at this dating thing, but trust me. That is bad. You insulted the woman.”
“I got her number,” I smiled.
“No, you didn’t?”
I grinned and nodded. “I did.”
“Do not try and convince me you’ve got game. You have no game.”
“I will not even try to convince you, but I did get her number. In fact, we hung out for a while on Sunday.”
“Did you have a sleepover on Saturday?” he asked and waggled his brows.
“No, asshole. I’m not you.”
“Then what happened?”
I quickly told him about her
order to meet her at the park, which he laughed about. “It wasn’t bad.”
“You make it sound like you went for a root canal,” he said with a laugh.
“I have to admit, that’s what I thought it would be like at first. She talks a lot. And she moves a lot. She’s just a lot in general.”
He took another bite. “You are far from high energy.”
“I have energy,” I replied.
“I have never known you to be bubbly. Ever. Not even when you are drunk.”
“I do not claim to be bubbly. She’s bubbly. I just kind of effervesce in her presence.”
He laughed harder. “Stop. You’re going to make me choke.”
“We walked up to a spot on a hill and just sat there. Well, she talked, but we sat.”
“Tell me more about your lady.”
“She is not my lady,” I shot back.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing. We talked a little about her job. We talked about my love of ships. Normal stuff.”
“Wow. I’m impressed. Now that you have her number, you have to make a move.”
I shrugged. “Why?”
“Sometimes, I want to slap the shit out of you,” he mumbled.
“Why?”
He sighed, making a big show of wiping his hands. “Because you have no clue. Zero clue. How long have you been single?”
I thought about it. “I don’t know. Forever.”
He nodded. “How many dates have you been on in let’s say the last three months?”
I shrugged. “A couple.”
He groaned, sounding pained. “I go on a couple of dates a week. You sit at home. You aren’t getting any younger. You need to enjoy your youth. You need to date and have some fun.”
“You always say that.”
“I’m serious. You are in the prime of your life right now. You’ve got beauty, brains, and money.”
I wasn’t sure how to handle that statement. “Thanks. I think. You are not hitting on me, I hope.”
“I don’t want you, thanks. I’m saying, you have plenty of women that are more than happy to date you.”
“They want to date my checkbook.”
“I don’t believe that’s true for all of them,” he insisted.
“Not for Evie,” I said, her name rolling off my tongue.
“Evie,” he repeated her name. “You like her.”
“I don’t dislike her.”
“That’s high praise coming from you.”
I laughed. “She’s not bad. And do you know what the best part is?”
“What?”
“She didn’t know me. She thought I was one of the employees that worked on the ships.”
He raised his brows. “Are you sure? You don’t think it could be a trick to make you think she didn’t know you.”
“No, I don’t think so. I only gave her my full name after we met at the park.”
“Really? That’s weird.”
It was weird. “I guess it just didn’t come up. You know me. I’m not really very good at the people thing. She seemed to get it and didn’t pressure me.”
“Hell, this one is a keeper,” he joked.
“I think I’m going to offer to take her out on the boat,” I said.
He stopped chewing, his eyes going wide. “No shit?”
“Why not?”
“Take her.”
I studied him. “Why?” I asked, knowing he was up to no good. He had a plan.
He grinned. “Because no woman can resist a nice ride on a boat. You can offer her some of your fancy wine. Serve her expensive cheese. She’ll crawl into bed with you so fast, you won’t know what to do.”
“I’ll know what to do,” I growled. “I’m not that out of practice.”
“Then act fast. I saw her. She’s gorgeous. Those curves. Another rich man is going to take advantage of that woman if you don’t get in there.”
“She’s not a prized horse to win at an auction,” I retorted.
“I don’t know what you saw, but I saw a nice prize standing two feet in front of you. If it had been me, she would have been in my bed before the night was over.”
I couldn’t explain why, but hearing him say that pissed me off. It made me jealous. “You won’t fucking look at her.”
He grinned, his eyes sparkling. “Oh, touched a nerve. Look at you. You are already smitten.”
“I am not,” I argued.
“Don’t wait too long,” he warned. “I’m serious. She seemed to be a rare one.”
I slowly nodded. “She is. I will.”
“Good,” he said, wiping his hands on a napkin before tossing it in the bag. “Now, I’ve got to get back to work. Call her. Don’t fuck this up.”
“I will.” I nodded. “I will.”
He got up from the table, grabbing his trash. “I’ll call you later. Thanks for lunch.”
I walked back to my car. For once in my life, I was going to take some advice. I pulled my phone out and quickly found her name in my contact list. This was where things got tricky. Did I call or text? I was really bad at the dating thing. I held the phone in my hand, staring at her name.
I was going to text.
Still want to go out on the boat?
It wasn’t exactly smooth. I wasn’t a smooth talker. It just didn’t come naturally to me. Maybe I was a product of my upbringing. I didn’t know how to be any other way. My father was a drill sergeant—literally. Well, we never dared call him that. He was Navy. He was an RDC and never let any of us forget it. He was a hard man. He didn’t offer colorful words or soften his opinion. When he was pissed, he was pissed and didn’t hide it.
She replied. I would love to. When?
My schedule was wide open. I didn’t want to sound too eager and decided to play it cool. Thursday?
Perfect. Afternoon? Evening?
I would love to show her the sunset, but that would be very late. I decided late afternoon was best. If it turned into a long night out on the boat, so be it. I sure as hell wouldn’t mind. I would love to spend the evening with her.
She agreed to call me on Thursday morning to establish a time. In the meantime, I would secure a couple bottles of the best wine and cheese. I didn’t often flaunt my wealth, but I wanted to show her a good time. If I had the means, I may as well use them to my advantage. God knew I needed all the help I could get.
I wondered if I should text her again tonight. I was so bad at this. I should have gotten more tips from Charlie. No, that would be a mistake. Charlie was kind of a one-track man. I wasn’t interested in fucking a woman just to fuck her. I tended to be a little more careful when it came to things like that. Sex could be just sex, but to me, it was an invitation into my life.
I liked to keep my life locked down. Very few people were allowed into my inner circle. I wasn’t a saint by any means, but a hookup with a woman in a back alley or at her place was not the same as spending time with her, talking with her, and talking about myself.
Taking Evie out on my boat was a big step. Charlie was the only other person in the world that had been on my boat. Not even my brother had stepped foot on it. Granted, he wasn’t in the country, but still. It was sacred ground. I was suddenly having second thoughts about taking such a big step. I wasn’t sure I wanted her in my personal space.
I started the car and headed for my offices. Maybe I did want her in my personal space. I did want to let her in, just a little. It was a trip out on the boat. It wasn’t a fucking wedding. I really needed to get over my knee-jerk response to the very idea of a relationship.
Chapter 10
Evie
I walked into Nelle’s bar just after six with my laptop bag in one hand and my phone in the other. It had been a crazy day. The day was spilling into my evening, which it tended to do. Nelle’s bar was semi-busy with the after-work crowd sitting at tables and complaining about their shitty days. I was going to sit at the bar and complain about my day.
I sat on my usual stool at the
very edge of the bar, farthest away from the action. It was where Nelle took a break when the action was slow. It was the best seat in the house as far as I was concerned. I could see everything and everyone, and yet, no one really paid much attention to the corner.
I ended my phone call to the flower shop that insisted they couldn’t get the tulips my client wanted. I very nicely told them to look harder. I flopped down on the stool, my laptop bag on the bar. I looked around and knew there was no way I was going to get any actual work done. I was fried and really uninterested in hashing out the details of an all-vegan, gluten-free menu. That needed to be done on a fresh brain. I was beat. I slid it under the bar between my legs and the solid wood and waited for Nelle to notice me.
“You can drink coffee or water, but you are not getting another damn drink from me,” Nelle snapped.
There was an older gentleman leaning forward in a drunken stupor as he lifted one finger to waggle it in her face. “Listen, young lady. You might be pretty, but you can’t tell me what to do. Only my wife gets to do that, and she isn’t here.”
“I’m not telling you what to do,” she replied and leaned closer to his face. “I’m telling you what you are not going to do. You’re drunk. You are not getting another drink. Have some coffee.”
“I don’t want coffee,” he replied, sounding a lot like a spoiled kid who refused to eat his dinner. “I want a beer.”
“No.”
“I want one.”
“No,” Nelle said again and poured him a cup of coffee. She put it in front of him and waited.
He looked at it and frowned. “That’s not a beer.”
“No shit?” she said with feigned surprise. “Pretend it is and we’ll both be happy. Be good or I will call your wife. You know what she said last time.”
That seemed to sink in. “You don’t gotta call her,” he slurred.
“Then drink the damn coffee!”
He pouted but did as he was told. Nelle sighed and came toward me. I smiled at her, noticing she barely looked ruffled at all.
“Just another Tuesday, huh?” I asked with a small laugh.
“He lost a big account or something,” she said with a shake of her head. “I felt bad for him but now he’s pissing me off.”
