by Sarina Bowen
“It will be more realistic if we aren’t constantly tipping off the rags. Let word get back to them through other channels.” Damn, what was his problem? She wasn’t really dating him and he certainly wasn’t interested in her. A spotlight would give them nonsense to talk about. Nonsense was easy. Nonsense wasn’t distracting.
Nonsense never led to anything, and after watching his godfather self-destruct when the woman he loved dropped him like a bad habit Chase had vowed to keep everything—except his work—at the nonsense level. He wouldn’t allow so-called love to ruin his life. So they should definitely keep this business and go where they’d be seen.
But his mouth didn’t get the message his mind was sending. Again.
“Come on, you know you’d like a break from the spotlight, too.”
Nina took in his words, as if examining each one individually. “It’s been one day. I’m good.”
“We could do the getting-to-know-you over a nice bottle of wine, no danger of being overheard.” He tapped a hot button she’d mentioned the night before, certain it would send her over the edge. “Maybe make a plan for the gala.”
Chase could see the wheels turning in her head and he knew when her hands relaxed their grip on her keys she would say yes. Why it was so important to him that she said yes to a quiet date was a fact he didn’t care to examine too closely.
“Okay. We can get to know one another. Favorite things, dos and don’ts—”
As long as they were her favorite things and dos and don’ts, but Chase didn’t mention that. He cut her off before she could really get going. “That’s all fine but all you have to do is act star-struck once we invite the press around. All I have to do is pretend you’re actually my type.” Where did that come from? He offered her a bottle of water but Nina shook her head. Chase twisted the cap and drank, soothing the burn in his throat at the “actually my type” bit. Nina was exactly his type: she was a woman.
His buddies all had a type. Well, except Nate, but then Nate had been halfway in love with Chase’s sister Lily since they were kids in school. So he supposed even Nate had a type. But Chase didn’t. He’d dated—and loved—the gamut: tall, short, rail-thin and curvy. Nina fit nicely into that overly broad category.
So why was it, when he could shut off his attraction with every other woman out there, he could not get Nina’s bow of a mouth—or, dammit, her earlobes—out of his head for more than a minute at a time? This was why he needed a woman like Jillian in his life. Someone easy, smart enough to talk to but not integral to his life. He’d known Nina for barely a day and already she was becoming integral. One more reason to stop this train at the next station.
“Okay, well, thanks for that little confidence booster.”
He waved a hand. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. You’re…um…pretty.”
She squinted her eyes and the movement made Chase’s stomach somersault. What was that about?
“That’s about all the compliments I can take for one day.” She turned toward the door. “We’ll just play it by ear, then.” She reached the door and Chase panicked.
“I like gum.”
That stopped Nina in her tracks. Chase immediately wished the words back into his mouth. What the ever-loving-crap was that about? But, apparently, he couldn’t stop.
“All flavors, but watermelon bubble gum is my favorite. I chew it all the time.” He just resisted the urge to pull the gum from his mouth to prove his point. “It’s, ah, been mentioned a few times.”
Nina held her hands, palms out, before him and raised one eyebrow. “I’m sorry, are you comparing me to watermelon bubble gum?”
“I—no. It might be believable if you had some. Because I chew it.” What, was he a bubble gum savant now? “Most of the women I date know that and have it on hand.”
“You want me to buy you bubble gum. Think the paps that might accidentally find us tonight will call me on it if I don’t have gum?”
There was nothing left to do but shrug. Chase wasn’t sure at what point he’d so completely lost control of the situation that he reverted to being twelve. He had to stop digging the hole he was currently in.
“Tonight. Or at the gala. You know, like those older couples where the woman always has the right kind of mint.”
“Right. Because on every second date in history the woman has known what flavor of mint or gum her date has preferred. Has nothing to do with the fact that those older couples have spent more than ten minutes in a room together and actually know one another’s likes and dislikes, right?”
Chase opened his mouth. Closed it. His skin felt tight. He wanted to know more of her personal history; the brief online search he’d performed at three o’clock this morning had been sadly lacking. And the fact that he wanted to get to know Nina freaked him out. Normally the present was enough but with Nina he felt the need to know more and knowing more could only lead to trouble. “You want to get the tabloids talking about something other than the scandal, I want them to stop reporting that I’m suicidal. This isn’t rocket science.”
“No, it’s my livelihood. If I can’t set myself up with a keeper guy, what woman in her right mind is going to hire me to find her keeper guy?”
“A woman who sits behind a desk all day and doesn’t have time to go on hundreds of first dates?”
She nodded, an incredulous look on her beautiful face. Her brows drew together. “Well, this has possibly been the least productive meeting I’ve ever had, Mr. MacIntyre, but I’ll certainly scurry off to the convenience store to grab a pack of gum so that you get your daily fix of sugar and fake fruit flavor. If you’d like to return the favor, don’t buy me gum. It’s a nasty habit that is very bad for your teeth. I do, however, like actual watermelon. Or chocolate-covered strawberries.”
A few seconds later Chase heard the quiet snick of his front door closing. She didn’t even end an argument right. Where was the slamming door that always emphasized his annoyance at the inconvenience of a disagreement? He picked up the phone on the counter and hit redial.
“Could you add a dozen chocolate-dipped strawberries to my order?”
* * *
“He sent you flowers?” Cassidy leaned her shoulder against Nina’s office door.
She could only nod at the wildflower bouquet. And the strawberries. She held up the box. “And chocolate strawberries. Godiva chocolate.” She could already taste the smooth decadence inside the box. Could practically feel the drip of strawberry juice on her chin.
Was this his way of apologizing for…well, being the typical self-centered, California male she’d already nailed him as?
“How did he know to send you wildflowers and strawberries?”
The strawberries were a given, but Nina didn’t want to go into that just now. Cassidy didn’t need to know that she had tracked down Chase MacIntyre’s unlisted address on the internet at two o’clock this morning because she couldn’t sleep. Or that there was a still-empty questionnaire folded inside her bag. Or that she’d caved and agreed to a date with no press in sight because she’d been about to jump his sweaty bones in the middle of his kitchen.
She glanced at her watch. He was supposed to pick her up in less than two hours.
How had he known that wildflowers were her favorite?
Her pulse sped up a notch. Not in annoyance that he’d checked her out, but in anticipation. Because a man who paid attention to the details was her Kryptonite.
He’s only trying to quell the rumors. Just like you are. Don’t get excited.
Cassidy’s voice brought her back to the present.
“What?”
Her business partner rolled her eyes. “Don’t you need to get out of here and get beautiful for Date Number Two?”
Nina waved her hand. “It’s nothing over the top. Just a quiet dinner somewhere.”
“Please, you two are trying to pull one over on the most ferocious pack of paparazzi in history. You need armor because they will find you.”
“I’m fine.” Nina sho
ok her head. She wasn’t worried; men like Chase knew how to be seen and how to disappear. She had a feeling tonight was about disappearing and that was fine with her. Last night had been extreme from the heart-pounding pap-walk to the wine she’d consumed to calm her nerves afterward. She opened the box of strawberries, offering one to Cassidy. “This dress is casual but nice, the shoes prop me up to about five-eight and I’ll pull the pins out of my hair before I leave the office. No big deal.”
Cassidy sank down in the chair, holding her hand under her chin and sighing in delight. “Oh. My. God. I thought you were kidding about the Godiva.” She took another bite. “I’m ruined for run-of-the-mill chocolate strawberries for life. When this is all over, I need a raise just to cover the cost of twelve of these every month.” She finished off the strawberry and reached for another.
Nina couldn’t resist one more and closed her eyes as dark chocolate melted over her tongue, sweetened by the ripe strawberry. She closed her eyes and tasted again. Damn Chase all the way to a Weight Watchers meeting in Antarctica.
“The man definitely deserves better than average dress, hair and shoes, Nina.”
She finished off the strawberry and took another from the box. At this rate she would need a new dress in a new size by dinner.
“You’re absolutely right,” she heard herself saying around another bite of chocolate and fruit.
“I know just the thing.”
Less than ninety minutes later Nina sat in her front window, watching the street below carefully. A few cars passed by and a mother with a stroller jogged back into the building across the street.
She felt silly. Waiting for Chase like this was a real date.
Dressing up like it was real. At least she hadn’t let Cassidy convince her to buy new clothes and shoes. Still, this was the first time she had pulled the black, strappy Michael Kors sandals from her closet. And she’d had to cut the price tag off the lacy Alice + Olivia dress.
He was late.
She checked the time again. Ten minutes after seven.
The nerves were because she didn’t know what to expect. It had to be that. She nibbled another strawberry and winced as it clashed against the peppermint of her toothpaste. She put the strawberry back in the box and the box in the fridge.
If he didn’t show, her business would be fine. Randy, her reality show ex, had courted the press and she’d gone along with it. She had weathered the breakup storm when he chose her father’s business over her. She could get through this new storm the same way and her business would bounce back. People paid too much attention to their smartphones these days and too little attention to the men and women around them. They needed help to find happily ever after. Help she could provide.
Really, it was much better that he stood her up.
Her heart skipped a beat as a tall form with short black hair and just the right amount of five o’clock shadow straightened from a classic Corvette. Chalk one up to the Things In Common Column—they both liked Vettes.
Worn jeans hugged his hips. The jacket over his shoulders gave him a reckless air. Her mouth went dry as he started across the street. She began hyperventilating as the buzzer in her apartment rang after he pushed the button at the outer door.
Chase MacIntyre was picking her up. For a second fake date or a first real date, she had no idea which.
Nina wiped her clammy palms on a kitchen towel and steadied her breathing.
She was in so much trouble.
Chapter Four
Chase handed Nina into the car and shut the door. He was around it in a heartbeat, pushing the gearshift into first and heading for a quiet restaurant by the beach. Just dinner, he reminded himself, with a business associate.
Only the black dress she wore was slightly too short for business. Once she sat in the car, the hem slid up her leg another inch, revealing creamy thighs. His gaze traveled down, down until they hit on the thin ankle strap of her shoe and his mouth went dry.
Okay, a business dinner with a beautiful woman he’d like to… Not the time to go there. A business dinner. Nina ran her small hands over the leather dash, fiddling with the old FM tuner and temperature gauges. Chase bit back a smile.
“She’s original.”
“How did I know your car was a girl?”
“Maybe the cherry-red color?”
She chuckled. “Maybe because under that practiced casual-but-flirty exterior, you’re just a guy. She’s a beauty.”
Yes, she is, Chase thought. But he wasn’t referring to the car. He shrugged. “Casual but flirty, huh?”
Her shrug mimicked his and she kept her gaze trained on the dash. “It’s my job to study people. Not just to take their questionnaire answers into account, but how they react to the questions. And the interviewers. You didn’t answer any questions and that was a kind of answer anyway. What’s her name?”
“Veronica. I was heavily into Archie comics when my dad had her restored.”
“Sixteenth birthday?”
“Actually I was fourteen at the time. His production company was on summer hiatus and he thought restoring an old car would be a bonding moment.”
Nina cocked her head to the side, a motion that seemed as much a part of her as the long black hair flowing past her shoulders, and watched him for a long moment. “And was it?”
Chase focused on shifting gears as he pulled off the surface street and onto the 101. “Not really. It only took a day for my dad to realize his hands were made for a typewriter and not a lug wrench. So we hauled her to a shop out in the Valley and he took the family to Honduras for a few weeks. When we got home Veronica was cherried out. She’s an L88, only twenty were ever made.” He negotiated a tight curve and then turned into the restaurant’s drive. “I bought her after the band’s first album went platinum. He said I could have her if I’d just go back to school and finish my degree. I offered him a hundred grand. He took it.”
The restaurant, an hour north of L.A., was perched on a cliff side, with lush greenery surrounding it on three sides and the ocean as a backdrop. It was one of Chase’s favorite places to go and until now, it was one of the few places he refused to take a date. Silly to bring Nina here, especially since they were trying to make headlines and no longer avoid them. But he couldn’t bring himself to make another reservation at a popular place, not even after that ridiculous conversation about gum and mints.
He wanted to get to know more about this enigmatic woman who grew up with a Beverly Hills silver spoon—just like him—but who before now had managed to keep her life so off the radar most people didn’t know she existed.
Nina exited the car and walked over the path to the railing at the edge, awe in her expression. The light breeze twisted her hair into loose curls, blowing a few strands across her face. She watched the sky, entranced as the sun began its descent into the ocean below.
In the back of his mind, he’d been waiting for this exact moment. Waiting to see how Nina would react to the glory of sky, surf and the wildness of the California coast.
She was as exquisite as the landscape surrounding them. Expression rapt, she lifted her face to the breeze, as if it was a lover’s caress.
Chase waited with his hands fisted in his pockets so that he couldn’t reach out and touch her upturned face.
This little attraction he was feeling shouldn’t be so important. He knew where feelings like this led and it wasn’t pretty. Getting his life back under control, that was the end game here, so why couldn’t he stick with the plan?
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” He wasn’t one hundred percent positive, but Chase thought he was still talking about the view.
She turned to him, her back to the railing but still hanging on with her hands. “I don’t think I ever knew this place existed.”
“They like to keep it quiet. Feed the locals, not the celebrities or tourists.”
“Sounds like my parents’ motto. I suppose we fit into that ‘local’ description. Although you’ve made your share of magazi
ne covers.”
“And you’ve hit a few newspaper pages.”
Her face fell and Chase cursed himself. He hadn’t meant that the way it sounded. As if he was accusing her of mismanaging Wright Attraction. Quite the opposite; he thought she’d handled the scandal well to this point.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
She waved off the apology. Chase wanted to explain but Nina’s expression begged him to let it drop. So he turned toward the front door. They walked side by side, not touching but still Chase could feel the tension radiating from her. Nervous energy pulsed between them. He stole a glance and saw her gaze darting around the parking lot as if expecting a rush from some unseen photographer.
“I made the reservation in my mother’s name. No one knows we’re here.” He took her hand in his, hoping the touch would calm her. Instead, it kicked his nerves into overdrive. He could feel her pulse pounding through her fingertips. Could hear her rasped breathing. She raised her big brown eyes to his and he changed course.
Chase pulled Nina off the path and into the shadows at the corner of the building. He pressed her against the smooth concrete wall and buried his hands in her hair. It felt as soft and smooth as it had been in his daydreams.
Her gaze locked with his, attraction filling those big brown orbs. She swallowed and Chase thought he could hear the muscles work throughout the movement. Her mouth opened just a fraction and her pink tongue slipped out. It drove Chase over the edge.
He pressed his mouth over hers, tasting her sweetness for the first time. There was a hint of strawberry on her tongue, along with the bitter taste of dark chocolate. Knowing she had tried the strawberries he sent fueled the fire inside him but he waited. This couldn’t be just about what he wanted. Nerves were one thing, but he thought he saw desire in her actions as well. If not…he’d jump over the cliff and into the surf to put out the fire if he had to.
But he didn’t. Nina reached up, putting her arms around his neck to tickle along his hairline. She turned her face just slightly but it was enough to deepen the kiss. To invite him farther in. Chase cradled her jaw in his hands as he explored her mouth.
