by Linda Verji
Looking as confident as could be, he smiled. “Hi.”
That smile! Vina could’ve sworn that her pulse stopped in its track. That smile was that kind of smile that made hearts beat faster. Crooked, naughty and sexy to match his good looks.
Snap out of it. She mentally shook her head before leveling a haughty look at him. “That seat is occupied.”
“No, it’s not.” He slouched back in his seat as his smile deepened. “We both know he’s not coming back.”
Vina could’ve denied the assertion but what was the point. Mr. Mannerless had watched her whole performance so he’d probably figured out her whole game. Narrowing her eyes, she said, “If this is about your car-”
“First things first – shouldn’t we introduce each other?” He stretched his hand out. “Hi Alvina Song, I’m Orion. Orion Lee.”
What kind of a name was Orion? Vina stared at the outstretched hand then back at him. “How do you know my name?”
“I’m a good listener,” he answered, unblinkingly.
Vina couldn’t help herself. A reluctant laugh escaped her lips. “Is that what they’re calling eavesdroppers these days? Good listeners?”
“Maybe.” His grin widening, he repeated,
Her reluctant amusement was enough to make his grin widen. He repeated, “Hi Vina, I’m Orion.”
“No thanks.” She slapped the back of his outstretched hand. “Go away.”
“No.” His hand fell and he sat back in his seat. “We haven’t talked about my car.”
“I told you I’m not paying for the damage.” She gave him an unsmiling look. “It’s not my fault that you braked too fast.”
“We both know it was your fault.” Orion folded his arms over his chest. “And I bet CCTV at the mall will back me up.”
Vina froze and her breath caught in her throat. Oh damn! She hadn’t even thought about surveillance. Her eyes locked on Orion’s, and in the dark depths of his she saw amusement. He knew he had her. Still, she didn’t want him to know that he’d rattled her.
Feigning annoyance, she huffed, “You know what? Whatever! It’s just a little bumper damage anyway and I’m not petty enough to make it a big deal.” She opened up her purse and took out a pen and her check-book. “I’ll be the bigger person here.”
“Will you?” Orion’s eyes danced with mirth making it clear that he wasn’t fooled by her act.
Her pen poised over the now open check-book, she asked, “How much?”
“How much what?”
As if he didn’t know! Irritation throbbing in her voice, Vina asked, “How much for the repairs? And don’t try to stiff me; I’ve fixed a few bumpers in my life.”
He arched his eyebrows. “Oh, so this isn’t the first time you’re doing this?”
God! This man was sooo annoying. Vina had to pull in a deep calming breath before once more asking, “How much?”
“I don’t want your money.” His gaze turned suddenly serious. “Have a drink with me and we’ll call it even.”
Vina blinked. She must have heard him wrong. “Huh?”
“Have a drink with me and we’ll call it even,” he repeated. Even though he was still slouched on his seat, there was something tense about his body and his eyes; like a leopard pretending to be relaxing while covertly tracking its prey. It sent unease trickling down Vina’s spine.
Her eyes narrowed, she watched him. “Why?”
“Why not?” Orion shrugged. “I’ve already repaired the damage.”
“I could reimburse you.”
“Or you could take the cheaper route and buy me a drink at the hotel bar for just a couple of dollars,” he countered.
It was a good offer – too good to be true. Vina inclined her head as she watched him with suspicion. What was his game? He didn’t seem like the charitable sort. Was this some kind of trick? Maybe a delay tactic while he waited for the cops to come and arrest her? Or was he planning to spike her drink?
She must’ve stared at him for too long because Orion gave her an annoyed look. “Are you seriously having a hard time deciding between having a drink with me or paying for repairs to my car?”
Yes, she thought but didn’t say it aloud. After another pause, she said, “Fine, I’ll have that drink with you. Just give me time to change. I can’t go out looking like this.”
“Sure.” He shrugged. “I’ll wait for you here.”
Vina could feel his gaze burning a hole into her back as she started towards the exit. It was only once she was out of the hallway that she finally took a relieved breath. That was close. Thank God she’d managed to get out of there without letting him in on her real plan.
Have a drink with him? Hah! She was not that daft. Chuckling, she made her way to the restroom to change. It took less than fifteen minutes for her to scrub off the garish makeup and change back into her normal clothes. By the time, she was done she looked like a new woman. Smiling at her reflection in the mirror, she twirled to get a better view of herself. Pretty. It was too bad that her dates would never get to see this side of her.
You know what? Maybe a drink wasn’t such a bad idea after all. Now that she’d ditched her date and Orion, what was stopping her from popping into that nice bar downtown? Who knew? Perhaps she’d meet a nice no-commitment man there, drink with him, maybe dance and eventually go where the night took her. If her family called, she could always say she was spending the night at April’s or at her other friend, Snow’s place. Mm. She grinned. Sounded like a plan.
She grabbed her clutch-bag and the shopping bag that held her costume and started towards the door. Half-afraid that she might find Orion waiting for her in the hallway, she peeked outside first. When she didn’t see him, she opened the door completely. Grinning, she strolled down the hallway and to the foyer. Orion wasn’t there either. Hah! She wished she was a fly in the restaurant so that she could see his expression when he realized she wasn’t coming back. With a cheerful wave to the concierge, she exited the hotel.
But her happiness was premature.
As soon as she got to the parking lot, she saw him. He was leaning back against his truck, arms crossed over his muscular chest, one long leg crossed over the other like he was waiting for someone – for her. Her heart seized as did the rest of her and her footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
Orion smiled. “Going somewhere?”
CHAPTER 4
Vina’s shock was as amusing as it was predictable. Orion barely managed to hold back laughter as he watched her stare at him in wide-eyed surprise, like she’d just been caught with her hand in the cookie-jar.
Straightening from the car, he teased, “You didn’t think it would be that easy to run did you?”
“I wasn’t trying to run,” she retorted, recovering faster than expected.
His eyebrows shot up. “Really? Then what are you doing out here?”
“Checking what time the cabs stop running,” she countered smoothly and without even a blink. “I didn’t bring my car so I have to make sure I have a way to get home.”
Orion had to admire the woman’s pluck. If he hadn’t witnessed her flexing her deception muscles so many times on and off the phone, he would’ve fallen for it. But he wasn’t her grandmother, so he countered, “You could’ve asked the concierge.”
“I could have, but I prefer to do things myself.” In a move that only an expert could pull, she flipped the script on him. “What about you? What are you doing out here?”
“Waiting for you.” A smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
“More like stalking me.” She flipped her hair as she eyed him threateningly. “That’s a crime, you know. I have half a mind to call the police on you.”
This time Orion couldn’t hold back his grin. “Oh, you’re good.”
“Good at what?” Though she was trying to keep her expression serious, the small twitch at the corner of her mouth betrayed her. It let him know that she knew exactly what he was talking about.
Still grinning, he p
ulled his phone from his pocket and held it out to her. “Here. Call them.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “What?”
“Call them,” he dared. “Then we can tell them all about how you rammed into my car then ran.”
Vina stared at him, then at the phone, then back at him. Her lips thinned and her eyes narrowed, as if she was evaluating the possibility of him ratting her out to the police. Finally, her shoulders slumped and her eyes softened as if she’d made her decision. He expected immediate surrender. Instead all he got was another question.
“East or West?” she asked.
He frowned. “What?”
“East or West,” she repeated. “Choose a side.”
Though he had no idea what the cardinal points of the compass had to do with having a drink together, he gamely chose, “West.”
She eyed him for a long moment then sighed. “All right then. Let’s go have that drink.”
She spun on her heels as if to head back into the hotel, but Orion quickly moved to intercept her. With long strides, he came up behind her then closed his fingers around her upper arm. “Since we’re already out of the hotel, why don’t we get out of here?”
Vina lowered her gaze from his face down to his hand that was still gripping her arm. Her silent message was clear. Get your hands off me.
He quickly dropped his hand, then to ease the subtle tension that had seeped in, offered, “I know a better place.”
She studied him with suspicion. “Where?”
“Not far from here.” He moved towards the passenger door of his car and, with flourish, opened it for her. “Get in.”
He could see the protest dance on her lips and expected her to voice it. However, after another long stare, she shrugged and got into the car. Minutes later they were on their way towards their destination. Uncomfortable was not an accurate enough word to describe the mood in the car. The silent tension between them was so thick, not even the sharpest of knives could’ve cut through it. Vina kept her eyes glued to the view outside her window while she clung to her purse, as if afraid that he was going to snatch it.
Yet, despite this tension, Orion still couldn’t shake his attraction to her. He couldn’t help snatching glances and admiring her. He took in the creamy, perfection of her skin and wondered how it would feel against his fingers or better, against his mouth. His gaze lingered on her rose-petal pink lips, caught how she kept worrying the bottom one with her small teeth, and he wondered how it would feel to tease that lush lip with his tongue. He really needed to get to know this woman better.
Breaking the silence in the car, he said, “I’m sorry.”
“Hmm?” Vina turned her head to face him.
“Sorry,” he repeated.
Her brow knotted in a confused frown. “For what?”
“For a lot of things.” He kept his eyes on the road as he listed, “For misjudging you. For listening to your conversation-”
“Eavesdropping on my conversations,” she corrected even though she was staring at him like he’d suddenly grown two heads.
“For eavesdropping on your conversations,” he agreed gamely. “It was rude of me.”
Judging by the way she studied him with her head cocked at an angle, it was obvious that his apology had taken her by surprise and that she was trying to decide if it was genuine. After a long pause, she said, “Well, as long as you know what you did wrong then… apology accepted.”
“What?” He snatched a glance at her. Given their previous interaction, he’d expected her to berate him further, refuse his apology, maybe even make him grovel a little more.
“Apology accepted,” she repeated.
Fighting to hide his surprise at her quick capitulation, Orion cleared his throat then asked, “Aren’t you going to apologize too?”
“For what?”
He turned to give her a knowing but silent look.
She huffed in annoyance. “Fine, I’m sorry.”
“For what?” He mimicked her earlier question.
“For-for – for - you know-” Her eyes sparkling with unrestrained irritation, she turned slightly in her seat to face him. “You’re the one who started it. If you hadn’t eavesdropped on my phone call or come at me so hard after I hit your car-”
“Ah, so now you accept that you hit me?” he prodded, his eyebrows raised in question.
Vina opened her mouth then closed it before glaring at him.
Amusement in his tone, he teased, “You may continue your apology.”
“Forget it.” She kissed her teeth. “You’re so annoying.”
He smiled, “And you’re very pretty when you’re annoyed.”
Though she glowered at him, he caught the slight tilt of her lips that said she wasn’t quite as angry at him as she was pretending. Grinning, Orion turned his attention back to the road. Thirty minutes later they were seated at his favorite bar, Cassidy’s, making their orders.
“Don’t order something too expensive,” Vina warned as she glared at him from across the table. “I know how much repairing a bumper costs.”
“The magnitude of your generosity astounds me.” Shaking his head, he offered, “Don’t worry, I’ll pay for our drinks.”
“What? No. It’s supposed to be on me.” With a roll of her eyes, she sighed. “Okay… okay… just order what you want.”
Orion chuckled. Vina never ceased to surprise him. Whenever he thought she was about to turn right, she turned left and when he waited for her to turn left, she decided to go straight ahead. Speaking of directions… he waited until the server was gone to ask, “What was that East – West thing about?”
“What East-West thing…-oh, that.” Her eyes lit up in recall. She explained, “West was I go for drinks with you. East was I pay upfront for the damages and we never see each other again.”
Her response left Orion speechless. So basically, what she was telling him that a choice he’d made so thoughtlessly had been the difference between him seeing her again or her disappearing completely from his life? If this wasn’t fate then he didn’t know what was.
“Was it a really bad hit?” Vina cut into his thoughts. There was genuine concern in her eyes, as she offered, “If it was very expensive to repair the car, I don’t mind paying for it.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He waved away her offer. “It’s already taken care of.”
He set his arms on the table and leaned forward slightly so he could have a better look at her. Now, that he was so close, he could see the gold flecks in her brown eyes that flashed every time her eyes widened or flared. How could he possibly have thought of this woman as average? Not outstanding? He must’ve been blind.
He was obviously staring too hard because Vina swiped her palm over her cheek. “Is there something on my face?”
“Why?”
“You’re staring.”
“Sorry.” He gave her a sheepish look.
Never one to let anything go, Vina asked, “Why were you staring?”
Fortunately, the server chose that moment to bring their drinks, saving Orion from having to explain himself.
Once the server was gone, Vina turned her attention back to Orion. Squinting as she studied him, she said, “You know, you look very familiar. Have we met before?”
“Yes.” Orion laughed. “At the mall.”
“No. Before that.” She inclined her head as she watched him. “I feel like we’ve met before.”
“We could have.” He shrugged. “I’ve lived in Santa Barbara for quite some time so-”
The ring of his phone cut into his words.
“Sorry,” he apologized before plucking it from his pocket. He cursed under his breath when he saw the name on the screen. Damn! In his pursuit of Vina, he’d completely forgotten that he was supposed to meet another woman. He sucked in a tired breath then answered the phone. “Hello?”
“Orion. Where are you?” Robin cheerfully asked. “I just got to the hotel.”
“I’m sorry,” he
apologized, aware of how unabashedly Vina was eavesdropping on his conversation. To Robin, he explained, “I already left the hotel.”
“What?” Robin’s voice rang with irritation. “Are you kidding me? How could you just leave when you knew we were supposed to meet?”
Resisting the urge to remind her that she’d known they were supposed to meet too yet still had the gall to be – he looked at his watch – one and a half hours late, he said, “I’m sorry. Something came up.”
“If something came up then you should’ve told me. Do you know how long it took me….” With each word she spoke, Robin’s voice kept rising until she was practically screeching.
Wincing, Orion held the phone slightly away from his ear. Vina on the other hand seemed to be thoroughly enjoying his predicament. Grinning widely as she watched him, she twirled the umbrella inside her tropical cocktail.
After several more earnest apologies and a promise to organize another meeting, Orion ended the conversation with Robin.
Vina immediately confronted him. “You stood up your date?” Giving him a faux-coy look, she pointed to herself. “For me?”
“Don’t flatter yourself.” He took in a healthy gulp of his drink. “I just didn’t want to meet up with her.”
“Then you should’ve told her not to come.”
“You’re one to talk.” Orion guffawed.
Vina narrowed her eyes. “What does that mean?”
“You were doing the exact same thing with your little costume gig.”
She shot him a deadpan look. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Liar,” he taunted. When all she did was wrinkle her nose at his accusation, he explained, “I was set up on the date too. Like you. I was going to go through with it but-” He grinned. “- luckily you distracted me.”
“Luckily, huh?” Vina smiled, her first official smile since they’d crossed paths today and it almost turned his heart inside out. Lust, sudden and shockingly intense, shot through him to center at his groin. The more primitive part of him wondered what she’d do if her kissed her, right now, right here. What would she do if he slanted his mouth over hers and tasted that sensual smile? Probably slap him.
