He took off his suit jacket and draped it across a side chair before he took his seat directly to her left. As she sat there, her back went rigidly straight, her long legs crossed and her hands were linked together in her lap. There were times that he watched her fidget, but he supposed those were moments of nervous energy. Then there were these times. That handhold thing was something she did a lot. He considered the reason as a grill menu was handed to her, then another to him. He placed his aside and just continued to watch her poised face as she read over the menu.
“Hello, Mr. Prescott. Your usual?” his regular waiter asked. He nodded, his eyes still fixed on Lara.
“And for you, ma’am?”
“What’s your usual?” she looked over at Reed. There was another new expression he hadn’t seen before. Excitement came through in her voice.
“I get the double salmon on a bed of greens. Seasonal grilled vegetables. It has little kick in the seasoning,” he said.
“Mmm, that sounds good. I’ll have that too,” she said, handing over her menu to the waiter.
“It’s a lot of food,” Reed explained, no way her slight frame took in that much food.
“Even better.” The excitement was doubled and contagious. He smiled at her grin.
“And what to drink?” the waiter asked.
“What are you having?” Again she looked over to Reed.
“I’m having a Blue Ribbon.”
“That’s beer right?” she asked and wrinkled her nose when he nodded. “Okay, not that. Yuck. And here for a second, I thought you had good taste. I’ll have a glass of whatever flavored iced tea you have.” Her bright smile turned to the waiter who was completely unaffected. Reed knew the guy well, and he’d be better suited for Kade.
“That’s raspberry, and is that all?” he asked, jotting notes on his pad.
“Yes.” Reed handed over his menu and Lara placed her napkin in her lap.
“Lara, is that you?” a masculine voice said not seconds after the waiter retreated. Reed eyed the guy close as he came toward the table—he was all eyes for Lara. Whoever he was, he was short, with premature balding, young, and never looked Reed’s way. “Wow, you look incredible.”
“Hey, Joey.” Reed watched as her smile lit up. This moment helped him understand the differences in her grins. The one she gave now must be genuine and did magical things to her face. Jealousy snaked through his heart and the tension he regularly carried settled back into his shoulders. Reed narrowed his brow and trained his gaze on this guy. He had interest written all over him.
Fuck that.
“You look incredible,” Joey repeated as his gaze swept up and down her body. Reed’s brow lowered even farther. The guy was a pervert, leering at her like that in the middle of a restaurant.
“It’s just the clothes. Meet Reed. He’s responsible for this makeover. I’m trying to hook him up with Kade,” Lara said, extending a hand toward Reed. For the first time, this Joey guy looked his way. He eyed him up and down and started to turn away. “Reed, this is Joey. We dated some when I first moved to Dallas.”
Reed stuck out a hand and shook Joey’s hand, just to draw his attention back.
“Good to meet you,” Reed said, but there was nothing friendly in their exchange.
“Yeah. You have a birthday coming up,” Joey said to Lara, ignoring Reed altogether.
“I can’t believe you remember that.” Lara seemed flattered, and he tucked that birthday remark away to ask about later.
“Facebook,” he confessed, grinning now. “Why don’t we get together this weekend and celebrate.”
“Oh, okay. Call me. We’ll see.” Her eyes brightened again. She was giving out all the signs she was interested. She oozed that sensual thing women did, something she’d never done with him. That made no sense; Lara was a ten while this guy might make a two on a good day. Joey needed to move the fuck on.
“Is that Kade?” Reed asked, pointing toward the most crowded part of the restaurant. Lara looked back over her shoulder then turned fully toward the group where he pointed.
“I don’t see him.” Reed’s eyes were only on Joey. He lifted a hand, giving a silent snap to draw the guy’s attention back at him. When Joey caught the motion, Reed gave him his hardest look and mouthed a very clear “Back the fuck off.” Joey’s eyes widened. Good. He got his meaning. “I don’t think it’s him. He was sleeping right before we left. I can’t imagine him being here.”
“I guess I had it wrong.” Reed kept his eyes focused on Joey. He did the move along nod toward the guy.
“I’ll see you, Lara,” Joey said, startled and antsy.
“Oh, okay. Call me about this weekend,” she said.
“Yeah sure,” Joey tossed over his shoulder. Lara’s eyes followed as he walked away. The guy never looked back. Did she really want that guy? Certainly not. He was clearly a tool.
“Still seeing him?” Reed asked when her flawless face turned back to him.
“No, he likes his women sexy,” she said, raising her eyebrows for effect.
“And you aren’t?” Her answer surprised him.
“No, not at all. He’s a good catch. He’s in medical school.” Like that said anything. He watched her for a moment and nodded, trying to understand. After a second more of silence between them and him not getting any closer to following her line of thinking, he had to ask.
“And what does that mean?”
“Oh, Reed! For women like me, he’s a catch. For guys like you, he’s probably not at all.” She said his name like a deep sensual caress to his soul, and he had to concentrate on the rest of her sentence in order to retain her meaning. Now all he wanted was for her to continue to say his name over and over.
“No, I wouldn’t see him as a catch for anyone,” he finally replied.
“That’s because you look like you.” She was tossing compliments his way left and right now. She was comfortable talking honestly with him, because in her mind, he was safe. He leaned across the table, holding her gaze and spoke clearly and concisely. She needed to understand his words.
“You’re beautiful, Lara. One of the most engaging women I’ve ever met.”
“But I’m not at all. It’s because of you that I look like this today. It was your expense and Margaret’s insistence that had that buyer showing me some makeup techniques and the benefit of a flat-iron. I never would have picked these dresses for myself.”
“Best money I’ve ever spent.” He leaned back as the waiter placed a beer in front of him and a tea in front of her.
“I need to pay you back and I will. Margaret likes to spend your money,” she said cheekily, taking a drink of her tea.
“That she does!” He barked out a laugh at the simple way she put the truth. “And you’re not paying me back. I almost ran you over.”
“I fell in front of you when I shouldn’t have even tried to cross the street. That was absolutely not your fault.”
“That’s debatable. Especially in a court of law.” Reed took a long draw from his beer.
“You thought I was going to sue you?” Her indignant outrage had him choking on his drink. He rolled his eyes and laughed harder as she broke from that poised exterior and wadded up her napkin, tossing it at him.
“It wouldn’t be the first time,” he said, catching the napkin and handing it back to her.
“So you make a habit of running over women?” she asked, one eyebrow cocked, turning the tables on him.
“See? This is how it always plays out. Now, I ran over you…”
“You just said you almost ran over me,” she pointed out as their plates were placed in front of them. The waiter startled at Lara’s words, toppling the food a bit. Lara reached up quickly to steady her plate.
“You shouldn’t be running over people, Mr. Prescott. It’s bad form.” The guy winked at Lara who laughed a solid, earthy sounding chuckle. Reed looked around to see every eye in the place focused on their table. “Can I get you anything else?”
&n
bsp; They were all smiling now. Reed looked over at Lara and his gaze connected with hers. Those amber eyes were like jewels, sparkling and radiant with her humor. She was truly lovely and had no idea of her value. He needed to correct that in the very near future. If he was truly responsible for the look she now wore, he’d done well, but he didn’t think he could take credit. He never answered the waiter, actually forgot the guy was there and kept his eyes pinned to Lara who didn’t seem to be experiencing this same magical moment with him.
“I think we’re good.” She turned and smiled. He didn’t like losing her attention, even if it was to thank the waiter. She then concentrated on the food and that was a show to watch all on its own. She took time to situate and arrange everything on her plate just right. She drizzled the dressing on the bed of lettuce and cut the vegetables into bite-size pieces. She took care with the salmon, flaking a few pieces off, laying them on top of the greens. After what felt like several minutes, Lara finally lifted the first perfectly made bite to her lips and placed it in her mouth. She caught him still watching her. He hadn’t even started to eat his food yet. The look of sheer ecstasy on her face made his mouth water.
His dick was solidly hard again.
“I like food,” she said, shrugging one shoulder as she opened her mouth wide and used her tongue to guide the bite inside. He gave a silent moan.
“I can see that,” he finally said after clearing his throat. He added his own dressing and speared a bite. “I’m not sure I’ve seen anyone treat their food so carefully before.”
“I don’t miss too many meals,” she said, again taking care to make the next bite perfect.
“You look like you eat like a bird.”
“That’s from my mom’s side of the family. Fast metabolisms or something like that.” It was remarkable watching her eat. She didn’t shovel the food in, but never stopped eating as they continued talking.
“So when’s your birthday?” he asked after a minute.
“Tomorrow.” He made a mental note to remember the date.
“And you’ll be?”
“My age? I’ll be twenty-seven.” She took another bite and chewed it down before reaching for her napkin. “How old are you?”
“How old do I look?” he asked and placed the fork on his plate, sitting up a little straighter for her inspection. She played along, eyeing him very close.
“I’d guess, thirty-five, maybe older.”
“What! I look thirty-five?”
“No, you act older. I’d say you look about thirty,” she said carefully.
“I’m thirty. I’ve done a lot over the last ten years,” he grumbled a little, picking his fork back up. He certainly didn’t like being considered older than his years.
“Family money?” she asked from out of nowhere and hadn’t started eating again.
“What?” He paused mid-bite. His rule was to never talk about himself, but now that she’d thought him older than his years and someone who might have made it through life riding on his family’s coattails, that stung a little.
“You have family money. You dress so well. You have a driver. You clearly have money,” she explained. He never really liked his reputation of being a straight-up asshole, but now that was viably better than this woman thinking he’d been given what he’d actually earned.
“No, not at all. No family money—self-made.” He speared a carrot with a little too much force, and jammed it into his mouth.
“What do you do for the parent company?” She finally asked the million dollar question. His eyes flew to hers as she casually took a small bite of her food. Curiosity was clear, and man, did he want to set her straight. He chewed and swallowed, taking a drink from the glass of ice water that came with the meal.
“Anything they need,” he finally answered. “I think of myself as a filter.” He dodged at the last minute. She was good, he’d give her that. She casually laid out her thoughts of him being a trust-fund baby and almost had him opening up about his life before he was ready. She should have considered a career in the legal field with how effectively she’d almost been at getting him to give up information.
“Hmm…” Lara stared at him, appearing to consider his reply. He took another bite, watching her closely.
“What does hmmm mean?” He wiped the linen napkin across mouth.
“Nothing.” Several minutes passed in silence. He didn’t push for anything more, mainly because he didn’t want to talk about himself any further.
“So what’re you doing for your birthday?” he found himself asking to end the uncomfortable quiet that had settled between them. She was too smart. She’d know a dodge when she heard one.
He pushed his plate aside and drank from his beer. The waiter appeared out of nowhere, clearing his dishes off the table and leaving the sales ticket behind. Lara wasn’t finished, but reached for the ticket much like she had yesterday. He snagged it from her hands.
“You paid yesterday. It’s only right I pay now,” she said defensively, reaching for her purse.
“Okay, I see we need to make this clearer. You’re never paying for our meals together. Not ever. So please, stop trying,” he said, fishing his wallet out of his back pocket. “Now, answer my question, what’re your plans for your birthday? Tomorrow specifically.”
“I don’t really have any. Kade’s working the second shift so he won’t be home until after eleven and I have to get up for work the next day. We planned to do something later in the week, but haven’t decided. Do you wanna go with us? It would be a great way to re-meet Kade,” she offered. There was excitement in her eyes, and she did that biting of her lip thing again. Her hands were still on her purse on top of the table, with her wallet still in her palms. He could see she was trying to decide if she should fight him on paying for the meal. He pulled his American Express and handed it to the waiter as he took her dishes from the table. Reaching out, he took her wallet and placed it back inside her purse.
“At least let me get the tip,” she suggested.
“You don’t listen very well.” Reed took her purse from her and placed it on the other side of the table. “I was thinking. It’s not great fun, but I have a foundation reception tomorrow night. It’s work related. It’s dinner, an award ceremony, and dancing. You should come,” he offered.
“That sounds exciting. I could meet more people I work with. I’d love to. When and where?” she asked, the money and purse seemingly forgotten.
“Come with me. Be my date for the night,” he clarified. Whatever was on her lips to say stopped as his words seemed to surprise her.
“Oh, okay. I could do that. What’s the dress?” she finally answered. This time her hands linked together on top of the table and he watched her tighten her hold. Nervous gesture—was it the date or the clothing that caused her renewed anxiety?
“It’s black tie, formal attire. Do you have anything to wear?” Her face turned blank, almost too passive, and her fingers tightened more. He furrowed his brow at the grip she gave and wondered if she might snap the digits under the fierce hold. He decided that answered his question. “I’ll have something appropriate sent to you.”
“You can’t buy me any more clothes. I’ll figure something out. It’s going to take me forever to pay you back for what Margaret insisted I take,” she said, perhaps relaxing some or diverting from the topic. When the waiter returned with the check, he pocketed the credit card and jotted down a quick number for the tip before he scribbled his name across the bottom. “So what does formal mean? Like to the floor or just nice?”
“I already told you, you’re not paying for the clothes from yesterday morning or anything you have to wear when you’re someplace with me. Look at it this way, it’s cheaper than court.” He pushed back in his chair and rose, tossing his napkin on the table. Since she was to the right of him, he was able to reach out and help her from her seat as she started to rise. He handed the purse to her and put his hand to her lips when she started to respond. “Consider the d
ress a birthday present. Besides, you’ll need things like that for your job. The company should be giving you a clothing allowance.”
“I’ll pay you back for the dress,” she said, undeterred, as she stopped in front of the table to make her declaration. Reed looked down at her as she held her ground. She must not have liked something she saw on his face because her tone grew harder. “Period. And you didn’t seem to notice, but I wasn’t in the same office you showed me yesterday. I moved over to the administration side. I have an assistant now.” She chose now to ask him about the changes? He reached for his suit jacket and stuck out a hand, encouraging her to walk.
“The whole place is staring,” he said quietly, amused at her indignation as she started piecing everything together. She looked around the restaurant quickly and mumbled a whispered apology in his direction before heading to the front door.
“Remember, I’m the filter. Your job’s important to the company. You needed a more private space. I just pointed that out to Cooper,” he said quietly, walking closely behind her.
“So you are responsible for my move? I thought so.” She all but stopped again in the middle of the restaurant. He stepped into her, placing his hand on her back, giving a slight push to get her moving again. This wasn’t the time or place for this conversation.
“I wouldn’t say I was responsible. I didn’t make the change,” he countered once they made it to the front door. He shoved it open from behind her as she went to open the door on her own. Man, she made it difficult to do those gentlemanly things other women liked so much. She always took care of everything for herself.
“Then what would you say?” she asked, stopping outside again, just to the right of the main doors. Reed scanned the parking lot and lifted a hand to his driver who immediately pulled forward to them.
“I’d say you’re valuable to the company, they need you to be effective in your role, and I opened a few people’s eyes to that fact.” Lara nodded, more of a confirmation that she’d been right in her assumption, and didn’t say another word on the topic. He wasn’t entirely sure how she’d taken his confession. She fished out her sunglasses from her purse and slid them in place.
Chasing Happy (Texas Desires #1) Page 9
