by Lindsey Hart
“See? You want to do it! Do it then! Just go out and let yourself have a good time! It’s not like you have any other prospects. I know you don’t believe in dating online and you’ll never go out and find someone. This is the best case scenario. Besides, don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy that kiss.”
“That’s what said,” Callie said grumpily. “He kept getting me to try and deny it and I couldn’t because- well, I guess I did. But who wouldn’t? It’s Matt Hilbert! He’s the sexiest man in Denver.”
“Is he?” Chantara’s lips twitched in amusement.
“Don’t laugh at me. I swear if you laugh-”
“What? You’ll throw pizza at me?” Chantara giggled. “The whole thing is funny. That kiss. Maybe it was meant to be. Just roll with it for once in your damn life. Stop being so uptight. Stop being a huge martyr. You guys are both adults. One date isn’t going to kill you. You can end it at that, and he’ll probably leave you alone if you want him to. As it is now, you’re only going to have him after you harder.”
“That sounds disgusting.”
“I didn’t mean it like that. What I meant is, you told him no when it was pretty clear you didn’t honestly mean it. He’s going to keep asking you until you say yes. Most guys like a chase.”
“I wasn’t trying to be a tease.”
“I know that, and he probably knows it, but he also probably likes a challenge. Guys like him don’t get where they are by giving up early.”
“Guys like him have been handed the entire world,” Callie huffed. “We aren’t on level playing field. He’s my boss and he has money. So does his family. Probably. I don’t really know, but it makes me feel weird. Like I’m somehow below him.”
“Matt would never make you feel like that. Only you are making you feel like that. You’re your own worst enemy, Cal. Just go out there and give it a chance. Going out with him once isn’t going to bring the world to an end. No one has to know about it at work and I’m sure he will respect you enough to cut it off after if you don’t enjoy it. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy that’s pushy or rude or who would take advantage of someone.”
“Oh really? This from someone who doesn’t even know him?”
“I’ve worked at the same place for two years with Matt. I get the impression he’s a nice guy. Really.”
“Oh, do you?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Funny you say that now. You were perfectly happy to make fun of him before.”
“That was before I knew he wanted to take you out. As far as I’m concerned, anyone half normal who wants to take you on a date is in my good books. Please, please, please say yes.”
“Let me guess. If I don’t, I’m not only not going to hear the end of it from him, I’m also not going to hear the end of it from you.”
Chantara grinned. She picked up another piece of burned pizza and ate it like she hadn’t eaten in a week. “Yeah, that’s pretty much right,” she said around a full mouth.
Callie let out a frustrated sigh and stomped out of the kitchen. She left her pizza sitting on the table. She had no appetite anyway. She only agreed to have some because Chantara said she was starved and couldn’t eat the whole thing.
The worst part about it all, she thought as she slammed her bedroom door and locked it behind her, was that she didn’t want to curl up in bed with the book on her nightstand. She didn’t want to get lost in a world of someone else’s romance and happy endings. She didn’t want to take a bath or light a damn candle or go shopping or watch a movie. She didn’t want to be by herself.
What she wanted was that date with Matt Hilbert.
She just didn’t want to let her guard down. She didn’t want to let anyone in. She was scared and she wasn’t afraid to admit it to herself. It wasn’t just Ben who had done a number on her. Her entire life had taught her that it wasn’t okay to trust people. Trust was always misplaced, and she only ended up hurt in the end.
One date though… would it really kill her? A year and a half was a very long time. Would it be alright, like Chantara said, for just one night, to have a little bit of fun? Even if it wasn’t appropriate, her best friend really was right. She didn’t have a lot of other options.
CHAPTER 8
Matt
Matt couldn’t have been more shocked if an actual hurricane blew through his office. It was just after eight on Monday morning. Callie opened the door and as casually as if she was telling him the copier was jammed again or that she’d booked him a flight for his upcoming business trip, she stated that she’d go out with him exactly once.
Those were the words she used. Exactly one time.
Matt struggled to get a hold of himself. It wasn’t easy to keep his face composed when she’d just dropped a massive bombshell on him.
“Uh- right. Okay. One time. I get it.”
She glared at him like the date was something she was being forced on. “Chantara said that because I said no, you’d only pursue me harder.”
“That’s not exactly true.” His insides tightened.
“Well, I think she’s right. She said other stuff too, but the thing is, you can take me out once. Just one time.”
“I got that.”
“It’s not a euphemism for more times.”
“I understand.”
“And no one can know about it.”
“Right.” His throat was so dry he doubted he could force anything down, but somehow, he choked back a sip of coffee. He nearly choked on the bitter liquid as he swallowed it the wrong way of course.
“And nothing funny goes on.”
Matt nearly spat out his attempt to wash down the first swig of coffee. “Uh- yeah. Right. Of course.”
“I’ll tell you straight up that I don’t get out enough. I can’t remember the last time I did something truly fun or enjoyable. I’m using that as an excuse to justify this. So, if you could come up with something that will be a good time, I would appreciate it.” Callie rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath. When she saw he didn’t catch it, she composed herself and spoke louder. “Although, at this point, just dinner at a one-star restaurant would probably qualify.”
“Right.” Matt swallowed hard. Certainly, it was the most unconventional yes he’d ever heard. It was grudging, like she thought that by saying yes, she was weakening herself somehow. “Can I pick you up at least?”
“Uh- no. No, I’d prefer not. I’ll meet you here. In the parking lot. Friday night at seven. I checked your calendar. I already know it’s free.”
He nodded slowly. God, could he make a promise that ‘nothing funny’ as she termed it, would go down? Normally, yes. Normally he’d have no problem controlling himself. But then again, he didn’t normally have a memory of a searing kiss. He wasn’t normally burning up from the inside out, day after day, sitting at his desk, staring at his damn sexy secretary through a glass office. Well, yes, he normally was, but after that kiss, everything was different. After he noticed her, he couldn’t unnoticed her. There was something about the way she said that she’d checked his calendar already too- god. It was hot. Real hot. As in, he was glad he was behind the desk again because his cock refused to obey commands and not rise to the occasion hot. What the fuck is wrong with me?
So much for not doing this anymore. Although, it was one night. A night out for Callie, because she admitted her life was boring. Whatever reason she’d swept in here and said yes, he wasn’t giving her a reason to change her mind. He’d behave, but he’d also make sure that she had a great time. If she changed her mind and wanted to go out with him again, that was fine. It would be more than fine. If not, he’d man up and live with it. Hopefully.
“Yeah- sure.” He realized she was waiting for a response and snapped the hell out of his head. “That’s fine. I’ll come up with something. Something you’ll enjoy.”
“Alright.” Callie nodded curtly and fled out the door. She didn’t go to her desk, but continued on past it, down the hall.
Mat
t leaned back in his chair. He raised his arms above his head and worked the kinks out of his shoulders and spine. He normally hit the gym at lunch and his upcoming session would do more than just loosen up muscles that were sore and knotted from sitting too long. He’d be able to work out the frustration of having to wait until Friday to take out his secretary.
God, it sounded so bad when he put it like that but was it really? There were surely worse things on earth than taking out a smart, attractive, capable woman who worked with him. He didn’t see their positions in the company or the fact that he had more money as an obstacle, though he could understand why she would. He would never use it to hurt her or lord it over her and the fact that someone else might nearly choked him with anger.
Something she’ll enjoy. He’d set the bar high because he had to. She’d said once, but his aim was to give her a night she wouldn’t soon forget, one that she enjoyed so much there was a second and maybe another time after that. He’d said he was done with dating and all of it, but hell… Callie wasn’t like other women. He could tell already she wasn’t going to use him for his cash or chew him up and spit him out. She wouldn’t string him along or stomp all over his heart. Would she? He didn’t think so, but there were a million ways to play someone. Just because she seemed innocent and straight up, didn’t mean she was.
He gave himself a little shake. He wasn’t going to hold it against her that other people hadn’t treated him fairly. That wasn’t right. He’d take her out and they’d see.
He just hoped that in the next four days he didn’t combust at his desk and that he could come up with something that topped her rather low expectations of the stated one-star restaurant. Surely, he could do better than that. He had to. She wouldn’t give him another chance otherwise.
CHAPTER 9
Callie
Wear warm clothes. Those were the only instructions she had for the date she already regretted agreeing to. She’d pretty much regretted it from the moment she walked out of Matt’s office on Monday morning. Surprisingly, it didn’t make things awkward between them, but then again, she hardly ever saw Matt. She booked his trips, went through emails and calls and scheduled meetings, but as for direct contact. It was pretty minimal. It still didn’t make her feel better about the date.
Standing in the company’s parking lot beside her car, just because she felt she couldn’t breathe in there, Callie realized that she was only nervous because she actually cared. It was unthinkable, that one kiss should cause so much trouble.
It was before the kiss. She didn’t like the overly honest thought, but it was true. She’d noticed Matt was attractive far before she kissed him. Maybe there was something in her subconscious that night that pushed her into it. To find and kiss him… no, that was just silly.
After a few minutes, Callie checked her phone. She was way too early, as usual. It was still ten to seven and she’d been there forever. She just couldn’t sit around the apartment any longer. Chantara was there and she wasn’t going to give her a moment of peace. She was way too nervous and instead of pacing a hole in the carpet of her room, Callie decided to get out and just go for a drive. In the car, there was nowhere she could go where she could escape her nerves, so the drive turned into just driving to work and she’d been far too early.
Her insides felt like they were tied in a hundred painful knots. She hadn’t eaten anything all day and she was both starving and so anxious she felt like she could actually throw up. Inside her mitts, her palms were soaked with sweat. Her warm clothes were in the backseat of the car. Her snow pants were the ones she’d had since high school. Her jacket wasn’t very pretty either, but it was warm and functional. She’d left them off, since she didn’t want to overheat, but also because she wasn’t sure how warm warm clothes were. She currently had on the knee-length jacket she wore to work every day. It was much nicer, red and black plaid and not ugly at all.
A pair of headlights swept down the street and drew closer. She recognized Matt’s shiny black sedan from a distance. It was one of those imports and even though it was a four-door, it managed to look sporty. Somehow it made its way down the snow, icy streets, which meant it either had good tires, or it was one of those all-wheel drive cars that she heard people talking about. Probably both. Matt had money after all.
Matt pulled up and unrolled the window. “I hope you brought warmer clothes than that.”
“I did,” Callie said defensively.
She tried to ignore how good Matt looked in a black wool jacket. It was pulled up around the angle of his freshly shaved jaw. His ice-blue eyes glistened. His lips, lips which damn well haunted her, turned up in a huge grin. It’s sinful to be that handsome. He probably always gets what he wants because his face looks like it’s carved out of stone. That only made her think about the rest of him and what else was rock hard, like shoulders and chests and abs and- hell no. Do not go there.
“Are you going to ride with me or follow?”
“Follow.”
“I figured.” He didn’t elaborate and never lost that charming smile that turned her insides into a hot mess.
“Where are we going?”
He winked at her. “Wait and see. Do you think you can keep up?”
“It’s a surprise then,” she stated dryly. She left no doubt as to what she thought about that.
“Yup.” He rolled up the tinted window so that she could barely see the flash of his teeth. He waited for her to get in her car before he rolled out of the parking lot.
Callie had a feeling that Matt didn’t normally drive that slow or that carefully. He probably did it just so she could keep up. Not because he was being nice. She wouldn’t give him that. He probably thought her old early nineties sedan couldn’t keep up. She’d show him. The tiny little car always started. It might be rough looking, but it was reliable. It had never left her stranded and even after heavy snow, she’d never been stuck.
Matt finally pulled up in an empty parking lot. It felt like they’d been driving forever. There was nothing around them. Callie was slightly worried about driving so far out of the way, but she had to trust Matt. She worked with him after all. He wasn’t going to drive her into the middle of nowhere and do something awful to her. That was just her nerves making her extremely and overly paranoid.
When she climbed out of the car and saw the huge hill looming in the distance, her eyes flew around the parking lot. She spotted a sign a few seconds later.
“Sledding?” She turned to Matt, who was just getting out of his car.
He nodded. He seemed far too proud of himself. “I rented the place for the night. It’s just you and me and the people who run the place.”
Callie nearly snorted. “See! That’s something a rich person would say.” She did her best impression of his deep, husky, far too self-assured, far too sexy, voice. “I rented the place out for the night.”
“You said you wanted it to be memorable. I doubted standing in line and waiting all night was going to be that.”
“Sledding?” she asked again. “You mean like, with actual sleds? Toboggans and tubes and stuff?”
“That’s what I mean. There’s a huge lift so that we don’t have to walk up the hill after. More rides that way.”
“I haven’t done anything like this since I was a kid,” Callie admitted grudgingly.
She stared up at the monstrous hill. The idea was a strange one, but it did sound fun. If she was busy sledding down the hill, she wouldn’t have to be sitting there staring at Matt like she thought the date was going to be. She thought he’d take her to a five-star restaurant and throw cash around to try and impress her. Boy, was I wrong.
“I guess I’ll get my stuff on and we can go.”
“Great me too.”
She went back to her car and dressed awkwardly, hopping on one foot to get her feet into her boots. Of course, her outdoors clothes weren’t nearly as nice as Matt’s. He had an all black suit on that looked like it was meant for skiing or snowboarding or somet
hing. Of course, his toque, mitts, and boots all matched.
“Okay,” she said with forced cheerfulness. “I’m ready to relive my childhood.”
It turned out, that after a few minutes’ ride to the top, sledding down the hill was a lot of fun. She let Matt go first, on a huge black tube, and she followed on one of her own. She went on her stomach and was shocked at how much speed she picked up going down the hill. She laughed and screamed and watched the world rush by. She came to a standstill at the bottom, near Matt, who was waiting for her.
“How was that?” He raised a brow and even though he was smiling at her sarcastically like he could tell she really was having the time of her life, she laughed.
“It was fun,” she admitted. “Really fun.”
“I guess we can just leave these here and go back up and take something else. The staff brings the equipment back up.”
“Okay.”
She had to sit beside Matt on the lift, but even that wasn’t bad. He remained quiet, content to just watch the lights of the city twinkling below them as they rose higher and higher up the hill.
“Is this place just for sledding?” Callie asked, near the top of the hill.
“Nope. On the other side, there are a few ski runs and courses for snowboarding and stuff.”
“Do you come here a lot? I’ve never been skiing or snowboarding before.”
“Really? We’ll have to come again then.” Matt’s eyes twinkled. His breath fogged out in the air above him and he looked so damn charming and boyish in that moment, Callie was almost tricked into saying yes. Almost.
“No way,” she laughed to cover up her discomfort. “This was a onetime thing. No tricking me into any more dates.”
“I was hoping you’d agree to come if we had friends join us.”
