“Not just any woman,” he corrected. Heat flared in his eyes. “You, Emma. I only imagine doing that to you.”
A tight knot formed in her throat and she had to swallow hard to knock it down. Crap, when he said stuff like that, it only confused her all the more. She knew for a fact he wasn’t seeing anyone else—not just because he was over at her place every night, but because she’d grilled Suz about it over lunch the other day. The other woman had staunchly insisted that as big of a hound dog as he was, Dean only slept with one woman at a time, and Emma had taken serious comfort from that information.
Still, knowing all that potent sexual energy was focused solely on her was a tad unnerving. She was only in town for two more months, and then she’d be heading back to New York and Dean would stay here. They were supposed to be having a fling, just some uncomplicated sex before she went back to her very complicated life, and she was worried he might be getting too attached.
She was worried she might be getting too attached.
“This doesn’t look like the usual Fire and Ice stuff, though,” he remarked, his expression going serious as he studied the sketches. “Is Lorenzo letting you design a special line or something?”
Her chest stiffened. Letting her? If Dean only knew—
But no, Dean didn’t know. And he couldn’t know. Nobody could know that the entire foundation of Fire and Ice was based on a lie.
She forced her tone to stay vague and said, “We’re talking about experimenting with some new lines for the label.”
“Cool.” He straightened with a smile. “So how does it work, anyway? Does he design all the clothes, or do you both do it? I assumed you were his assistant, but every time I’m over here you’re sketching.”
The knot of discomfort in her belly wound tighter. “I wear a lot of hats in the company,” she said, as elusively as before. Then she pasted on a smile before he could press for details. “So, what, you didn’t bring any lunch today?”
Dean shook his head. “I was hoping we could go out. I have a business errand to run, but I didn’t want to miss seeing you, so I figured you could come along and then we’ll grab something to eat. What do you say?”
Her gaze drifted to the pile of sketches, which were pretty much useless since they didn’t fit the company’s current brand. Useless drawings meant she had to start all over again, and in the past she’d found when she hit a dead end, the best thing to do was regroup and clear her head before diving in for take two.
“That sounds good,” she admitted. “I need a break.”
A few minutes later, he helped her into his SUV. “We need to get the job done first, and then I’ll take you anywhere you want for lunch.”
“Anywhere? Don’t tempt me—what if I ask for liver and onions?”
Dean made a face, somehow still looking amazingly sexy even as he made his opinion clear regarding her lunch suggestion. “Please don’t tell me you still eat that crap? I thought that was an affliction of small towns that would have been washed away while traveling the world.”
“What? You don’t think the menu at our mom-and-pop diner back home can compare with Paris? Where’s your sense of loyalty?”
“I traded it in for a new set of taste buds.”
She laughed, and as Dean found the shortest route into the downtown core, Emma played with the radio, deliberately putting on a country station to poke at him.
He gave her the evil eye. “I was hoping for some fun, but I can see how it’s going to be. You’re feeling nasty.”
It surprised her how much energy she had to burn all of a sudden. “Tell me what we’re going to do,” she suggested. “That’ll distract me from coming up with ways to drive you crazy.”
Dean pulled into a parking space outside a small tapas bar, tilting his head toward the place. “One of our customers is planning a big event for his lady friend, but he doesn’t want us doing any recon without her being one hundred percent in the know about it.”
Emma considered for a moment as he made his way around the vehicle and opened her door. “Do you often have to spy on the ladies?”
“Public places only, sweetheart. There’s nothing illegal or immoral about what we do. Besides, you’d be surprised how many times filling in that questionnaire helps trigger ideas. Making observations in the field are just another way to help fill in the blanks. And when we brainstorm with the guys so they end up enjoying the activities as well, we hope that maybe they get it together and do a better job all on their own the next time.”
“Sounds as if you’re trying to put yourself out of a job.”
Dean chuckled, gesturing to a couple standing in the middle of the sidewalk not even twenty feet from them who were shouting at the top of their lungs at each other. “Sadly we have lots of other potential customers.”