I still had some fight left in me, and I knew talking to him made my walls crack and crumble. It wasn’t smart to keep that going. If I did, my walls would soon disintegrate into thin air.
He sucked up my resolve, and if and when I decided to finally have sex, I wanted to be in control of the situation. Because the one and only time a man had ever been inside me was completely against my will.
Setting my phone back on the counter, I rested my chin in my hand and flipped through a magazine Lilly had laying around. The door chimed again, and when I looked up, Matthew was smiling back at me.
I sat up straight. My heart rate picked up, sending a rush of nervous energy over me.
He looked amazing in a pair of dark jeans and a gray sweater. His midnight hair was tousled as usual as if he’d run his fingers through it one too many times.
He was unbelievably sexy, but I could never admit that to him. His ego didn’t need to be any larger.
“You don’t give up, do you?” I asked, pretending to be annoyed when really I was happy he’d stopped by.
I could push him away all I wanted to make myself feel better, but the fact was I was glad he was pushing back. I was glad he wasn’t falling for my bullshit when all I wanted was to be close to him.
“Never.” He smirked.
His strut as he walked up to the counter was full of confidence and pent-up sexual magnetism. He wasn’t dumb. He knew what he was doing, and it was working.
“I like how you look at me,” he said, resting his elbows on the counter and peering up at me with a smirk.
“How do I look at you?”
I shouldn’t have asked because I didn’t want to know if he could see through my act.
“You look at me like you want me.”
I snorted. “Please.”
He was right. I did want him, but over my dead body would I admit it that easily.
“You don’t have to beg, baby. If you want me, I’m all yours.”
His grin.
Those freaking dimples.
Those lips.
Everything about him was so addictive.
I knew he was bad for me, but I couldn’t stop myself from trying him once more.
“Why are you here?” I asked, knowing exactly why he was there.
“Well, for one, I have something for you.”
He reached out for my hand, and I let him take it. For someone who claimed not to work, his palm was rough and hot as he slid it against mine. When he pulled it away, there was a fifty-dollar bill in my hand.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“You left the money on the table. You didn’t need to do that.”
“But it wasn’t a date.”
“So? What kind of man lets a woman pay for her dinner? That’s lame. Just take it so I don’t feel like shit.”
I sighed and slipped the money in my pocket.
“Okay. Was that it?” I set my hand on my hip as if he did not affect me.
“No. I also came because I won’t take no for an answer. What time do you get off?”
“I’m here until six.”
“Perfect. Just in time for dinner. I’ll pick you up at six.”
“No, you won’t. You’re not picking me up. This isn’t dating, remember?”
He grinned, his eyes on my lips as if he wasn’t even listening to me. Tapping the counter, he leaned back and started toward the door.
“I’ll be here at six.”
Before I could speak again, he was leaving the store. The bell above the door chiming. He smiled back at me through the glass as he slid his shades over his eyes and slipped into his sleek car.
WHEN SIX O’CLOCK CAME, SO DID MATTHEW ELLIS.
Not sexually, although I was sure he could do that sort of thing on demand.
His headlights lit up the front of Franklin’s, flashing across my face and making me squint. When they turned off, he climbed from his car, looking freshly showered. He was wearing different clothes, prompting me to look down at the outfit I’d been wearing all day. I hadn’t even considered going home and changing.
The door was already locked, so he tapped on the glass. I held up a finger to let him know I’d be a minute before I went through closing and totaling everything up. When I finished, I unlocked the front door and stepped into the cool evening air.
He was right behind me. I could feel the heat from his body against my back as I locked the door again. When I turned around, he was closer than I thought, and his blue eyes blazed down at me.
“Ready to go?” he asked.
The scent of minty toothpaste and mouthwatering cologne reached my nostrils.
I nodded.
We didn’t go far, ending up at a waterfront restaurant I had passed many times but never dared to enter. It was five stars, and my wallet was only worthy of two.
“I can’t go in there,” I said, stopping just outside the door.
“Why not?”
I plucked at the bottom of my shirt. “Look at what I’m wearing.”
“I think you look great. Come on.”
He reached for my hand, but before he could touch me, fear struck me and I yanked my hand away. His touching my hand at Franklin’s earlier had been a fluke, but this time, it caught me so off guard I stiffened. I hadn’t meant to be so obvious about not wanting him to touch me, but it was a natural reaction for me.
“Sorry,” I muttered. “Can we grab some fast food or something? This place really isn’t for me.”
He looked me in the eye before taking in my entire face and the stiffness in my shoulders.
He nodded. “How about we grab something and eat it at Waterfront Park?”
Relief flooded me. “That sounds great.”
Pizza in the park tasted better than steak at the five-star as I relaxed on the swing facing the water. The breeze gliding over off the glassy top cooled me and sent shivers over my arms.
“This is nice,” I said, taking an invigorating breath and closing my eyes.
The past few days had been chaos. A mix of worry for Lilly and making sure everything was taken care of so she wouldn’t have to. I didn’t want her to stress over anything. Not to mention the constant worry over whether I could cover the cost of Twin Oaks for Grammy. It was nice to take a breath and unwind.
He didn’t respond, and when I turned to face him, he was staring at me, his blue eyes touching every square inch of my face.
“What?” I asked, swiping at my face like something was on me.
He shook his head and looked away. “Nothing.”
The moment got quiet, with only a few tourists taking in the pineapple fountain and a couple walking their dog in the grassy area. It was beautiful, but the longer we stayed silent, the more uncomfortable things became.
“So tell me something about yourself,” I said, making the first move this time toward getting to know each other better.
“What do you want to know?”
“Hmm. What’s the deal between you and Devin? What happened?”
He stiffened. He eyes changing from light and happy to dark and shuttered.
“What makes you think something happened?”
I chuckled, not really feeling it. “It’s obvious you guys have issues, but Lilly said you were once friends.”
“We were enemies before we were friends. He didn’t know that, though.”
I was confused. “How could he not know he was your enemy?”
“Devin isn’t from around here, but somehow, he knew a few of the people I went to high school with. He was always a ladies’ man. Me, not so much. I was once a one-woman man.”