Her eyes narrowed, amusement twinkling. “That’s the second time you’ve said something weird about vacation-Sienna. First she’s your favorite, now I’mwearing it well.”
“I meant both.”
She rolled her eyes at me, and for a second, all I could picture was the way they’d roll back in her head with her mouth parted?—
“Let me guess,” she said, turning to face me a little bit more, her voice swiping through my thoughts like a knife.
But I caught the way her eyes darted to my hands, just quickly, just a glance.
She continued. “You work too much, don’t date seriously, and use words like‘a distraction’and‘inconvenient’when women ask what we are to you.”
I snorted as I lifted my glass to my lips. “Not bad.”
“I’ve met your type.”
“I doubt that.”
She arched a single brow at me. “Older? Check. Rich? Check. Annoyingly composed? Check. Walks into a room like gravity bends for him, keeps things neat and tight and exactly under control until someone like me steps in and messes everything up? Check and check.”
I let my grin stay as I lowered my glass. “That’s a flattering take on yourself.”
She shrugged. “You haven’t denied any of it.”
“No. I haven’t.”
She leaned in just a little, just afraction.
It was enough to catch the scent of her perfume—light, floral, sweet, with a hint of something sharp underneath.
“Why are youreallyflying commercial?” she asked.
I dragged my finger along the rim of my glass.
Her eyes flicked to my hand again.
“What do you mean?”
“You probably have more money than most people ever dream of having. Am I wrong?”
“No, you’re not.”
She smirked. “Then why not take a private jet?”
Shit. “It’s cheaper. I don’t mind it,” I lied coolly. “Economy’s tanking, saving where I can.”
She let out a low laugh. “That’s either bullshit or both of us are pretending to be rich.”
“Youare pretending.” I leaned onto the counter and let my fist take the weight of my chin. “I am not.”
“And yet here we are,” she said, swirling the ice in her glass like it was a wine needing to be aerated. “Same seats. Same drinks. Same flight. Me in a sundress I bought at TJ Maxx on clearance, and you in… Christ, what is that, Tom Ford?”
“Custom,” I said simply.
She rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue like she was gagging.God.“Of course it is.”
There was something about her that refused to be intimidated, even when she knew exactly how far out of her depth she was.
It wasn’t desperation.
