He raised the dishrag as if to press it against my breast. I swallowed, urging myself to protest such brazenness despite my body’s urge to move against him.
“Red wine,” he noted.
Merlot, I almost said.Like you wanted. LikeIwanted.
Boisterous laughter came from the next room. I half-leaped back as Lucy’s boyfriend—nowfiancé—waltzed into the kitchen with a leftover smile on his face.
“Liv! Where’ve you been?” Andrew asked, rounding the island. As he spotted the man, Andrew laughed, shaking his head. “Aha. David. Of course,” he said, popping a few mini cupcakes into a red cocktail napkin. “I should’ve known you’d be the one keeping her from the party. Always one with the ladies.”
David, I thought. A common name—nothing out of the ordinary. But now, I repeated it to myself behind sealed lips, as though I’d never heard that name in my life.
“Actually, she spilled wine. I was just getting her a towel,” David said, pushing up the sleeves of his black V-neck sweater. He watched me from under his eyelashes. “We haven’t had the pleasure of meeting yet. But I’ll certainly take an introduction.”
His face gaveeverythingaway, even though he casually rolled the cuffs of the white button down under his sweater. I glared at him, willing him to turn down the intensity in his gaze.
Andrew paused with a cupcake halfway to his mouth. “Oh, yeah. Sure,” he said, looking at it longingly, as if we were keeping him from his dessert. “Sorry about that. Lots of crossover between work and personal life.” He nodded between us. “Liv, this is David. He’s the lead architect on our new office building in the Loop.”
For some reason, I dropped my eyes to David’s enormous hands. I could too easily picture them drafting blueprints, then bringing them to life.
Nice to meet you, I thought, but I stayed silent. Why? I was acting as if I’d done something wrong. I attempted to mimic David’s relaxed stance, loosening my shoulders and releasing my death grip on the counter.
“Anyway,” Andrew said, thumbing over his shoulder, “I’m hoping if I hang around this guy enough, some of his charm will rub off. The ladies in my office can’t get enough of him.” Andrew glanced around the kitchen before turning back to David. “Where’s your date?”
“I . . .” David crossed his arms, showing off brawny forearms that only confirmed my theory he was thehands-onkind of architect. “I didn’t bring one.”
Andrew pulled back. “No date?” He finally took a bite of cupcake, chewing. “That’s a first for you.”
David released a short laugh as he scratched his brow. “Not true.”
“Don’t be modest. You couldn’t pay me to be single again,” Andrew said, “but I’d love to spend a day in your shoes, women throwing themselves at me left and right.”
“I don’t . . .” David’s expression closed. He looked at me. “That’s not my life.”
I shot my tongue into my cheek as I returned his stare. He was downplaying what was surely true. No doubt women tripped over themselves to get to him. Someone that confident—who could relax on command, who wasthatsmoldering—he knew what he was doing. How foolish of me to think he’d picked me out of a crowd. That draw between us? It was just the effect he had on women. The question was howmanywomen?
And did he think I was one of them?
I wasn’t. Not even if I were single. I couldn’t believe I’d almost fallen for his act. Flavorful? Complex? He wasdesperateto know me? I couldn’t really blame myself, though. Apparently, the man had plenty of willing subjects on which to practice.
I stepped back, distancing myself. “Well, looks like I’m all cleaned up. I’d better go find Lucy.”
“Sorry Bill couldn’t make it,” Andrew said. “I should’ve had you put him on speakerphone for the announcement.”
The air in the room thinned. “Bill?” David asked.
Here was my chance to make it clear that David could take hisdesperationelsewhere. I wasmarried. I swallowed, my instincts warring between pushing him away for good and spending just a few more innocent moments with him.
David’s gaze slowly traveled the length of my left arm until it came to rest on my hand. I only had a second to try to comprehend the way his face fell before he asked, “Who’s Bill?”
“Olivia’s husband,” Andrew said. “Great guy. You’ll meet him eventually.”
That was it. This was over, not that anything had even begun. I continued backing away as David watched. “David, was it?” I said. “Nice to meet you. Enjoy the party.”
I turned and strode into the next room, finding Lucy within a few steps.
“Hey,” she said, touching my arm as she noticed my expression. “Are you all right?”
My voice came out unnaturally high. “Fine,” I quipped. “Totally fine.”
