After I laughed, helooked less adorable. It was more like the businessman’s equivalent of amurderer.
“Molly.”
He said my name andI shivered. I blamed the weather, the leather seats, and the full moon. “I’mafraid of you,” I told him. “Justnot tonight because of, you know, the champagne.” He opened his mouth and Iquickly added, “And getting me drunk every time I have to work with you is notan option. This isn’t normal for me. I’m usually very responsible.”
“Two Advil, twoTylenol.”
“What?”
He tapped hisfingers on the steering wheel. “And an Alka-Seltzer a half hour after you wakeup.” His gaze found mine.“For your hangover tomorrow.”
I pressed my lipstogether to keep from smiling. Tomorrow I would be thankful for his homeremedy, but tonight I couldn’t help but analyze him. “You’re always so…” Istruggled with the right word to describe him. Thoughtful was the easy choice,but he wasn’t really thoughtful. That implied he was being generous with theinformation for the other person’s benefit. And Ezra was definitely not lookingout for me for the sake of me. No, it was something more like… “Practical.”
Avoiding my eyesagain, he looked forward and if it was any other man I would have sworn hischeeks flushed. “I’ll email you the details of what I’m looking for. You candecide for yourself what you think about the project.”
“You’re crazy.”
His smile was short-livedand filled with self-confidence. “I’m used to getting what I want.”
I felt my sigh allthe way down to my toes. “Now that I believe.”
His phone buzzed inthe cup holder as if accentuating his point at three in the morning. Whichmeant it was time for me to end our temporary truce and go to bed.
“That’s my cue toleave,” I mumbled more to myself than Ezra.
“That’s not whatyou think—”
“You don’t have toexplain it to me,” I said quickly.
But apparently hefelt like he did. “It’s my sister.”
I talked over him,knowing it didn’t matter who it was because it wasn’t my business. “I’ll seeyou around, Ezra.”
I hurried from thecar, partly because it was a chilly night and partly because I couldn’t wait toget away from him. He had been nice. I could admit that.
But I also had toacknowledge that I wasn’t myself around him. Under normal circumstances, I waspolite and kind. I listened attentively and responded considerately. I was allthe adverbs that were nice, and reserved, and mature.
Something aboutEzra made me lose my cool. I became a snarky, nagging shrew with bite. Thefilter over my mouth and mind dissolved completely and I was left with only rawtruth and rough edges. And I had no problem telling the man no. Which was crazyfor me, since I was a ride or die people pleaser.
Deciding to forgetabout Ezra completely and only remember the non-Ezra parts of the evening, Imade my way up to my apartment, totally ignoring the Alfa Romeo that waited todrive away until I was safely inside my building. I started stripping as soonas I’d dead bolted my door. Purse on the kitchen counter. Shoes trailing behindme. Dress off. Bra off. Hair up.
I grabbed anoversized t-shirt, then headed to the bathroom to brush my teeth and deal with theexcessive process of taking off my party makeup. Why, oh, why was waterproofeyeliner such a vindictivebiotch?
I settled for goodenough and headed for my bedroom.
That’s when thingswent off track.
I stared at my bedfor a long time. I had made it this morning so it was nice and inviting with thecovers turned down at one corner. My phone was on the brink of dying, so Ineeded to charge it. And then I needed to go to sleep. I was still buzzed and Ihad things to do tomorrow, and a million other reasons I had to go to bed thatI couldn’t exactly remember off the top of my head.
So that’s what Idid.
Just kidding. Iturned on the hallway light and headed to my studio where I spent the nextthree hours trying my best to make domineering shoulders and a jawline thatcould cut glass. I obsessed over eyes that were nothing but endless mystery.And a mouth that could be so inviting and open, and then cruel and closed offin the span of three seconds.
The moon went tobed before I did. And when I finally released myself from my painting prison, Iwas no closer to getting the lines, angles, and colors right than I had been aweek ago.
When I went to bedit was out of pure frustration and defiance. And when I closed my eyes it washis that taunted me from my dreams. His eyes stared at me, daring me to tryharder, be better, to give up this fight with my lust, and give in to my tiny,insignificant crush on him.
Chapter Nine
