If I didn’t stop, it would happen all over again.When my world righted itself, shame rolled through me. “I’m sorry. I don’t usually…I don’t know what happened. I’m not a tease, I swear. I never get so carried away, so quickly. I can’t believe it.”
Nate passed his hands over his hair, smoothing the waves I’d messed up. “It’s not your fault. Don’t apologize.” His grin softened the tired lines of his face, rendering him almost boyish. “It’s been a while for me.” He studied me, his gaze warming as it lingered, and my body responded with an answering tug of lust low in my belly.
“For me too.” And that scared me. I knew I needed to leave, because if he tried to touch me again, I’d do anything he wanted. “It’s getting late. I should go.”
Whether disappointment or relief flickered in his eyes, I couldn’t tell, but he didn’t say anything else except, “I’ll call you a car.”
“It’s fine.” Avoiding eye contact with Nate, I took out my phone and opened the app. “I’ve got it.”
Both of us were calm and restrained, as if the lust-tangled moments before never happened.
I said, “I guess I’ll see you again at the next meeting.”
He opened the front door, and down the street, headlights gleamed in the dark from an approaching car. “Maybe. There’s your car.”
Strange how only moments earlier I’d contemplated sleeping with the man, but now he seemed like a stranger. My instincts to hold back had been right after all.
“Night.” I ran down the steps and into the waiting sedan. The car drove away, and I wondered if I’d ever see Nate again.
* * *
The next afternoon, Frisco stopped by the store. “How was the meeting?”
“Hello to you too.” I leaned against the glass-fronted case that displayed the glittering art-deco estate jewelry. An afternoon sale of a diamond broach and ring to a client for his wife had put me in a good mood. Those items would pay my rent on the store for the next two months.
He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever. I just had the worst lunch on the planet. Grilled chicken with sautéed vegetables. How the fuck can you ruin a piece of grilled chicken?” He pursed his lips in disgust. “I think I need a colon cleanse.”
I pressed my lips together to stifle my laughter. “Sounds awful.” I tried to pretend sympathy but couldn’t feel that sorry for my friend. As one of the city’s top food critics, Frisco was able to dine in all the best restaurants in the city and I was lucky enough to accompany him often. One bad meal wouldn’t kill him.
“I thought you’d call me after the meeting and let me know how it went. Tell me all about it now, but make me an espresso first so I can get this foul taste out of my mouth.”
“Oh, give it a rest, princess. You’ll recover, I’m sure.” I fiddled with the machine, then handed him a double espresso, which he sipped at while staring at me over the rim of the tiny cup.
“So. Talk. Tell me all about it. Did you feel comfortable?”
Not that I wanted a coffee, but I made one to give myself time to think. I put the steaming cup to my lips and shrugged. “It was fine. We did introductions, so I told them a little but not the whole story. I said Jared was a friend who died and that I’m having trouble getting over his death.”
“Good, good. How were the people? Did they seem okay?”
Recalling Nate and his burning kisses, I hesitated. For Frisco, a master at ferreting out information, it was all he needed.
“Okay.” He took my coffee out of my hand. “You met someone. Or…” His gaze turned thoughtful, and he set both cups down on top of the display case. “Someone caught your eye and you’re interested.”
“I’m not sure what you’d call it.” I relayed my night, telling him everything except how deeply Nate’s kisses had affected me.
Frisco listened intently. “You should’ve slept with him. It sounds like he turned you on, and I haven’t seen or heard you interested in anyone like this for years.”
“B-but we just met. I couldn’t—”
“Yes, you sure as hell can.” Impatient, he paced in front of me. “Six fucking years, Press. Six years you’ve been in hiding, pushing away anyone who tries to get close. Now you see some guy who turns you on, and you say no? I say hell yes, why the fuck not?”
“You live by the motto ‘If it feels good, do it.’ I need to know more about the guy besides his first and last name.”
“Then find out.”
“Easy as that, right?” I managed to force the words through the tightness in my throat.
“No, I know it’s not that simple for you.” Frisco slipped an arm around my shoulder, and that gesture undid me more than any words he could’ve said. I lay my head against his shoulder.
