Gideon hadn’t spoken a word to Fiona since they’d parted from his grandfather and Iva—for suddenly, now that they were alone, he didn’t know what to say. He knew what he wanted todo…but not what he wanted to say.
Fiona broke the silence at last. “Your grandfather and Iva are lovely people—and it was so kind of them to invite me to dinner.”
“Yes, well, you should know that Iva had an ulterior motive.” He glanced down at her as they passed under a streetlight, and saw the delicate planes of her face outlined by the stark light when she looked up at him.
“Well, of course she did, Gideon—it was pretty obvious. She—and probably your grandfather even more—is dying for you to settle down and find happiness just as they have, so they’ll take advantage of any possible candidate for you.” The smug smile she sent him should have tweaked his annoyance, but instead, he grinned at her candor. “Even an oddball like me.”
His gaze flickered away. “You’re no more odd than Iva, believing in all that New Age stuff,” he heard himself say. “Do you actually think that by rearranging your furniture, you can become wealthy or happy?”
Fiona laughed out loud, delightedly. “Do I detect a bit of sarcasm, there, Gideon? You’d best be careful—sarcasm could be mistaken for a sense of humor, and I’m sure you wouldn’t want that.” She laughed again, her bare arm brushing up against him as they ambled along. Then, to his surprise, she slipped one hand around his bicep, hugging it to her without breaking her stride.
They walked easily, their steps matching, thighs brushing, her thick, wild hair tickling the underside of his chin, and it felt like the most natural thing in the world.
When she smiled up at him again, the sparkle in her eyes showing even in the half moonlight, Gideon felt an unfamiliar twinge deep inside and he almost stopped right there on the sidewalk. He must have hesitated anyway, for she looked back up, shifting against him as they walked.
“Almost there,” he said, just to make sure his voice still worked.
“Yes.”
They turned onto Violet Way, which was dark except for a single streetlight at each end, and a soft glow from an upper floor window in the realtor’s office building.
“Do you need to go in?” he asked as she paused in the little exterior alcove of her shop. She peered in one of the windows, cupping her hand around her eyes as if to see better.
“No. Carl locked the back door when he left, and everything looks fine from here.”
At the mention of her shop clerk, Gideon’s veins froze and his earlier irritation returned. “Yes. Your assistant. How could I have forgotten?”
Fiona looked up at him, puzzlement etched over her shadowed features, and nodded. “You met him?”
“No, I didn’t meet him—but all the ladies were gushing on about him.”
Fiona grinned. “Yes, he does tend to have that effect on the ladies. Well, I’m not complaining—it can’t be a bad thing for business, can it?”
She stepped away from the door and turned to walk past him. “My car is parked in the alley. I’m really glad you’re here to walk me back there since Carl’s gone.” She tossed him a warm smile and slipped past, back onto the sidewalk.
Gideon felt outrage bubbling in his veins, but he mutely turned to follow her. So he was an acceptable escort when her boy toy wasn’t around, was he? A mere stand-in?
He wondered furiously whether their backroom embraces meant anything in light of the fact that she’d been kissing her assistant so passionately earlier that she’d had to replace her hair combs. His mouth settled into a hard line as he stalked just behind Fiona when she turned into a narrow but well-lit alley between two storefronts. The thought of her passionate, pliant, willing responsiveness under another man’s mouth infuriated him, driving coherent thoughts from his mind.
The only thing that stayed there—the pinpoint of lucidity in his haze of anger—was the desire to remind her of those moments withhim. He wanted to mutilate any last trace of Carl’s kiss on her lips, and replace it with his own…and to make her understand that he wanted more from her.
Fiona rounded the sharp corner to the alley that led to the back entrance of her shop, walking as quickly as she could. She felt Gideon on her trail as if he were already touching her, and her skin prickled with anticipation. She thought about how it was going to feel—pressed up against the side of her little VW, sandwiched between it and the hard, muscular frame of Gideon, his mouth on hers and his hands everywhere else.
He was going to kiss her—and if he didn’t, she would kiss him—and after that…well, she couldn’t make that decision right at this very moment. She was too nervous, too on-edge to think about where this could lead…and whether she wanted to take that step.
“Fiona!” He caught up with her in the middle of the alley, a narrow, brick-walled passage just wide enough for a car to pass through. A glimmer of streetlight cast shadows and shards of light down upon them. At the end of the narrow throughway, in the small loading area behind Charmed Antiquity, Fiona could see her VW Beetle gleaming like a sleek lemon drop right next to a large Dumpster.
She didn’t need to turn, for Gideon’s hand closed over her arm and tugged her, firmly, around to face him. She was close enough to feel the heat of his body, and prickles erupted on her bare arms. The intensity in his eyes shocked her, sending a thrill of sensation—and a bit of nervousness—through her belly.
“Are you going to kiss me now?” she asked, looking up at him. “I was hoping you would.”
Gideon stilled as his fingers closed around her arms and he looked down at her, obviously astonished. Then his mouth settled into a dark, slashing line, shadowed by the uneven light. “Is that what you say to all your boy toys?”
“Boy to—?” Fiona choked on her surprise as he reeled her in to him, smothering her abrupt confusion with those hard, persuasive lips. Desire won out over shock, and she allowed her mouth to mold to his for a few moments before she yanked herself away.
“What do you mean, boy toy?” she demanded, stepping back as far as his arms would allow. The further away from temptation, the clearer her mind would be.
“Your muscle-bound minion Carl. And Bradley Forth. And whoever else you may have stringing along. I don’t count myself in that line-up, by the way.” His eyes glittered dangerously.
