This seemed to pull her out of her stupor. She darted to the door, pressing a series of numbers on the keypad. After a few seconds, the door clicked, and she flung it open.
‘What the hell are you doing?’ She rearmed the alarm once I’d ducked inside, stamping my feet on the mat so I didn’t trample dirt in.
A faint aroma of disinfectant lingered in the air. My hair was sodden; I ran my fingers through the strands to dispel some of the water.
‘You said you hadn’t eaten.’
Rosie’s arms were folded over her chest, staring at me likeI’d lost my mind. It wasn’t an unfair assumption. When it came to this girl, I had most definitely lost my fucking mind.
I held up the bag of food. ‘Dinner.’
Her gaze bounced from the bag of food to my face. That’s when I saw her expression shift from disbelief to distrust.
‘Why?’ Her eyes narrowed. ‘You didn’t have to do that. I neveraskedyou to do that.’
Why was every nice thing I tried to do for her met with sharp suspicion? Any good deed couldn’t be done without an agenda. What kind of men had she been around that this was how she reacted to me bringing her dinner?
Swallowing down a weighty sigh, I placed the food on the desk nearby, and closed the distance, lifting my hands to cradle her flushed cheeks. She didn’t pull away, and I took that as an inch in the right direction. The grey scrubs she wore hung loosely on her body, her face devoid of all makeup. She was stunning.
‘Would you be bothered if Fallon dropped food off for you?’
The wheels in her head spun so fast, I wouldn’t be surprised to see steam coming out of her ears.
‘It’s different.’ She didn’t uncross her arms. The tension locking her body up tight.
‘Why is it different?’ I knew the answer, and the way she looked at me told me I was right. It was different because I was a guy. Whatever fucked up experiences she’d had told her that men didn’t do things to be nice or sweet. Only when they wanted something. And she was right. Ididwant something, and partly my desire was selfish. I wanted to spend time with her. Be in her presence and watch that icy exterior melt away. Even if it was only for a moment.
‘It’s just food, sweetheart.’ When the trepidation in her gaze didn’t diminish, I added, ‘And coffee.’
An almost imperceptible softening of her featureshappened at that magical word. The same thing happened when she ordered tequila.
That fucking bottom lip drew into her mouth. ‘You brought me coffee?’
I thumbed the smooth skin of her cheek, humming in the back of my throat. ‘Black… like your soul.’
After a beat of tension-filled silence, her head tipped back as a melodic chuckle erupted from her throat. ‘Glad to see you’re getting to know me.’ I tamped down my reaction to hearing that sweetness filter out of her. The noise that clutched hold of my lungs and dick and squeezedhard.So far, I didn’t feel like I was getting to know her at all. As far as Rosie was concerned, I’d barely scratched the surface.
‘You’re saying your sweet,kind father was lying?’ Rosie quirked a brow, humour lacing her tone. She pushed the empty container of food away from her and leaned back.
We were sitting in office chairs in a small kitchen that smelt strongly of disinfectant and stale coffee. Every fifteen minutes or so, she would get up to check on the animals, and make sure everything was okay before settling back down. After I’d presented her with food and coffee, and we’d got stuck in, the tautness in her shoulders dissipated.
For the past hour, we’d been talking. Comparing bands—I did my best not to hold her preference of U2 over Queen against her—talking about our favourite restaurants in London and dealing with her persistent questions about my dad. One lunch and the two had become thick as thieves. My forgetting the original date I had planned turned out to be a good thing. Throughout the entire meal, I was forced to listen to dad tell countless stories about my younger years.Very few put me in a flattering light. Seeing her eyes light up when he divulged more stories and secrets made the embarrassment worth it.
‘I’m saying he was exaggerating,’ I clarified.
‘So, you didn’t wear your mum’s bra and dance to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun?’ She grinned, leaning her elbows on the table and resting her chin in her palms.
Pushing my empty dinner container off to the side, I mimicked her movements, sighing. ‘No.’
Her lower lip dropped to a pout.
Looking over my shoulder, as if to check no one else was around to overhear, I dropped my voice to a whisper, ‘It was ‘Like A Virgin’ byMadonna.’
Her hands thrust up into the air in triumph. ‘Ha!’
I got a strong whiff of her perfume and leaned back in my chair, silently begging my cock to calm the fuck down. The more she smiled, the freer her laughs became, the harder it was to remember that all of this wasn’t real.
Lessons. Fake.I needed it tattooed on my fucking eyelids, so I stopped letting my heart churn itself into knots with one smile.
