“Wow, the Tourmaline! That’s one of the most expensive hotels in Paris, right? I had to use points to get my coach flight upgraded, and they’re putting me up at a Benton Budget."
I let out a totally jealous sigh. "But you won, like, a truly luxurious trip. And you’re choosing to take it alone? No girlfriend or bestie? I would have dragged my mom or my best friend, Suzie, along with me if I could have. But Mom couldn’t get the time off, and my best friend has a ten-year-old son.”
Mick shrugged. “Never been one for travel companions anyways. Learned to value alone time early in life, guess you could say. I’ll probably spend most of the trip in front of me laptop, catching up onCoronation Streetand whatnot.”
I stared at him, at a total loss for what to say.
“That’s an English drama,” he explained, obviously mistaking the reason for my confused look. “I think you call ’em soap operas or something like that.”
“But it’sParis. I can’t believe you’d want to waste such a nice trip watching stuff on your computer. In fact, just the thought of you spending four days inside your hotel room makes me feel really sad for you. I mean, it’s the City of Lights! There’s so much to do. Think of all the sights you’ll be missing.”
He crooked his head to the side, and half his mouth lifted into something between a grin and a smirk. “Only sights I want to see in Paris are right in front of me and currently all covered up.”
I stared at him for few seconds and then snorted. “Oh, I get it now. You’re not serious, right? You’re just playing with me.”
I felt a little rude for laughing, but c’mon. Things like this just did not happen to me.
Yes, I was cute with some work. I knew that. Dwayne had been forever on me about how good I could look if I just tried harder.
But even at my most made-up, I didn’t look like the kind of woman a guy like Mick would want to see naked.
He had to be joking. More giggles rose up like champagne bubbles in my chest. I mean, he had to be. Right?
“I’m not kiddin’, Kayla.” The grin disappeared from his face, and his voice suddenly turned serious. Very, very serious.
Oh…. wow….
My laughter died abruptly, replaced by shock and something else that had me raising my hand to my throat with a sudden wish for pearls to clutch.
“But we only just met,” I whispered.
“Tell you what.” That intense look reappeared in his black eyes. “You got four nights in Paris. Agree to spend the first one of ’em with me, and I’ll make it memorable. I promise you that, Kayla. I’ll rock your world. I’ll rock your entire universe, if you let me.”
My mouth parted on a silent gasp.My entire universe?Is he serious?
“I’m completely serious, love.” He answered my question as if I’d spoken it out loud. He leaned in again, and those black eyes of his kept mine magnetized with frightening ease. “One night. That’s all I’m askin’. All you have to do is say yes.”
CHAPTER3
Mick
“Thank you,but no. I don’t think so.” The pretty woman sitting beside me squirms under my gaze. “I’m kind of flattered. And a little intrigued, if I’m being honest. But I’m just not the kind of woman who does what you apparently want to do with someone I’ve just met. Sorry. And thank you again. But, um, no….”
Alright, the answer was no.
Reckon I should’ve seen that coming.
The memory of Eunice Baker giving me what for cos I dared to think I had a chance with her crept back like a rank stench in back of my mind.
“Bleeding hell, I’m not looking to snog you, Andy. I only took this gig tutoring you because my mum felt sorry for you with your home life and all that. But that doesn’t mean I’m up for anything else with you. As if!”
That had been about a year or so before I signed my youth contract with FC Greenwich at the age of sixteen. Before I reached my full height of 6 foot 1. Before I’d even had a shag for the first time. Back in those days, I wasn’t the Atomic Foot. I was just that daft lad, Andrew Michael Atwater. A proper ace on the pitch, but barely able to pass my maths at school.
I shouldn’t have reckoned on Eunice giving us a nod when I went in for a kiss. And, I suppose, I shouldn’t have expected Kayla to say yes to a one-nighter.
Could I even pull a nice bird without her clocking who I was? Turns out, the answer to that little thought experiment was no.
I tore my gaze away from Kayla and sunk back into my own seat, my chest caving in with disappointment. Should have thought that one through before “shooting my shot,” as they say in the States.
