She nodded, rethinking the invite.
“What doyoulike to do?” Blayze’s posture softened. He stepped back, slouched against the wall with his eyes set on her.
She shrugged. “When I’m at a hotel like this, with a hectic schedule, I mean, I like to have a drink and watch a sitcom.”
Amusement flashed over his face. “A sitcom? I wouldnothave guessed that.”
“Yeah, well there’s a lot you don’t know about me.”Ugh – shut up, Sophia!
“I’m sure there is.” He gave her a nod before pulling away from the wall once more. He’d made it two steps down the hall when Sophia dared herself to speak up once more. “You could join me. If you’d like.”
He stopped again, and Sophia’s face went hot with embarrassment. “Unless it’s like, I mean… I wouldn’t want it to feel like you’re still working or something. With me—you’re working. Without me—you’re not. That type of thing…” She was rambling. Why had she spoken up in the first place?
She watched as he stood there, feet facing his room, a jacket casually draped behind his back. A newspaper already in-hand. He glanced at her over his shoulder before turning around completely. “You’re inviting me to join you out here? Right now?” His brow lifted.
She nodded. “Yes, if you want. We may as well get to know each other better.”
“Sure,” Blayze said. “Mind if I shower first?”
“No,” she blurted. “We both will. Can.” She shook her head. “Let’s each have ourownshower and then meet back here.”
His lips pinched around a laugh. “All right.”
Better be worth it.Whatever this night might bring, it betterbe worth the humiliation of that moment. Sophia lived a life of composure and poise. Microphones and big crowds were friends to her. TV interviews rarely made her flinch. So why did she have to get tongue-tied over this drop-dead gorgeous, totally intriguing, gentleman-as-far-as-she-could-tell man? Yeah, dumb question.
“Okay,” she said with a nod. “See you out here in a few minutes.”
* * *
Just what was a guy supposed to do? Blayze couldn’t exactly hurt the woman’s feelings. Besides, hearing Nicolas Vasco suggest that Blayze take his daughter for an evening out—that was all the permission he needed to ease up and get to know Sophia a little better. Sophia might have taken her phone off speaker mode, but that hadn’t stopped him from overhearing the way he’d gone on to say she could do a lot worse. Something about sharing a kiss beneath a full moon. Depending on how things went tonight, maybe he’d do just that.
Blayze shrugged out of his clothes while the water warmed. It was one of those fancy showerheads that mimicked the fall of a rainstorm. He stepped in, barely ducking beneath the stream when apprehension kicked in. It seemed that for each drop falling, a second thought thumped into him with a vengeance.What are you thinking, dummy? You’re not the woman’s type.Chances were Sophia was simply bored. Wanting a little excitement on the side. For all he knew, she went through men without batting an eye. Well, she’d picked the wrong guy if that’s what she had in mind.
He snatched a bottle of body wash and sudsed up, working the lather through his hair as well. It was longer than it’d been in a while. His facial hair was too. The thought urged him to scout out a fresh razor and shave his neck.
A slap of aftershave beneath his jaw, and soon Blayze was shrugging into fresh clothes. A tight ribbed tank top with a pair of loose gym trunks.
The truth was, it didn’t matter which ways Sophia was or wasn’t interested in him. Blayze had gone long enough without the company of women. It was high time he put himself back out there. He was a grown man, for crying out loud. If a sexy, intelligent, fascinating woman wanted to cuddle up to him—even for just a night—who was he to turn it down?
Blayze moved to the hallway quickly but slowed as he stepped into the main living area of the penthouse. A quick spin in place said he’d beaten her out there. He dashed over to the fridge, pried it open and peered inside.Empty.
Hadn’t Sophia said she liked having a drink at night? He glanced across the kitchen to where the phone rested. Beside it stood a binder labeledroom service.This is where it got tricky. If he ordered something romantic it would be awkward. He wasn’t one for drinking himself, but Blayze picked up the phone, scanned the menu, and ordered a bottle of dry champagne for her, and a bottle of Pepsi for himself. “Why don’t you bring up a bowl of strawberries too,” he said softly, “and maybe a couple croissants.”
“We’ll have those items delivered to your room shortly, sir,” the man said.
“Thank you.” Blayze set the phone back in place and stared at it while he considered what he’d just done. It was probably too forward. Champagne and strawberries—could he get more cliché? Alarms went off in his head.Abort, abort.Maybe he should call back and cancel.
“Hello, soldier.”
Soldier?The smooth, low delivery of that line had Blayze’s heart pounding out a soldier’s march.Thump. Thump. Thump-hitch-thump.He spun around, gulped as his eyes settled on the sight of her. “Hi.” The single word came out raspy.
She wore silk, like the night she’d come in to retrieve her cat. Only this time it wasn’t in the form of a gown, rather, a tank top and matching pair of shorts. Pale blue, contrasting her light brown skin like a dream.
“Were you on the phone a minute ago?” she asked, running her fingers through the wet strands of her hair. It looked longer than it had the other times he’d seen it down. Darker too, since it was wet.
“You said you were looking forward to having a drink,” he said. “I noticed there wasn’t anything here, so I ordered a bottle for you.” He cleared his throat.
Her eyes widened. “Forme?Not for you too?”
