“That’s not an easy answer.”
He rests his crossed arms on the table, settling in. “We’ve got nowhere else to be. And I think we’ve put this shit off long enough, haven’t we? We’ve spent so long dancing around each other instead of just owning up to the shit in our heads.”
“It makes sense. It does.” But having his attention like this? The way he looks at me like I’m the only person he sees is unnerving and really hot at the same time.
“Then talk to me. Why didn’t you give up on me? I know you had other offers...and Colton said something last week that made me wonder...” He trails off, and I hold my breath, wondering if he’ll drop it or if he’ll actually ask the question. Something tells this new-to-me Declan’s going to go there.
“He said he hasn’t seen you with anyone else. That he didn’t think you were dating. Is that true?” Yep, he went there.
“Sort of. I...dated some.” Banged and ran, really. “At the beginning, anyway. But I haven’t in a really long time.”
“Was that because of me?”
“You mean, did I sit at home pining for you, blind to all other men?” I ask with a wink. His face reddens but he grins. It’s so freaking adorable, even with the beard and his more mature face.
“Something like that.”
Rolling my eyes, I lay a little truth on him. “I started the club two and a half years ago. It’s been my love, my obsession, my ball and chain for a long time. I didn’t have time for a relationship.”
“Oh,” he says, nodding, looking almost disappointed.
“But I had plenty of offers, anyway. None of them caught my attention.”
There’s that grin again. Jesus, the way that hits me? It should be illegal.
“Good. That’s good. Great.” He clamps his mouth shut, making me laugh.
“That. Right there, that’s why I kept coming to you. Because you were kind and funny when everyone was together. Then I’d try all my best moves on you, and nothing. I felt pretty pathetic, honestly. Only you’re telling me my moves worked?”
He groans, dropping his head onto his folded arms. “They really did. You nearly killed me.”
“Good,” I mutter. I’m glad we both suffered then. And that I wasn’t the pathetic, mooning woman I thought I was. I’m tempted to toy with him. I could slide into the booth on his side and press up against him. Maybe I’d get a different reaction this time. Maybe he’d crush me into his arms and kiss me like he means it. But maybe he won’t. “What do you want, exactly?”
Raising his head, he studies me, his arms and shoulders tense. “What do I want? Other than a date, you mean?”
“We work together. Dating, doing anything really, could be a problem if it doesn’t work out. It could get messy.”
“What if we don’t let it get messy?”
“How would we do that, though?”
He shakes his head, sitting back. “I’ve wanted you for years. You’ve been interested back for years. And now that we’re talking about exploring that, you’re backpedaling.”
“Jesus. Maybe I liked you better when you were shy.”
He cracks a smile. “You just don’t like being called on your shit.”
Raising my hand, I rub my eyebrow with my middle finger. He laughs but sobers quickly.
“I am very aware of the power dynamic here. I don’t ever want to make you uncomfortable or pressure you, but I want the chance to spend time with you. Get to know you outside of the office. And see if we could be more.”
“I think I’d like that too, but your family is full of interfering assholes. What chance do we have of figuring this thing out with them in the mix? Do you think you can ask them to back off, and they’ll actually do it?”
He frowns, lip curling into a snarl. “Fucking Colt.”
“Fucking Colt,” I agree. I can see it on his face. He knows as well as I do that they are incapable of minding their own business. The brothers that are coupled up are even worse, wanting everyone to be all loved up, too.
“Cara,” he says, reaching across the table. I could no more stop myself from reaching for him as I could stop my heart from beating. My hand is in his before I even realize it. Heart racing, I watch as he trails the pads of his fingers across my palm.
