I stand my ground. “I’m not going to dinner with you. I have an Uber waiting.”
He takes a breath, jaw ticking. “Like I said, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”
“And I don’t care.” The words snap out of me, sharper than I intend. His expression shifts, just slightly, but enough to know I struck a nerve. “You owe me nothing. And I’m perfectly capable of getting there on my own.”
He smirks again, infuriatingly calm, annoyingly amused. “Let me rephrase then,” he says, stepping closer, his voicedipping lower. “There’s no universe where I let you climb into a stranger’s car tonight.”
He lets the silence stretch before finishing, “So. Are you going to walk to the car like a big girl… or are you going to make me carry you?”
“You wouldn’t dare,” I say, lifting my chin like that might mask the heat creeping up my neck.
Calvin’s eyes flick to my mouth, then back to my eyes. It’s brief, but I feel that small glance like a caress all over my body.
“Try me.”
God, he’s infuriating. And worse, he’s strong enough to actually do it. I can already see the headline: Wealthy CEO Charged with Kidnapping His Fiancée’s Sister. Fuck, why does that sound like something I’d read in one of those unhinged dark romance books I refuse to delete from my Kindle?
No. Absolutely not.
“Ugh, you are insufferable.”
“And yet,” he says smoothly, stepping past me to press the elevator call button, “you’re still here. Still arguing. Still not in that Uber.”
The audacity.
I clench my jaw. My options are limited, and the smug look on his face tells me he’s fully aware of it.
“This doesn’t mean you win,” I mutter, stomping into the elevator like the grown-up I absolutely don’t feel like right now.
He steps in after me, close enough that I can smell his cologne, spiced, expensive, intoxicating. It takes everything in me not to lean in and inhale him like I’ve lost my mind.
“Of course not,” he murmurs, lips twitching.
I cross my arms and stare straight ahead. This man is amenace. A gorgeous, infuriating menace. And unfortunately, my ride.
Once in the garage, Calvin opens the back door of his car for me. As I slide into the luxurious interior, my eyes land on a bouquet of white tulips on the seat next to me. They’re stunning, and the urge to take a sniff is overwhelming. But I remind myself they’re not mine, they’re for his fiancée, my sister. She deserves flowers from her soon-to-be husband, and I shouldn’t be jealous.
So, why does it sting so much? I almost feel foolish, being so into a man that I can never have. Even if he wasn’t involved with Abby, what are the odds of someone like him ending up with someone like me? None is the answer.
Calvin rounds the car and opens the door, picking up the bouquet before sliding in beside me. I frown, glancing at him as he settles in.
“We’re good to go, Jarad,” he says, answering the question I didn’t voice. Of course he has a driver. At least we won’t be completely alone, that’s something.
“Yes, sir,” Jarad replies, starting the car.
I focus on canceling my Uber when Calvin speaks again. “I’ll reimburse you for that.”
“No, thank you,” I shoot back.
“It’s not a problem,”
“Obviously.” I roll my eyes before I can stop myself.
Silence drops between us like a stone. I can feel him looking at me, but I refuse to meet his gaze. Then, without a word, he holds out the bouquet of white tulips to me.
I blink, caught off guard.
“I asked the florist which flower says, ‘I’m sorry for being an ass,’” he says with a small shrug. “Apparently, it’s these.”
