wouldn’t go that far, but I’m learning to accept my limitations. Oddly, there are fewer than I expected, with the notable exception of losing my career.”
She didn’t respond immediately, but she did lean in. She didn’t even try to pretend she wasn’t staring, wasn’t taking his measure. “A pragmatist,” she said eventually. “That’s helpful, living in this city. This world.”
“It is. What about you?” he asked. “What do you believe in?”
She smiled, leaned back in her chair. Her bangs were a bit in her eyes and he wanted to push them back to see her better. Not complaining, just sorta wishing.
“Boy, you don’t fool around, do you?”
“Guess not. We can always talk about this damn cold front, if you’d prefer.”
“I’m good,” she said. “I like the tough questions.”
“I didn’t even ask, would you like something to eat? I haven’t looked at the menu, but I know they serve food here. Or we could go somewhere else for dinner.”
“Oh, food. I’m not starving, but I could eat something. How about you?”
“I could do with more than the bologna sandwich I had around four. Busy day.”
“I happen to know the menu here is excellent. Why don’t you see if anything suits your fancy. Meanwhile I’ll consider my answer to your very provocative question and finish my drink.”
He nodded, grabbed the menu from the center of the table. Not much he didn’t like. When he looked up again, she was still staring at him. He should have been unsettled. He wasn’t used to undisguised interest. In fact, his life had depended on his blending in, fading into the background. Even the dark wasn’t enough to hide behind, but instead of getting that crawling itch to run, he wanted her to look her fill. And he wanted her to like what she saw.
He passed her the menu, then finished his bourbon, signaling the waitress when he caught her eye. “There’s nothing on there I wouldn’t eat,” he said to Rebecca. “Could live without the foie gras, but I like the meat and the fish selections. I think you should pick us out a few, and we’ll have ourselves a small buffet while we go at least one step beyond the surface. How does that sound?”
“Fantastic.”
Their order was taken, fresh drinks requested, and they were alone once more. It was all he could do not to call back the lovely girl and ask her to add a room with a king-size bed to the tab.
“I’m a mutt,” Rebecca said, folding her hands on the shiny table. “Philosophically. I lean toward Buddhism, but I’ve got some roots in the church from when I was a kid. I mostly try to make a difference. Walk the walk, not just talk about it. I tend to connect to people who do the same.”
That could have been a crock of bull, but his instincts said no. She was telling him the truth. It fit with her job, but that wasn’t what he thought she was talking about. Another skill from his vice days was how to listen for the truth. Of course, in this instance, he had to factor in how badly he wanted to take Rebecca Thorpe to bed.
Which was really damn bad.
3
REBECCA LICKED THE TIP OF her thumb as she finished the last of her salt cod fritter. She’d decided to play hardball with the ordering—all of it finger food. Zucchini fritters, lollipop lamb chops, decadent French fries, even the crisp baby artichokes. She’d picked up a lollipop first thing, watching him watch her bring the food to her mouth, take a bite. Gauntlet thrown, she sipped her second drink and waited to see what he’d do.
He started with a couple of fries. Slow moving, deliberate, and his gaze on hers never wavered. As he chewed, his jaw muscle flexed in a way that made her blush. He couldn’t tell, not in this light, yet his thick right eyebrow rose along with the corners of his mouth.
She grinned back, pleased he’d decided to play. Somehow the music had become smoky jazz, and the heat from the temperature-controlled floor slipped up her dress all the way to her very pretty, very naughty La Perla panties.
Through it all, the ordering, the waiting, the cute young waitress flirting with Jake as she set down their plates, Jake hadn’t once lost the thread of their conversation. Rebecca wasn’t sure if they were at the third or fourth level now that they’d reached ex-lovers territory.
“She was great,” he said, using his napkin. “And I like to think I’m a reasonably adventurous guy, but when she started talking plushies …” He shook his head, grabbed a tiny artichoke.
“Plushies. You mean dressing up like stuffed animals plushies?”
“I do. I hope that’s not your thing, but I’d have to say right up front that nope, not gonna go there. I like my partners to be human. It’s a radical stance, but one I’m not going to budge on.”
“Where do you stand on aliens who look humanoid?”
He thought a minute. “Depends. Do they really look like humans, or are they lizard people in disguise?”
“I see your point. I always draw the line at shape-shifters. I include vampires in that, by the way.”
“Damn. There goes my plans for the rest of the night.”
She laughed again, charmed. Not so much at the obvious quip but at his delivery. Very dry. Very … sexy. “Nothing wrong with a little nip here and there,” she said.
He cleared his throat and shifted in his chair. “I agree,” he said, putting his napkin on the table. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
As he walked away, Rebecca let herself linger on the breadth of his shoulders, the length of his legs. He might have a limp, but there was still a swagger to him that had her crossing her legs.
When he got back, she would bring up the room. They hadn’t eaten too much and had only two drinks each. If they wanted dessert later they could order from room service. Everything about the evening led her to believe he was amenable, even though they hadn’t yet touched.
While she could, she retrieved her mirror from her purse. After a fresh coat of lipstick, she stuck a breath strip in her mouth, realizing too late that it didn’t go with vodka gimlets. At all. A quick shudder, then she closed her purse, aware of the room itself for the first time since she’d stepped off the elevator.
There was a sizable crowd for a Tuesday night. Most everyone was in business attire, upscale. While she saw people on the prowl, the atmosphere was not that of a pickup bar. Here, the desperation wouldn’t start until around 3:00 a.m.
She wondered what Charlie and Bree were doing and almost got out her cell to text, but no, Bree could wait on Rebecca’s report. Tonight felt private, different. In other circumstances, she’d have felt this evening was a beginning. She liked him a lot. More than anyone she’d been out with in years.
On the other hand, maybe knowing this was a singular event had made this ease possible. They weren’t at a relationship audition. Sex, yes, but she figured they’d nailed that about five minutes in.
The conversation had gone from philosophy to her explaining the intricacies of preparing lunches and trading them at a church basement, and then somehow they’d landed at exes. Hers, she realized, had all fizzled due to boredom. No, that wasn’t fair. There had been reasons she’d gone out with those few men for longer than a handful of months, but there had been no grand passions. Weirdly, she’d felt perfectly comfortable telling Jake just that.
There he was. Smiling from across the room. She watched as he maneuvered through people and tables.
When he sat down, he covered her hand with his. “I took the liberty of booking a room here tonight. I won’t lie and say I wouldn’t be disappointed if you don’t want to join me, but I’ll also take it like a man.”
She turned her hand over and squeezed his fingers.