buttoned up his shirt and grabbed his jacket, then held the door open for her. When she got outside, Marlie offered to drive, but Dex insisted they take his SUV, a dusty BMW. He opened the door for her and helped her inside. Marlie watched him through the front window as he strode around to the driver’s side. It still felt odd sitting on the wrong side of the car, driving on the wrong side of the road. But everything about this day seemed a little upside-down and backward.
For now, she’d just roll with it. What harm could it do? She needed him. And when the time was right to tell him exactly who she was, she’d tell him.
“Ready?” he asked as he slid in behind the wheel.
Marlie nodded. “I think so.”
* * *
THE PUB WAS quiet when they walked in. Dex held the door open and Marlie stepped in front of him. He clenched and unclenched his fingers, fighting the urge to place his hand in the small of her back.
For the first time in a very long while, he wasn’t dwelling on the past. No, he was firmly in the present, his mind racing and his body reacting. She was so pretty, though not really the kind of girl he was usually attracted to. He normally went for the more exotic beauties, French and Italian women, certainly not some American girl-next-door type. But then, he wasn’t the same guy anymore. Maybe his preferences had changed.
They found a table near the bar, and Dex held out her chair as she sat down. He took a place across the table, offering himself a better vantage point to study her. The barkeep appeared a few moments later with menus. He ordered a Guinness and Marlie did the same.
“When in Ireland,” she said before taking a sip.
He stared at her mouth as she licked the foam off her lips. There’d been quite a few moments in the past hour when he’d lost himself just looking at her. She was like a breath of fresh air, blowing all the cobwebs out of his head and making his body feel alive again. But was he really interested in seducing this woman? She was a teacher. And Claire’s coworker. But, hell, if she was willing, then who was he to refuse pursuing the matter? There was an obvious attraction between them, and he was used to acting quickly when it came to sex. He was never in one place more than a night or two, which didn’t leave a lot of time for foreplay.
“My sister says you’re going to teach at her school next term. What do you teach?”
“Uh...that’s boring. Tell me about yourself,” she countered. “You’re a filmmaker.”
He frowned. “How did you know that?”
“I’ve seen your films,” she said.
Dex sat back, crossing his arms over his chest. Though he knew he had fans, he rarely met them, except when he was accepting some kind of award.
“I was sorry to hear about your partner,” Marlie added. “That must have been such a dark time for you.”
Until that moment, he’d put the nightmare out of his head. But now he realized that would never be completely possible. “It was,” he said. “But I’m trying to focus on other things now.”
“That’s a good philosophy,” she said with an encouraging smile. “What’s your next project?”
If only she knew, he thought to himself. Screw filmmaking; his mind was occupied with plans for a full-on seduction. “I’m considering my options,” he said.
“I have an option for you,” Marlie said.
Unless it had to do with tearing her clothes off and having at it right here in the pub, Dex really wasn’t interested. But he had the luxury to take things slow. “I don’t want to talk about work,” he countered. “Let’s talk about what you’re doing tomorrow. The term doesn’t start until after the New Year. Are you going back to the States for Christmas? What about your family? Don’t they celebrate together?”
“They do. But I’m usually working and can’t get away and I—”
“You work over Christmas in the States?” he asked. “You don’t have a school holiday?”
She looked at him, her eyes wide, then cleared her throat. “I’m not a teacher,” she said. “And I’m not interested in renting your cottage, although is a very nice place.”
Dex stared at her for a long moment, taking in the look of confusion—no, desperation—on her pretty face. “I don’t get it,” he said.
“My name is Marlena Jenner and I’m working on a documentary film about Aileen Quinn. I’ve been trying to track you down through your agent, and when he wasn’t getting any response, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Your sister, Claire, said—”
“Marlena. Right. You’re the not the teacher.” Dex quickly stood. She’d been playing him. He bit back a curse. He’d told both his agent and his sister that he wasn’t even going to think about work for at least another year. He needed a damn break, and he didn’t appreciate that his sister had sent this woman to try to change his mind.
“You know, I’m really not interested,” he said.
“But you haven’t heard about the project yet,” Marlie said, following him to the door. “I’m sure once you—”
He spun around to face her, his anger bubbling over. “Listen to me,” he said. “I’m not interested.” He shook his head, then walked back to the bar and tossed enough money on the polished surface to cover their drinks.
What the hell was happening to him? He could usually read people better than this. He should have seen that she had some ulterior motive. But the moment he set eyes on her, all he could think about was getting her into bed. Not that that feeling wasn’t still with him. But no-strings sex didn’t work unless they were both interested in the same outcome—pure lust and mutual sexual satisfaction. She was just playing along until she could pitch him her idea.
He strode outside, Marlie hard on his heels. “Wait,” she said. “Just give me a chance to explain.”
He yanked the passenger door open. “Get in. I’ll take you back.”
“No,” Marlie said.
Dex gasped. Was she really going to draw a line? He couldn’t exactly leave her standing in the middle of the road. It was at least a fifteen-minute walk in the cold, windy night to get back to her car. And he wasn’t the type of guy who’d leave a woman stranded.
Dex slammed the door. “All right. If you want to pitch your project, go ahead. Right now.”
Jaysus, she was beautiful. Her color was high and her green eyes bright. And her hair whipped around her face in windblown strands. He wanted to reach out and grab her, twist his fingers through the thick mass of waves and pull her into a very long kiss.
She shifted nervously, then stared down at her toes. “I left my laptop in my car. The pitch is better with visuals. I have a whole presentation made up.”
With a low chuckle, he pulled the door open again. “Let’s go, then.”
Reluctantly, she got inside. When he joined her, she turned in her seat and faced him. “I didn’t mean to mislead you. I just thought if you got to know me, you might trust me a little more.”
“Oh, sure. Lying is always the best way to get a bloke to trust you.”
“Can we just start over?” Marlie asked. She held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Marlena Jenner. I’m a producer at Back Bay Productions in Boston. I’d like to talk to you about making a documentary about the Irish author Aileen Quinn.” When he didn’t reciprocate, she wiggled her fingers. “Come on. It goes both ways.”
Dex laughed and took her hand. “Really? And what did I do to mislead you?” She opened her mouth, then snapped it shut, yanking her fingers away. Dex gave her a dubious look. “What?”
“You wanted to kiss