That sexy smile that never failed to make her stomach muscles tighten up with anticipation slowly tilted those fascinating lips. "You were. So, did you like what you saw?"
Her mouth fell open as she took in his arrogant smile. Then something occurred to her and she glared across the table at him. "Did you take your shirt off just to parade around town?" she demanded, her eyes narrowing as she glared at him.
Mike chuckled. "If I said yes, would you be mad at me?"
Halley wasn't sure how she would feel, so she hid behind indignation. "Sue was watching you too. Why don't you go ask her why she … "
Sue was passing by, her hands somehow holding six plates but she paused to say, "I'd do him in a minute, honey. If Jeff wouldn't be mad, I'd be all over Mike like a crazy woman." Sue nodded her head for emphasis and winked at Mike as she walked away to deliver the plates filled with warm food.
Mike leaned back, lifting his eyebrows in question as if to say, "What's your next defense?"
Halley huffed a bit. "You're too arrogant," she scoffed.
He chuckled softly as he said, "Arrogance has nothing to do with why you are afraid of me." He looked at her curiously. "Why are you so afraid of me?"
She shifted again, wishing that he couldn't read her so easily. "I'm not afraid of you." Again, another lie. The man terrified her! "I'm just not interested." Another whopper, but he couldn't read her mind. Hopefully.
He could.
The look in his eyes told her that he didn't believe a word of what she was saying.
"If you're not afraid of me, come to my place tonight for dinner. I'll throw a couple of steaks on the grill and open a bottle of wine. You can tell me all about why you're not afraid of me."
Halley's mouth watered, both at the idea of being alone with him – bad idea – and the suggestion of steaks. She hadn't had a steak in so long, it felt like forever. She'd been living off grilled chicken, broccoli, and salads to get in shape for the performance. She had to be light enough for Carl to lift her and she'd finally reached that point. No way was she going to jeopardize her achievement by enjoying a nice, thick juicy steak. Nope. Not even if he …
"I'll take my shirt off while grilling, if that would tempt you."
Darn it, how did he do that? She'd just been thinking about him standing beside a flaming grill, a long fork in one hand, a beer in the other and steaks sizzling over the fire. No shirt on. Oh my!
Halley looked down at her hands which were tightly clasped in her lap. "I wasn't going there," she lied. Boy was she turning into a mental liar. And a vocal one too, since all she'd done over the past five minutes was lie to him. Survival, she thought, relieving herself of the guilt. It was all about survival where this man was concerned.
"You were. Your eyes dropped down to my chest and you got that heated look in your eyes," he told her, chuckling as her cheeks flamed up. "Just about everything you're thinking is in your eyes, Halley. Give it up. I know that you feel exactly the same about me as I do for you. When we touch or kiss, it is explosive. So, why are you pulling back? Why won't you give in and let us explore this?" He reached over and touched her hand gently. "I won't hurt you. I won't ever cheat on you, and I promise you'll enjoy every moment we're together."
His voice had dropped, making their conversation more intimate, more seductive. She wanted so badly to give in and follow that need, to let him show her what it could be like between them. But there was that niggling fear, the knowledge that, if word ever got out about what she was doing, of her secret dreams, everyone in town would make fun of her. She'd never be able to walk down the streets of Jefferson again! She was the tough, strong horsewoman.
She couldn't let anyone know what she was doing, where she was going.
Besides, Mike terrified her. In so many ways, he could destroy her. Not just if he found out about what she was doing during her secret times, but he could hurt her in ways that … she couldn't handle.
No, she couldn't risk it. No way!
"I have to go," she told him and started to gather up her things. She stuffed everything into her bag and stood up, dropping some money down on the table to cover the cost of the coffee plus a generous tip for Sue.
She was about to leave when Mike grabbed her wrist, stopping her exit. "It's going to happen, Halley," he warned her, as he towered over her, his shoulders blocking out the bright light streaming in through the large windows of the coffee shop so that she was left in his shadow. "You can't keep running from me, from this, forever."