“Then you better figure that shit out soon. Fucking her because you hate your client isn’t a good enough reason anymore.” Paxton slaps my back and shoots a two-finger salute.
I don’t have any answers so I hit the showers. Nothing in there, either. All I got is she’s some sort of magical combination of every girl I’ve ever liked… or I’m getting old. And I don’t feel that goddamn old just yet.
The sun beats down on my way to the car and it doesn’t provide any resolution, either. I don’t like a lack of resolution. I like answers. I like something I can win.
Just passed my car, I spy a familiar outline sitting on a bench in the park. My feet make an abrupt turn to her, drawn to her presence without bothering to confirm with the rest of my body.
“All the gin joints in Los Angeles, and here you are.”
“No gin.” Kate is a little stiff but not unfriendly. “What are you doing here?”
“My gym.” I hitch a thumb over my shoulder. “If I’m not at work or the bar, I’m usually here. What are you doing here?”
“My gym.” She mimics my thumb over her shoulder. “If I’m not at work or the bar… you get the idea.”
“You box?”
“Yoga.”
Makes a lot of sense. That woman is bendy as hell in the bedroom. I could turn her into a pretzel if I wanted and she’d still fuck like a queen.
She doesn’t look like royalty today. It’s more than the I-just-worked-out thing she has going. Her fire is dim and I don’t like it.
“You okay?” I keep a careful space between us on the bench, but I nudge her hand with mine. “You look like you need a friend.”
“No.” Kate hasn’t looked at me once since I came to sit. I want to take her by the cheeks and make her.
“Want to talk about it?”
“No.”
“You know, they say I’m a great listener.”
“Bullshit.” Her lips quirk upward at the ends. It’s a small victory. “You only like the sound of your own voice.”
“Guilty.” I move in just a touch closer and soften my voice. “Come on, Kate. Something is bothering you and I want to help. Talk to me.”
She cocks an eyebrow at me and the disbelief is heavy. It’s like the woman I bent over her couch has been replaced by someone scorned. It’s only then that I realize she’s probably got a lot on her plate and my dick isn’t helping much.
Tinges of guilt ping at me, reminders that she’s dealing with her livelihood while I was dragging her off to be fucked good and proper. Except it’s clear she has feelings and I’ve witnessed that makes shit more complicated. Normally, that’s exactly the response I want.
Not anymore. Not with her.
“Nobody cares about me.” Her voice is ice. “I’m just someone to be used. For money, connections, sex. No one gives a shit. You don’t give a shit. You’re just like everyone else.”
The weight behind that statement isn’t hidden. I want to argue, to tell her she’s wrong, but she’s not. I’ve spent weeks trying to pound her out of my brain but I’ve still fucked her. I’ve still used her for sex. For some unknown reason, it unsettles me.
“Let me take you to dinner.” I grab her hand and squeeze it. “Tonight.”
“What, like a date?” Kate scoffs.
“I mean, I can fuck you first if you want. But then yes, a date. A real date.”
She finally looks at me, those sad eyes probing me to see if I mean it. Surprises me just as much, but I do. I kiss her hand and watch the red touch her cheeks.
“Okay.” She finally breathes heavily. “I guess that would be okay.”
“Does this mean we’ll fuck first?”
“Is that how you usually date?”
I grin. “Yes. But for you, I’ll make an exception.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
KATE
“Okay, just trust me on this.”
Eric’s voice doesn’t do much to assure me as we zip through traffic in his tiny sports car. I am more than grateful I can’t see the undoubtedly narrow spaces he fits through. The blindfold over my eyes was funny at first, then nauseating, and I am now settled on life-saving.
“Trust you? That doesn’t sound very promising.” I clutch my stomach as we veer around another set of cars. “Where are we going? The moon?”
“Better.”
“What’s better than the moon?”
“Glendale.” I can practically see the cheeky grin on his face.
“Glendale? Seriously? What the hell is in Glendale besides hipsters?”
“Great fun awaits us in Glendale, Kate. You just need a little faith.” Eric slides his hand down my leg, spreading chills across my body in rapid succession, and grasps my hand. It’s surprisingly intimate and I’m glad he can’t see my full reaction right now.