He knocked again.
She lowered her window a scant inch and raised a brow.
“We should think green and ride together. But I’m not cramming myself into that Prius. I’ll drive.” He opened her door, reached in, and wrapped his large hand around her arm. She grabbed her things just as her body took flight.
His firm grasp propelled her across the rough pavement, tugging her toward his sexy car.
“Maybe I don’t want to be trapped in a car with an obnoxious man like you.” She lifted her key remote over her shoulder, beeping her car locked.
“I love when you’re feisty and pissed off. I’ll bet you’d be fun under the sheets that way too.”
“My sheets are reserved for Greg. And we need to discuss your bad attitude toward him! What do you think Greg thought when you held on to my hand like that?”
Nick’s jaw clenched as he opened her door. “He doesn’t deserve you, Shelby.”
“And you’d know this, how?” After he’d rounded to his side and joined her, she buckled her seat belt and glared at him.
He blew out a breath before he zipped into traffic. “You need a guy who wants to make love to you, not play football with you. What does he have that I don’t?”
She snorted. “The desire for a wife and kids, for starters.”
He shifted gears and floored it through a yellow light. “Why can’t you just sleep with a guy and have fun? No strings attached.”
She’d wondered that about herself too. Often. “I guess because then I wouldn’t be me?”
He opened his mouth to respond, then snapped it shut. “Good point. But then the guy you pick is too blind to see what a beautiful woman you are?” He turned and briefly stared into her eyes. “You deserve better, Shelby.”
She started to defend Greg, but Nick raised a hand to cut her off. “It’s how I see it. And I’m done fighting about Gary!”
She poked him in the arm. “Until you admit holding my hand hostage in front of Greg shows what a jerk you are, we’re not even close to being done!”
“Okay, I’m a jerk. But at least I’d know what to do with the sexiest woman to ever cross my path.” The lust in his gaze threatened to make her traitorous girl parts combust.
She crossed her arms and closed her eyes, blocking out his alluring baby-blue ones. “You’re impossible.”
When he chuckled, she winced.
Good come back, Shelby. That’d rate about a Three from the East German judge.
Her anger slowly dissipated as she leaned back and enjoyed the fast ride. She really missed her Porsche.
Nick’s comment about why she couldn’t just have a fun fling bounced around her brain.
Who was he to talk? She turned to him and asked, “Have you ever been in love, Nick?”
He shook his head. “Nope.”
“If you’ve never been in love, you can’t know what you’re missing. Dating will be good for you. You work too much. You need to find someone you can have fun with and who’ll show you how nice a real relationship can be.”
“I had fun with you last night. Dump the prince and I’ll show you what it’s like to have great sex with a real man.”
“No thank you, Mr. Shallow.” She huffed out a breath.
Would she consider it if she thought Nick would take her seriously? But he wouldn’t. He’d sleep with her a few times and then move on when he became bored. But the sex would probably be amazing.
When they arrived at her favorite cozy Italian restaurant, Nick held the door open for her. She couldn’t argue with Nick’s manners. It was about the only thing she couldn’t argue with him about.
The little tables covered with red-and-white checked table cloths all had wine bottles with colorful wax dripping down the sides at their center. The scent of garlic and warm, freshly made bread made Shelby’s stomach beg for a big slice of their to-die-for lasagna.
The owner, Michael, waved from the kitchen. “We got you all set up like last time, Shelby. You want the usual?”
“Yes, please!” She loved supporting small mom-and-pop restaurants like hers and Jo’s. Although, Jo had bigger plans for theirs one day.
She wrapped her hand around Nick’s big arm and tugged him to the rear, weaving through the tables full of diners. “Okay, so you’ll sit here with your back to the wall and wait for Lisa. She said she’s wearing a blue silk shirt and black slacks. I’ll be over there where she can’t see me but you’ll be able to. Try not to make eye contact with me when I speak in your ear. It’s a mistake first-timers often make.”
“Got it.” Nick accepted the ear piece and popped it in. “So, what does Lisa do for a living?”