Melting the Ice(8)
“I’m not here to seduce you, Lina,” he said, though when he’d walked through her front door and seen her again, she still managed to gut punch him like she always had. She was even more beautiful now than she’d been back then. Her light brown hair was cut chin-length and framed her face, and her stunningly sharp blue eyes, as always, just about struck him dead.
“I can’t believe you agreed to do this. It doesn’t seem like it’s something you’d be remotely interested in doing.”
He caught the edge of anger in her voice. “How would you even know what interests me? Maybe I like fashion.”
She let out a snort. “I highly doubt that. You seem more like the bar-brawling, beer-swilling, sweatshirt–with-a-logo-on–it-wearing, sports-watching type to me.”
“Hmmm. I have been guilty of all those things. But I also like to dress well. See, you don’t know me at all, Lina.”
She looked away. “Stop calling me that.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s not my name.”
He moved closer, breathing in the subtle scent of her perfume. “Because it reminds you of that night.”
She stepped away. “No, it doesn’t.” She lifted her head and gave him a look that showed her pain. “You’re trying to piss me off.”
Now it was him who took a step back. “No. I’m really not. I just want to be friends.”
She laughed. “We can’t be friends, Drew.”
Maybe she hated him because of what he’d done. He’d always managed to stay friends with the women he slept with. He was nice to them and never lied to them. He never made promises he didn’t intend to keep. Hell, he never made promises. He’d never promised Carolina anything that night, either. But maybe she’d heard something he hadn’t said. Or maybe he’d said something that night he couldn’t recall saying.
“This isn’t a good idea.” She closed up the boxes of food.
He stopped her, laying his hand over hers and forcing her to turn and look at him. “What’s not a good idea?”
“This. You and me.”
“Working together?”
“Anything . . . together.”
“Come on, Li—Carolina. You need this for your work, right?”
She shrugged. “I can get models.”
“Oh, but you need me. I’m a hot commodity.”
She shot a look at him. “Modest as always, aren’t you, Drew?”
“Well, you know me.”
“Yes, I do know you.”
He figured if he could joke with her, tease her like he’d always done, she’d snap out of this sad, reflective mood. Mad Carolina he could deal with. The sad one he couldn’t handle.
“Come on. It’ll be just like old times. Only you get to tell me what to do. You can even be mean to me. It’ll be like payback. Think of all the fun you’ll have ordering me around.”
She straightened and cocked a brow. “Why do you want to help me? Surely you have better things to do with your time. Like playing a hockey game, or picking up some woman.”
“Not really. Annoying you has always been one of my favorite things to do.”