Romancing My Love(12)

Pierce lowered his voice and closed the distance between them. “You’re right. I guess I’m used to a lot of things that are different from what you’re used to, and I’m not used to women—other than my sister and maybe my cousin Savannah—who can take on guys like that. It was my issue, not yours, and I’ll be sure to try to check my urge to help at the door from now on.”

She crossed and uncrossed her arms, feeling like an utter fool. He was being nice and she was acting like a bitch.

“God, Pierce. I’m sorry.” She sighed loudly. “You can take me back to my car. I…You don’t need someone like me in your life. Look at you. You’ve got your life together, and I’m just starting to piece mine back together. I overreacted and, honestly, I have no business going up against a guy like Martin even if I am capable of it. The guy’s an ass. I wish I was in a position to have just left without my check, but I’m not. I probably never will be, and that’s okay, but I don’t want to be the type of woman who makes you wonder what the hell she’s going to do next. I’m really not a rampant crazy woman who hits men or tells them off.”

“I don’t think of you in that way.” His voice was so sincere it softened her anger.

She looked up at the sky and closed her eyes for a second while she mentally pulled herself back together.

“I don’t think of myself in that way either,” she admitted. “Really. I’m not that person. I mean, I am if I have to be, and unfortunately, you’ve witnessed two terrible situations in as many days, but really, I’m just a girl who lost her mother and wants to get on with her life. I want to finish school, land a job I love, and I don’t know, have some modicum of a life far away from places like this.”

“How about if we start with the fact that I’m a man who just wants to have dinner with you. Whether or not you went up against Martin and despite the fact that I acted out of turn.”

She had to smile at the absurdness of it all. “Gosh, Pierce. Are you really this nice of a guy, or is this all some farce?” She walked back toward the car.

Pierce grabbed her hand and stopped her cold with his serious stare. “I assure you, I am not just this nice of a guy. I can also assure you that this isn’t a farce. I have my faults, and you’ve just seen one of them.”

He opened the car door and she climbed in. “That was a fault?”

He went around to the driver’s side and settled into the driver’s seat. “Yeah, it is a fault. I should have listened to you. Remember, we talked about how neither of us likes to give up control?”

Rebecca covered her face with a groan. “Oh God. We’re going to butt heads a lot, aren’t we?”

He drove away, leaving the city lights behind. “I don’t have a clue. Everything about you throws me for a loop.” He took her hand in his again. “And for whatever reason, I like it.”





Chapter Six


BY THE TIME they reached Pierce’s driveway, Rebecca’s nerves had calmed, and with the help of Pierce’s jokes, she’d shed the embarrassment of going to pieces in front of him. They drove through a stone and iron gate, beneath an umbrella of trees, and followed the in-ground lights up the long driveway. Acres of grass fell away to either side of the driveway as the house came into view.

“It’s really serene out here.” Given Pierce’s clothing and that he worked in the executive offices of the casino, Rebecca had expected that he would have a fancy house and car. She was totally taken off guard when he parked at the end of the circular drive, in front of the cutest stone house she’d ever seen.

“Your house is adorable.” She took in the large picture windows, the gable over a deep front porch, and twin peaks that rose from either side of the roof.

“Adorable.” Pierce let out a little laugh. “I think my sister was going for elegant without being flashy when she designed it for me.”

“Your sister designed this?” She opened her car door.

“Yeah. She’s an architect, and she’s really well known in the passive house industry. This was one of her first, and I love it.”

“What’s a passive house? Are there aggressive houses, too?” She arched a brow with the question.

Pierce smiled. “Maybe there should be.” She loved that he fell right into teasing her back. “Passive houses use a higher standard for energy efficiency and leave a much smaller ecological footprint. Changing the world one house at a time and all that.”

Pierce arrived at her side of the car after she’d already stepped out. He retrieved her purse, then reached for her hand. “Do you ever let men open doors for you?”

She bit her lower lip. “I’m sorry. I don’t do that on purpose.” They walked through the heavy wooden doors into a beautiful, high-ceilinged foyer that led to an open living space with glass along the far wall and a fireplace tucked into the corner of the room. Rebecca had expected marble floors and chandeliers, not warm, dark wood floors and a room full of family photographs. To their left was an arched opening into a library with two full walls of books and a blue sofa that arced in a half circle. The front windows ran almost ceiling to floor, and on the far wall was a gorgeous fireplace with a slate hearth and a decorative wood mantel.

“Your house is beautiful, and I’m sorry about the car door. I guess I’ve spent so many years being the one to hold doors open and taking care of my mom that the dating world is still a little foreign to me.” She couldn’t help but wonder how often he brought women home. Every night? Weekly? A man like him had to have a plethora of women at his beck and call.

“Well, I was brought up to open doors and pull out chairs for women, so is it something you can get used to, or should I retrain my brain?” Still holding her hand, Pierce led her through an archway to their right to a beautiful wooden bar. He set her purse down. She was trying to get used to carrying one again. If she was going to break out of the working in bars and IHOP scenes, she couldn’t very well carry her key and driver’s license in her heels.

Pierce placed his hands on her hips.

She loved the feel of them, steady and sure. Around Pierce she didn’t feel like her ass was wide or her body was out of proportion. He looked at her like she was beautiful, and when he touched her, everything inside her sizzled and came alive.

“Would you like a glass of wine?”

His voice brought her mind back to reality, and reality was even hotter. He stood so close, his lips a breath away. She could pucker hers and they’d probably touch. Let yourself enjoy him, even if it’s only for a night, the woman in her pleaded. Three years without a man was a very long time, and his touch felt so good. She reminded herself that she was living in her car, that this date couldn’t lead anywhere serious. And she needed a one-night stand like she needed to lose another job. The sensible side of her brain took over. This is a dinner date, and that’s what it is going to remain.

“Sure,” she managed. He moved around the bar and she wanted him back, touching her again, looking at her like she was beautiful, and sexy, and—

“How was your day?” he asked, as if they’d been dating forever. Or maybe every guy asked simple questions like that; she couldn’t remember.

“Really great, other than the whole Martin fiasco. I got a job at the casino. It’s just a waitress job, but I start Monday, and there’s growth potential, so you never know.”

He joined her again and handed her a glass of wine. “That’s great. Have you waitressed before?”

“Oh, goodness, yes.” She swatted the air, as if she were an expert. “I mean, not at anyplace as nice as the casino, but how hard can it be? I do need to memorize the menu, but I’m a quick study. I have it in my purse.”

“Ah, it wouldn’t fit in your bra?” The side of his mouth quirked up with the tease.

“Actually…” She pulled the top of her dress out from her chest and looked down. “I’m not wearing one tonight, so…”

His eyes darkened, narrowed. “I’m going to pretend I don’t know that; otherwise I’ll have a hard time concentrating on cooking dinner.”

Nice to know I have that effect on you.

He took her hand again, and it was starting to feel familiar, the way his big hand engulfed hers. Strong and Protective. “Come on, braless wonder. I hope you like steak.”

She laughed. “There isn’t much I don’t like.” Pierce was easy to be with. She loved the way he joked, and the way he looked at her made her feel special, though she knew she had to be careful there. Before her mother became ill, when Rebecca had been in the dating realm, it had been her experience that most men were after something sexual without the desire for anything more, and as much as she wanted an end to her three years of abstinence, she wasn’t interested in being a notch on anyone’s belt. Not even Pierce’s.

They went into a beautiful kitchen with stainless-steel appliances and warm, wooden cabinets. “Is this how you woo all your women?” She had to ask, and it wasn’t her nature to be coy about such things.