And so I took a step forward.
Then another.
Soon my body was pressed completely against his, and my breath hitched. He looked down at me, but still, he didn’t speak. He seemed to remain perfectl
y still, as though he could tell that any movement might scare me or make me panic. He definitely didn’t want to scare me away, I knew, and it would be so easy to do.
I could do anything to Locke.
Anything.
This was my chance to show off. It was my one opportunity to do anything that I wanted to do. He was basically offering me the chance to live out one of my fantasies, and was I really going to give all of that up? No way in hell.
I reached for him, cupping his face in my hands. I brought my lips to his once more, but this time, I kissed him deeply, passionately. He opened his mouth and kissed me back. There was no misunderstanding here: he was the one guiding the kiss, but I still felt kind of like I was in charge. It was still my moment. I kissed him eagerly, wildly. For this one moment, I let myself totally go. I wasn’t worried about anything else. I wasn’t thinking about anything else. It was just me and him and our moment.
I stopped, pulling away, breathless.
He looked at me carefully.
“I guess you’re right,” I said. “I could do better.”
Then I winked at him – fucking winked – and turned, walking away. I had my items securely in my hands, and I forced myself to walk all the way to the elevator. I waved to Caleb, but didn’t say anything. Then I just got inside of the elevator, pressed the button, and rode down to the lobby. I took the second set of elevators to the parking garage and darted across to my car.
It wasn’t until I was actually in my car that I let out the breath I was holding and let myself think about what I’d just done.
Somehow, I’d managed to kiss Mr. Locke.
And I had a feeling that it was going to change everything.
Chapter 9
Paige
The week went by in a whirlwind of papers, classes, and work shifts. I’d talked myself out of going to see Locke again about eight different times. Fawn knew what was going on, and she had a lot of differing opinions, too. She wasn’t afraid to tell me exactly what she thought.
“It’s not going to end well,” she warned, and even though I agreed with her, I also wasn’t about to give up my chance to find out where I’d come from.
Who knew?
Maybe Locke was lying.
Maybe the entire situation was a way for him to just have some fun with someone who was down for it. I didn’t think so, though, because that analysis just didn’t make sense. Locke was handsome. Rich. Charming. He could have anyone, and usually, he did. He was the kind of guy who could get any girl in the world.
So why would he go after me unless he was telling me the truth?
When I wasn’t writing papers or hurrying to classes, I was researching Locke. I was going to find out as much as I could about him before our next meeting.
Who was he, really?
What was important to him?
I’d learned a lot about him that I hadn’t known before. He’d had a sister, for one thing. She’d died last year in a horrible accident. I couldn’t quite find any details about that, but every article I found used the word “tragedy.” Part of me wondered if it was suicide. Most of me knew that it wasn’t.
There was more to that story. I was sure of it. I looked around online reading newspaper articles and opinion pieces about Locke. Everyone in the city seemed to be fascinated with him, which was strange because at first glance, he really was just some real estate guru. Younger people didn’t care about that stuff, but the elite of Ruby City?
They cared.
One website had a bio for him, and I read that several times even though the article was super straightforward. He was raised in a rich area and went to private school his entire life. It was the same story for college. He went to some prestigious business school, graduated with honors, and then went into business for himself. His dad was the one who ran the company first, but Locke was the one who really got it started.