On the car ride to my place, Dominic gave me his go-to ‘Can I be honest?’ line.
“I’m not offering this trip,” he said, “because I have plans of . . . keeping your services on retainer.”
While we were stopped at a light, I faked shock. “You won’t be paying for this pussy again?” He struggled to find words, but I laughed lightly. “Keep in mind, free pussy usually costs more.”
Turned out it cost just a little less. My last minute business class ticket came in at nine grand. He’d pulled out his credit card and typed those numbers in like it was nothing.
Evie pulled me aside as we finished in the bathroom.
“What is happening?” Her expression was nervous. “You want this?”
“Go to a kick-ass city, all expenses paid, with a guy who’s sexy as fuck? Yeah, I want this.”
“Have you thought about it seriously?” Her face skewed into an unreadable look. “I don’t really know him all that well, but Logan says he’s a good guy. But he’s not . . . like you.”
I gave her a plain look, silently asking her to get to the point.
“He’s going to get attached. Logan said he’s lonely. You’re going to hurt him – not on purpose, but it’s going to happen.”
She didn’t say it mean. We’d known each other for a while now. She, like Joseph, knew I didn’t do attachments. But I knew something about Dominic both she and Logan didn’t. He’d never been in love. It stood to reason he could survive two weeks with me. He was going to be at work a large percentage of the time I was there anyway.
“I’ve made it clear that’s not allowed to happen.” Not technically true yet, but I had a thirteen-hour flight to explain it.
Her look was skepti
cal, but I was confident. I was good looking, but really. My personality was an acquired taste, and few found it all that appealing. The chances of that happening were slim.
chapter
NINE
After dinner we hit the clubs with more of Logan and Dominic’s friends. He’d spent most of the evening discussing inside jokes with them and catching up, and Evie and I talked wedding.
At one point I went to the bar to get another cosmo, and a hand touched my shoulder.
“Can I buy you a drink?”
The guy looked like a younger version of Paul Rudd. Kind of goofy, but friendly cute. I’m always interested when a guy like this hits on me. I like the confidence and ambition. He knows, solely based on looks, I’m probably out of his league. But maybe he also knows most guys are too intimidated to hit on me. So I should have liked this guy right away because he’s not a pussy.
But something foreign sprung up in me instead of my usual flirting smile. A shocking response, “Oh, thanks, but I’m here with someone.”
Again, something was definitely wrong with me. Why did I turn down a free drink? I wasn’t taken.
The guy nodded and he tried not to appear disappointed, but a look flashed in his eyes. Rejection. I latched a hand on his arm.
“I’m not blowing you off,” I said. He had the balls to try, and I didn’t want him to be discouraged in the future. I let my gaze linger over him with a bit of exaggerated hunger. “Yesterday I would have definitely said yes.”
He blinked, stunned. A faint, teasing smile rose on his face. “Well, where were you yesterday then?” When he left and a new cosmo appeared on the bar, I returned to the table. Dominic’s questioning gaze was locked on me.
“Friend of yours?”
Oh, shit. That wasn’t a questioning look in his eyes. That was possessiveness. Which should have made me angry, but instead, it sort of turned me on. He’d spent serious bank on me. I was okay with him demanding a little loyalty.
“No, just a guy who thought I looked thirsty.”
“Yeah, he looked real concerned about you.”
Conversation at the table ceased at Dominic’s dark tone and every head swiveled toward me. Evie’s eyes went so wide they were almost completely white. She expected me to raise hell at this.