“Ever?”
She shook her head.
Disappointment hummed in his body. She was an attractive woman. Very attractive. But more than anything, he wanted to connect with her musically. He was eager to hear her opinion aboutMetacosmos. “What if we spend time together and fall in love?” Why had he asked that?
She snorted. “I don’t believe in love.”
“You love music, but don’t believe in love?” He narrowed his eyes.
“Who says I love music?”
“Your eyes when I played.”
She clenched her jaw and narrowed her eyes. Then her shoulders slumped. “You’re very observant.”
“Well, to be honest, I wasn’t sure if you were loving it or hating it.”
“A bit of both,” she said after a moment.
“Isn’t that part of love?”
“Loving and hating?”
He nodded. “I don’t think you can truly hate someone unless you love them.”
She clenched her jaw and blinked several times before looking up at him, her eyes hard. “That I don’t agree with. You can hate someone without loving them.”
“Why would you put so much energy into despising someone if there are no emotions attached?”
She blinked. “Are you a psychologist?”
“Armchair philosopher.”
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Well, you’re amusing if nothing else.”
“Does the amusement earn me a chance to take you to lunch? If I promise not to seduce you?”
She arched a brow, eyes filling with amusement. “You think you could seduce me?”
Oh, the challenge in her eyes made him want to pull her close and press his lips against hers, but he had a feeling she’d never talk to him again if he did. “I think I could,” he said, a smile playing on his lips. “But I won’t.”
She rolled her eyes. “Gee, thanks.”
“You want me to?”
“What? No. Of course not.” She bit her lip.
Hmm. Maybe she wouldn’t get as pissed as he originally thought. But no, he didn’t want to play with her. He wanted to know her. For some strange reason. “So, lunch?”
She gave a reluctant nod. “Okay.”
Andante
MODERATELY SLOW
Eighteen
“I’m telling you,Gabriel, fire his ass if he doesn’t come around,” a man said, waving his glass of scotch in the air. “I don’t care who he is. He doesn’t have a right to act like he’s better than everyone else.”