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His heart skipped a beat. “What?”
“You heard me.” She brushed past him, leaving behind her perfume to tease his senses. “Don’t be late.”
He should let it go. Take the date and do what he could with it. But something had him grabbing her arm before she was out of reach. “So you want to go out with me, right?”
“You got the yes,” she said, tipping her head at him and pulling free of his hold, which was easy since he wasn’t exactly trying to hold her captive. “Don’t push it.”
He watched her go with a mixture of emotions. He wasn’t sure whether to be happy, or whether her answer was enough, but he was sure of one thing.
There was a shitload of planning to do for this date.
Bacchanalia would be perfect. He’d get a limo to pick them up, with champagne in the back. Afterward, a show at the Fabulous Fox, followed by drinks at Cypress Street. Everything had to be perfect. He’d been given one chance to win her over.
He was not throwing away his shot.
Chapter Four
She glanced at the clock on her nightstand, licking her lips. She’d been ready to go since eight, but she’d let him in, told him she wasn’t ready yet, and then quickly locked herself in her room. It was now eight-thirty. She’d left him waiting for thirty minutes.
Time to go out.
As she reached for the knob, she took a deep breath, and steadied her nerves. This was all part of her plan. He hated lateness and hated waiting, so…
She’d made him wait.
As a matter of fact, she knew everything he hated. She’d done her research, and she planned on placing a checkmark next to each one of his tics by the end of the night. By the time she finished with him, the last thing he’d be thinking of was a second date with her.
She’d made a mistake in basically challenging him to want her the other night, and now she was going to fix it. She was going to make him hate her.
Then he’d move on and leave her alone.
She’d be safe again.
As she pulled the door open, she pasted a smile on her lips. “Eric?”
“Still here,” he said drily, standing. He looked at her, his gaze dipping over her body. Every inch of her tingled, and he hadn’t even moved. But then…he did. He crossed the room, picked up her hand, and raised it to his lips. The whole time he pressed his mouth to her skin, he watched her with an almost possessive light in his eyes. “You look beautiful, Shelby.”
This.
This was why she needed to scare him off.
If she didn’t, she’d let him seduce her, and she’d regret it. If she let him, he’d walk all over her, make her want him, too, and then walk away. Just like George had.
No. Never again.
She’d followed George here to Atlanta. Run away from college. From her family. From everything. She’d left it all behind for him…and he’d left her behind almost instantly. She’d been alone in an unfamiliar city, homeless, and out of a job. As she’d stood on the sidewalk, wiping tears from her cheeks, she realized she had two options. Go home and admit defeat to everyone who told her he was no good, or fight for what she wanted.
So she’d gotten a job waiting tables and worked her way up from ground zero until she could afford to go back to school. Then, once there, she’d done her best to get good grades, make a name for herself, and get a job. She’d succeeded.
All on her own.
She couldn’t let a guy like Eric—a guy like George—ruin all of that. She wouldn’t let him. She tightened her grip on his fingers and forced a tight-lipped smile. “Sorry I kept you waiting for so long. I couldn’t decide which shoes to wear.”
“No need to be sorry,” he said immediately. “I’d wait all night for you. But for what it’s worth…” He glanced at her feet. “I think you made the right choice.”
That was the perfect answer.
Damn him.
