During dinner, she seemed like the sweetest lady. In fact, when Ridge made little digs at me, she’d defend me in her own way by changing the subject or shooting him a warning glance. I guess she’s not so different from her son after all.
“Ma’am,” I whisper, “with all due respect, that’s not really how I do my job.” I’m mad now, but I also see where she’s coming from. If I were a mom, I’d protect my children too. But I can’t exactly tell her I was sent here to charm her sons into selling their land. That sounds … icky. “I promise you, I am very professional.”
So professional, in fact, that I fingered myself, thinking about your son earlier.
“I’m sure it isn’t, but you aren’t the first person to come in here and try to take what’s theirs, and you won’t be the last. So, I’m sorry that you’ve wasted your time coming here, but at the very least, let’s enjoy the rest of the evening before you go back to the city.” Her words are sharp, but she follows them up with a sympathetic smile before patting my arm. “Let’s go back and join the group. Yeah?”
I eye her over, as if we’re in a standoff. Finally, I nod. “All right.”
Just like I said, the women are the smart ones. Every. Single. Time.
It’s the end of dinner. Katherine stuffed us all with one of the best home-cooked meals I’d ever had and polished it off with chocolate chip bread pudding and vanilla ice cream, and I think the button on my pants might be on the verge of popping off.
I drank one too many glasses of wine, and I didn’t even get to fully pitch Ironbound’s offer because every single time it was brought up, Ridge or one of the other brothers would steer the conversation elsewhere or somehow change the subject.
And now my head is buzzing, and I’m going to call it a night.
“Well, I should get going,” I say, keeping my voice from slurring as best as I can. “Dinner was delicious. Thank you so much for having me.” I sound much friendlier with a buzz on. Maybe I should use this to my advantage more often to be more … people-y.
I need to go back to the house and regroup on where I go from here because this is going to be harder than I thought, and whenI drink wine, I get flirty. And the last person I need to be flirting with is the one whose eyes have been on me the whole night.
Ridge “Banana Man” Adams.
When I stand, Riley and Ridge both push up from their seats. Easton left before dessert was served, and obviously, Tucker isn’t going to do much talking.
“I’ll give you a ride home,” Ridge says, keeping his voice flat and unimpressed. Makes me wonder if he even has a personality.
“Hey, I’m going that way anyway,” Riley adds in, his eyes twinkling with amusement. “I don’t mind dropping her off, big brother.”
Ridge’s eyes cut to Riley’s, narrowing slightly, as if sending a silent message. “I said I’d do it,” he utters, almost more of a growl. His gaze shifts to me. “Ready?”
Looking from Ridge to Riley and finally Katherine, I grimace nervously because I took her words earlier as a warning to stay away from her boys. Instead of casting me a glare though, she smiles and nods subtly toward Ridge. Following her eyes, I glance at her son.
“Uh … sure,” I squeak, moving toward Ridge. “Ready.”
I’m sure she knows out of the two of her sons, Ridge is the least likely to let me close to him. She must really think I would use sex to get closer to her boys, but I would never. I’m a damn professional.
Never mind the alone time I had earlier …
I turn toward everyone and smile. I’m a little buzzed but doing my best to keep it together and not show it. “Thank you for inviting me to dinner.” My gaze sweeps from face to face. “But FYI, don’t think I missed the fact that you all shut me down every time I tried to talk business. So, we still have lots to discuss.”
Mr. Adams grins, standing up and walking behind his wife’s chair. Planting his palms on her shoulders, he shrugs. “Stella,you’re welcome to stop in for dinner anytime.” He pauses, his eyes narrowing. “But as for deals? We’ve got nothing to discuss with you.”
For a second, I freeze. But then I realize I’m not surprised—not really anyway. But that doesn’t mean I’m giving up.
Sighing, I tilt my head to the side. “Well, a girl can still hope, right?”
“Good night, Stella,” Mrs. Adams says almost teasingly while smiling warmly at me. “Thanks for joining us.”
And then it’s time to follow Ridge outside to his truck, which means one thing …
We’re going to be alone.
No. It meansI’mgoing to be alone with a man I can’t stand, who is also the man I fantasized about just yesterday. All after watching something as stupid as him lifting lobster crates.
Now, that’s embarrassing.
Idrive down the long driveway to the house Stella is renting. And even though I can tell she’s doing her best to keep her composure, trying to maintain that stick-up-her-ass thing she’s got going on, it’s obvious she’s buzzed. And why wouldn’t she be? I mean, my mom was practically refilling her wineglass every time I turned around.
