Hadn’t they already talked about this? No, not really. She sighed and lifted her head so she could look at him. “It was something to do. I saw the ad one night when I was doing online research. It was just there on the side of some website I was on, and the name caught my eye, so I clicked on it.”
“You weren’t looking for an online hookup?” He was staring at her skeptically, his eyes narrowing. Damn, when did he start looking so sexy?
From his tawny skin tone to the thick dark eyebrows that were so naturally neat that she couldn’t help but envy them to the low-cut goatee and his perfectly tapered fade haircut, he was quite possibly the handsomest man she’d ever seen. And that was just from the neck up.
“Were you?” She shot the question back at him because her mouth was going dry.
“No.” He rubbed a finger over his chin and then shrugged. “Like I told you before, I wanted to try something different.”
“But how did you know about the site?”
Again, his eyes narrowed, but this time it was as if he were contemplating what he should say.
“I searched dating sites online. And before you ask again, no, I wasn’t looking for a date. I just wanted someone to talk to.”
“Wait,” she said sitting up so that water sloshed with her movement. “Were you lonely?TheMaurice Gold was lonely.”
Now he shook his head. “Don’t do that.”
“Don’t do what?”
“Don’t act like the rest of the world. You know me. You knew me before this.” Moving a hand back and forth between them signaled whatthiswas. “You know I’m not the way they paint me out to be.”
He was right; she did know. Which was why she sat back again and decided to give him a better answer. “It can be hard to figure out who you can trust enough to just be yourself with. I think that happens to everyone who reaches a certain level of success, because with it comes notoriety and expectations. You don’t always know where you fit into the mix.”
“That’s exactly it.” He nodded. “Major’s married, and Riley’s in a committed relationship. And here I am, still dating the flavor of the month, according toFYI Update.”
The tabloid he spoke of was one of the worst, and their reporters had a fixation with the Gold family. A few months ago they’d run a malicious piece claiming Major’s wife, Nina, had left her father to die in a nursing home so she could come to New York and marry into money. In truth, Nina’s father lived in a facility Major had found nearby and would be spending Christmas with the Golds in a few weeks.
“If it’s any consolation, RJ’s still happily single.” Bringing up the oldest Gold sibling was sure to invoke a bit of levity into a conversation that had taken a weirdly serious tone.
Maurice’s soft smile only made him sexier. “RJ’s going to die single. Do you know, one day he said he’d rather lie naked over hot coals than even consider getting seriously involved with another woman again.”
She chuckled. “Yeah, I think I was there when he said it.”
“Right.” He was nodding and grinning now, too. “Come to think of it, you’ve been around a lot.”
“I work for your family’s company.” As if that needed to be said.
“No. I mean, you’ve been around in my personal life a lot. Linking up with you on that app has to be some kind of strange coincidence.”
“Fate. That’s what my grandmother would call it. She doesn’t believe in coincidences.” And Desta no longer believed in things happening for a reason. If that were the case, what the hell was the point in all she’d gone through with Gordon?
“You miss her. I can hear it in your voice. I heard it this morning when you mentioned her, too. But you don’t want to go back to Chicago and visit her. That’s odd.”
Not liking where this conversation was going, Desta reached over and snagged one of the loofah sponges from a gold-wire basket on the back edge of the tub. “Not as odd as the two of us sitting in this tub.”
He shrugged again. “I don’t know, I’m kinda liking the two of us sitting here together.”
“You would,” she said with a roll of her eyes. The water was growing warm, so she grabbed the bottle of liquid soap and was about to pour it on the sponge, when he moved.
“Let me do that for you.” He didn’t wait for a response but took the bottle and loofah from her hands.
Scooting closer and causing water to slosh over the rim of the tub, he chuckled. When the sponge was lathered up, he reached for her.
“This is crazy. You know that, don’t you?” It was crazy good, she could admit that to herself the moment he touched the sponge to her chest.
“Yeah, I know. And no, I don’t know how it’s going to turn out, but right now I’m gonna wash you up and put you to bed. Is that okay with you?” Asking a question while he dragged a soapy loofah ever so seductively over her nipples was a trap if ever she’d heard of one.
