He stopped abruptly, which made her crash into him. In a low, dark voice, he said, “You’re making a fuckin’ scene. We’ll talk about this in my room.” Without waiting for her to answer, he pulled her along until he opened a door and shoved her inside. With his back against the door, he glared at her.
“Don’t even think of giving me that look. I’m the one who has good reason to be pissed. You’ve known since I came into the shop who I was. You jerk!”
Staring at her, he ran his gaze over her while he shook his head. “I found out after I tatted your ass.” His words felt like needle pricks.
“So why didn’t you tell me that the next day when you called? You made me practically ask you out. You made me act like an idiot.”
“That was entirely your doing. Anyway, I figured if I told you, you’d be embarrassed considering I spent an hour looking at your ass. By the way, you’ve got a nice one.”
She shook her head. “Youarea player. Ryan and Rory warned me about you. Was your plan to seduce me and walk away?”
“I don’t need to do much seducing. Women pretty much come to me.” She rolled her eyes. “You’re no exception. Why the hell are you here?”
“It’s none of your business. You kissed me and you didn’t tell me you were Garth. That’s misrepresentation.”
He laughed. “You gonna sue me? As I remember, you were enjoying the kiss.”
“Unbelievable. You don’t even think you did anything wrong.”
“The only thing I did wrong was kiss you. I shouldn’t have done that. Ryan’s my best bud, and I should’ve respected him.”
“What about respecting me? Were you ever going to tell me that you knew?” Hailey asked.
He shrugged. “Don’t know.”
“Just great. Move away from the door. I can’t stand being in the same room with you.”
“That’s too bad, because Ryan called me a couple hours ago and asked me to keep an eye on you.”
“You can stop lying now. Move on to the next woman.”
His body stiffened and his face grew dark. The boy she’d known as a child was nowhere to be found in this tall, menacing man. Momentarily losing her balance, she stumbled as she took a few steps backward.
“Don’t ever fuckin’ call me a liar again,” he gritted.
“Then play it straight. Ryan specifically told me not to look you up. Now you’re telling me he called you to keep an eye on me. How damn convenient.” She knew she was playing with fire, but she didn’t care.
“Never did know when to shut your bossy mouth. Remember how many times it got you in trouble when we were kids?” His icy eyes narrowed.
“Whatever. I have to go meet some clients.” She took two tentative steps, but he didn’t budge an inch.
“Ryan said you’ve got a crazy ass stalking you. An ex by the name of Nolan Colley.”
She suddenly felt foolish and very small.Maybe I’m making a bigger deal than it is because I felt stupid about how I acted with him when I thought I didn’t know him.
“What’s the deal with him?” Goldie asked in a low voice.
“He’s a stupid, abusive jerk who never had a girl say no to him. He comes from a good family in Albuquerque. We started dating and he seemed cool. Then the closer we got the more possessive and controlling he became. After we slept together, he acted like he owned me. He was always accusing me of cheating on him. I never did, but he had it in his mind that I did. One night we had a huge fight and he hit me for the first time. The next day while he was at work, I packed up my stuff and went back to my parents’. He never forgave me. He doesn’t know I’m in Alina.”
“Ryan seems to think he does. He wants me to make sure you stay safe.” He ran his gaze over her.
“By the way you’re looking at me, I’m thinking I have to find someone to make sure I’m safe from you.”
He flashed her a boyish grin, the kind that made women go weak at the knees. “What can I say? You’re a very pretty woman.”
A funny feeling fluttered inside her. “You’re a handsome man.”
He pushed away from the door and came close to her. “Seems like a shame not to do something about our mutual attraction.” He slowly ran his finger from her cheek down to her collarbone.
