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Hmm. Good point.“That’s pretty low, cornering me in my workplace.”
Rowan’s lips tick up into an amused smile. “Ah, yes, but your home is also your workplace. So basically, I’m bothering you no matter which way I go.”
“Then take a hint.” I fold my arms across my chest. I swear, I’m not a bitch to everyone—but there’s something about Rowan that sets me on edge.
He’ssohot. To the point it makes me a little uncomfortable because a part of me never graduated from my awkward teenage years. I’m deeply attracted to him and I hate myself for it. I hate myself for falling victim to stupid biological shit like how symmetrical his face is. And how his stubble tells me he has a good amount of testosterone for making babies.
“You know your prickliness only makes me more interested,” he says.
“Why? Because you find it so fascinating that a grown woman isn’t into you?”
“Well, youareinterested, but the fact that you’re so resistant to it is particularly fascinating.” He gives me a shit-eating grin and I want to smack him with something. Maybe one of the inflatable unicorns we had in the booth today.
“Bite me.”
“With pleasure.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Tina and Artie returning and they look far too interested in what’s going on. I need to abort this conversation, stat. “I really need to get back to work. I can’t leave my team to deal with all this mess.”
Before either Rowan or I can get a word in, Tina pipes up, “Don’t worry, boss, we totally got this. You were here all day.”
I shoot her a look. “I should stay and help.”
“No need.” She grins at me and I want to growl. “Go. Artie and I will pack the van. He was going to drive it all to the office space, anyway.”
“What a wonderful team you have,” Rowan says, his voice liquid smooth. Like whisky. But I don’t miss the smug glint in his eye that tells me he thinks he’s won. Bastard.
There’s no point arguing. Maybe if I get this conversation with Rowan over with, then he’ll leave me alone for good. I grab my bag, which has a change of clothes inside, and throw it over one shoulder. As I walk past Tina to head out of the booth, she giggles.
“You’re welcome,” she says under her breath.
“You’re fired.” I glare at her, but Tina has worked with me long enough not to take it seriously. She enjoys winding me up, and she’s like Teflon when it comes to words. It’s one of the things I love about her.
“Yeah, yeah. Go get your freak on.” She shakes her head and gets back to packing up the rest of the booth. “Maybe if you get laid, you won’t be so grumpy all the time.”
I don’t have time to be offended. Frankly, I want this thing with Rowan—whatever it is—to be over as quickly as possible. Distractions are not an option right now. If I don’t make a success of this game, then I’ll be back to doing grunt work for a graphics company, or scraping by payday to payday working freelance jobs that bore me to tears. In other words, I’ll have to admit I failed at my dream...and I really don’t want to do that.
Ihaveto make this work.
“Let me get changed,” I say to Rowan. “I’ll meet you outside in five.”
I don’t want him looking at me like he did yesterday, and apparently costumes make me too bold for my own good. Better to be wearing jeans and sneakers so neither of us gets any wild ideas.
You’ve got plenty of wild ideas.
I head to the bathrooms and change. Rowan is waiting outside the event venue when I’m done and as I walk up behind him, it strikes me that he looks like a god. Tall, broad, dark hair glinting with a slight reddish tint from the dying sun. He leans against a pole and watches people walking up and down the boardwalk that lines the river. A party boat drifts by and people cheer from the deck, music floating on the gentle breeze.
“Why the sudden interest in my game?” I ask as I come up beside him. “You don’t exactly strike me as the gaming type.”
“Why’s that? I don’t fit the stereotype?”
“Not really, although I know the stereotype doesn’t cover how diverse gamers are. I meant more...” How do I put this? “You don’t seem like the kind of guy who’d be happy to have a night in and chill.”
“What makes you say that?”
We start walking along the river, back in the general direction of 21 Love Street. I’d caught the tram here this morning, but it’s definitely walkable in sneakers.
“I hear you come in at all hours,” I say. “And we’ve established the walls are thin.”
