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Chapter 7
Ember
All afternoon, I had wondered why I had taken Dr. Colt Barnes up on his offer for dinner. I kept telling myself it was because he was offering me something, and I was curious to see what it was.
Several times during the afternoon, I had thought about not showing up. I mean, what could tall, dark, incredibly handsome and rich dude want from me? He’d already said he didn’t want sex, so what else was there?
Curiosity got the better of me, and I dressed in something comfortable and started down the few blocks to the restaurant. Inside the door I found him seated near the back. When our eyes caught, I straightened my shoulders and moved to join him. I watched as his gaze slid over my body, and my heart quivered in my chest. Damn, he was freaking hot.
I don’t know how he did it, but somehow he managed to get me to relax and forget about the real reason I’d come. We laughed and joked about living in the city and found that we even shared a few of the same favorite things. Who would have guessed that he enjoyed hanging out at the park listening to street musicians or watching some kids break dance?
If it weren’t for the fact that he was a doctor, and obviously a very well paid one, I could have seen us being friends.
When was the last time that I had a real friend who was of the opposite sex? I couldn’t remember. With dinner over, I knew our time was winding down, so I figured we might as well get to the point of why I was here.
He had already told me he had a proposition, but when he said it was more of a challenge, my ears perked up. Challenges I could do, bring them on. I felt myself smiling and wondered when the last time was that I had truly enjoyed myself like this.
“I want to challenge you to go four weeks without picking up any guys and taking them home.”
Did he just say what I think he said? What the fuck?
“What the hell are you talking about?” I felt like I was going to explode. Who the hell did he think he was? “And where the hell do you get off judging me?”
He held his hands up in front of him, “Hey, Ember, I’m not judging you.”
“Really,” I leaned over the table, “because that sure as hell isn’t what that just sounded like.”
Colt went on about how he felt this could be good for me, and the whole time he talked, his words swam in my head, mixing with my doctor’s advice, and with my errant thoughts of the day. I could barely comprehend what he was saying, and as soon as I could make a break for it, I did.
What the hell kind of fool was he, and why had I even come? I couldn’t get out of there fast enough, and I cursed my broken toes as I tried to move more quickly than they wanted.
I heard him yelling my name, and once again I cursed my foot. If it had been any other time, I would have broken out into a sprint and disappeared around the corner by now.
Before I could get away, he pulled me to a halt and over to the side. “Wait a second. I was not trying to hurt you. I was trying to make you think.”
“Fuck you, Colt. Did you ever think that maybe I don’t want to think about it?” My god, I was livid. Not just angry, I was humiliated.
“Ember, that’s the point. You don’t think.” Colt took my face between his hands, and my resolve melted just a bit. “You are an incredible woman who deserves so much more. Don’t you want that for yourself?”
Of course, I wanted better for myself, but I didn’t deserve it. With the way he stared down into my eyes, he almost made me feel like I did though.
For the last few hours, I tried to be honest with myself and thought long and hard about what I had been doing in my life. I had taken more chances than I should have, that's for sure. Colt said he saw a woman who deserved more, wasn’t that what I really wanted?
Somewhere behind my frozen heart was a place that yearned for closeness with someone. I wanted to plan a future, to fall in love again, and to move forward. If I kept up my current lifestyle, I wouldn’t be going anywhere but backwards. I needed to change.
Colt seemed to be offering me a way, but could I trust him? Would what he was suggesting even help me? The only way to know was to listen to what he had to say.
Seconds after I decided to give him a chance, I was pulled into the back of a taxi and Colt was rattling off an address not too far from mine, but in a social map, it might have been in Alaska.
Colt still had a hold of my hand, and when we had first gotten in, I’d tried to pull away, but he had tightened his grasp. I wondered if the shaking I felt was from me or him.
Ten minutes later, my door pulled open, and Colt handed money to the driver while coaxing me gently out of the taxi. The doorman smiled politely at me. “Evening, Mr. Barnes, ma’am, I hope you had a good evening.”
“Yes, we did.” Colt’s hand settled on my lower back, and he ushered me to the door where the doorman suddenly appeared and held it for us.
Neither of us said anything until we got into the elevator. “I assume this is your home?”
“Yes, it is.”
