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“It probably wasn't for the best reason,” he offered, his gaze self-deprecating. “I wanted to one-up my dad and show him I could do it without him. I got my MBA after working my ass off at a mediocre college. It turned out to be a good thing I went into finance because that's what helped me scramble things together for the rest of us after we lost pretty much everything but the house.” His tone was dry and matter-of-fact.
“That must’ve been hard.”
“In the end, money really doesn't matter. I definitely learned that,” he commented with a shrug.
“Do you like working in finance now?”
Something passed through his gaze then, and I wanted to grab on to it, to understand it, but it was gone as fast as it appeared. “Yes and no. The older I get, the more cynical I get.”
ChapterEight
Ian
Jane’s hair caught glints of light from above and from the candle on the table between us. I shifted in my chair. I was the one who had invited her to come to dinner with me, and I was doubting it was a good idea. I kept telling myself this was no date, yet it felt like one.
Emile’s was the kind of place for a romantic evening. I wouldn't think anything of it if I weren't nearly tied up in knots with need for her. I'd been thinking about her comment off and on, about how I never noticed her when we were younger. I wanted to say it wasn't true, but it was.
It had been easy not to notice her. She was one of my younger sister’s friends, so that sort of automatically made her off-limits. But she also wasn't the kind of girl I paid attention to back then. I'd been looking for nothing more than a good time with any girl who might give it to me. All I wanted was fun.
Jane was smart and on the bookish side. Seeing her now, I discovered I had a librarian fantasy I never knew existed. With her glasses and when she pursed her lips and looked at me kind of like a schoolteacher, it was all I could do not to whistle through my teeth and tug her onto my lap.
So, there I sat, my cock so hard it ached. My jeans felt uncomfortably tight as I shifted in my chair. I wanted the brush of her fingers over my cock, not mine. As I tried to distract myself and adjust myself once again, Jane was saying something, and I lost the thread of the conversation. She stopped talking completely.
“Are you even listening to me?” She pursed her lips again, sending a sizzling jolt of lust straight to my balls.
“Of course.” That was a total lie, but I would try to wiggle out of this one.
“What was I talking about?”
A wink and a quick smile were not going to dissuade Jane. “Well, I asked you about work, and you were telling me about your job out in Seattle. Something about your boss.”
“What about my boss?”
“You thought he was awesome,” I quipped.
Jane rolled her eyes and lifted her wine glass, taking the last swallow. When she set it down, her tongue swiped across her bottom lip. Now my cock ached even more. I tore my eyes away from her mouth, looking down at her fingertips where she idly traced the stem of the glass.
“I hated my boss. He was an asshole who relied on everybody else to do his work for him, and then he took the credit. Now, could you please just admit you weren't paying attention? I prefer that to you trying to tease me into thinking otherwise.”
Her eyes held mine steadily. I finally cast her a sheepish smile. “Fine. I lost track of what you were saying, but I have a good excuse.”
She tipped her head to the side, lifting her hand away from the wine glass to catch a lock of hair that had fallen loose. She spun it around her finger, and I watched it slide in quick circles. She cleared her throat. “What's your good excuse? I can't wait to hear it.”
“You're distracting,” I said flatly, my voice almost coming out in a growl.
Her hand stilled and dropped to her lap. She straightened, her eyes blinking behind her glasses. I'd surprised her and felt like I'd caught my balance for the moment. Jane had me feeling off-balance almost every moment since we’d ended up in Haven’s Bay together.
“I'm distracting?” she prompted, her tone laced with doubt.
“You’re beautiful,” I replied, deciding honesty was my best course here.
Her cheeks went pink. She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again. “Flattery doesn't change the fact that you weren't listening. Try again.”
“Oh no, I'm telling the truth. You don’t understand just how distracting you are.”
Leaning forward, I reached for her hand where it had fallen on the table. I curled mine over it, trailing my thumb across the silky skin on the inside of her wrist. I could feel the rapid beat of her pulse there and watched when her lips parted slightly as she took in a sharp intake of air.
“What? No one else has told you you're beautiful? I'm going to guess, if that's actually the case, it's because you've mastered the art of brushing guys off.”
