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He folded his arms over his chest. “Oh, really? How did I misunderstand?”
“Look, I had a great time. We both did, but I wasn’t looking for anything serious. I thought we were hooking up for the night.”
“Hooking up for the night means you can’t have breakfast? That means you can’t say goodbye?”
She didn’t want to explain why she slipped away without saying goodbye. Then he’d know the truth—that what she experienced in his arms had scared her. She’d been down the road of falling in love before and always ended up with the short end of the stick.
In her last serious relationship, she allowed the man she was with to convince her that he would take care of her. She moved in with him and shamefully kicked some of her friends to the curb—all because she wanted to please him.
In the end, it wasn’t enough. When he broke up with her because he considered her ambitions too masculine and didn’t allow him to be a man, she crawled back to her friends and apologized. Humiliated, she vowed never to put all her time and energy into a man again. She would put all her time and energy into work and reap the financial rewards.
“Were you looking for something serious?” Desiree asked.
“No.”
“So what’s the problem?”
His face tightened. “No problem. I think we’re done here, right?”
“What about my proposition? I need a date for Friday night. It’s a simple dinner, about ten people including my boss, his wife, the other candidate, and his significant other. I’ll pay your fee, whatever it is.”
“Not interested.”
“You’re punishing me for what happened though you said you weren’t looking for anything serious either,” she accused.
“Just because I wasn’t looking for anything serious doesn’t mean you can treat me like—” His mouth tightened.
“Like what?”
“Never mind. You should go.” Montez walked toward the door and hauled it open.
Desiree didn’t move. “Like what? What are you accusing me of?” She had to know so she could fix this.
With an exasperated sigh, he slammed the door closed again and stalked over to face her with a glower. Looking up at him, she should be intimidated. He was definitely upset, but all she saw were deep-set eyes, a bearded jawline sharp enough to cut marble, and lips that she ached to kiss again.
“You treated me like I was nothing. A reject. A piece of shit at the bottom of your shoe,” he said between tight lips.
Taken aback, her mouth fell open. “That wasn’t my intention. I’m sorry if I made you feel that way.”
“Forget it.”
“No, really, I am sorry. I left because I didn’t want to have an awkward conversation with you in the morning. I see now that it wasn’t the best way to handle the situation, and I’m truly sorry.”
He watched her with suspicion, but at least she didn’t see the same level of animosity as before.
“I can’t be your date on Friday night.”
“Why not?”
“I’ve never been hired out before,” he said.
“You’ll be fine. Be your normal charming self, the same guy who…” Desiree paused, and his eyes darkened, the air crackling between them. She swallowed. “The same guy who convinced me to go to a hotel with him.”
“It didn’t take much convincing,” he said.
She shrugged. “But you were charming.”
He seemed to be thinking about it but was still hesitant.
