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Martin with a chuckle.
“Sorry.” He continued with a lick of his lips; the corner of his mouth curved into a grin. Rose stood full of rage. How dare this man tell her to shut up in her store. Her lips parted, ready to finally give him a piece of her mind when she paused at his words. “I’m not out to hurt you. I hope I can convince you to go out on a date.”
Rose tilted her head and remained silent as she looked into his eyes and, for the first time, saw a glimmer of kindness. Had Sarah been right? No, no, Martin Brock didn’t like her. Was this a trick? “You want to take me out on a date? A real date?” She asked.
“I do. It can be night or day. Your choice, your call. Everything on your terms.”
“My terms.” She repeated, Martin with a nod in agreement. Rose glanced at Sarah, who stood with a smile on her face. She could say yes and stand him up, she thought. Let him feel the embarrassment, be the butt of the joke for a change.
“Otherwise, I’ll keep coming in until you say yes.” He teased.
Rose with a short laugh. “So basically, to be rid of you, I have to go on a date? Otherwise, you’ll bother me even though I’ve clarified my feelings. I don’t want it. You do realize this is blackmail, right?”
Martin cleared his throat with an arch of his brows. “Um,” he chuckled nervously, “Yeah. But I’m new at it, so give me that.” Rose exhaled in frustration.
“Saturday.” The lines along the corner of his eyes were evident as his grin grew wider with her acceptance.
Rose hurried to her office as soon as he had left the store, her heart beating rapidly, her hands sweaty. What had she just done? How could this end anyway but disaster? Martin Brock was not a nice guy; he could not be trusted. She repeated words in her mind as she inhaled and exhaled to calm her breathing. Did she just set herself up for further pain? Embarrassment? Had she just welcomed the monster of her childhood into her life? What if Sarah was right? She wondered. Could he have changed? Become a better man?
CHAPTER6
Martin
Martin stood before his mirror; his hands gripped the front of his vest. With a hard yank, he pulled it down, straightening the material out. Why was he so nervous? His gaze scanned his outfit, casual but nice. He wanted to make sure she felt relaxed and comfortable. Everything had to be perfect, not just for her but for his ultimate plan. He wanted her to know he had changed, and though he knew she might never forgive him, she needed to know how sorry he was for the acts he committed against her. He ran his fingers along the sides of his hair, chuckling at the butterflies forming in his stomach. He was nervous. Nervous about taking Rose Denton on a date.
“You look handsome.” Martin’s gaze shifted to the reflection behind him, and smiled.
“That's your dinner?” He asked with a motion toward the jar of peanut butter in the pregnant woman’s hand.
“Well, I mean, I’m not getting a nice meal out.” She teased before shoving a spoonful in her mouth. “Mmm.”
Martin laughed at her expression before moving from the mirror toward his dresser. He snatched up a bottle of his best cologne, and with two squirts, he turned toward the woman as she sat on the edge of the bed. “This okay?” he asked with his arms out.
The woman looked him over and, with a smile, nodded. “I mean, for someone who looks like they are going to throw up, yeah.” she teased.
“I just want everything to be perfect.” He admitted.
“Why wouldn’t it be? You’ve never had complaints with the ladies before.”
“This is different.” He moved to the chair beside the bed and sat down. “She’s different.”
“If I didn’t know better, I would say you had some feelings for this woman.” Martin lowered his gaze and smiled as he started to explain.
“If you had asked me one month ago if I’d be nervous to take Rose Denton on a date, I’d laughed in your face and said I’d never take her on a date.”
“Because she’s a bigger woman? Or because you made her life a living hell?” Martin remained silent with her question. He had changed, become a man of acceptance and kindness, but had he evolved so much that he could admit everything he had once believed had been a lie?
“My entire life, I’ve always gone after the picture-perfect woman, but never felt what I have in my short interactions with Rose. There is this pull from her. It hit me the second I saw her. Before I even knew who she was. I don’t expect her to forgive me. Hell, I wouldn’t if I were her. I want a chance to make it up to her, show her that she deserved more than she got.” The woman smiled at his words; never had she heard him speak like that. With a hint of joy behind his eyes.
“Maybe this is more than a simple ‘forgive me’ date.” Martin chuckled as he stood and made his way to the nightstand. Martin wished he could disagree, but it seemed different. He was nervous. He worried about what she would think of his plans. He knew this was more than the one-night stand, the random hookup.
He had never been a man who believed in fate, a destiny that would be revealed when you least expect it. Yet, there was something about Rose that pulled at him, unlike it had when they were younger. Could it have been that he evolved to a more mature place? Maybe something in her life happened to bring out a different side of her. He didn’t know; he knew that night could have been his only shot at finding out. Snatching up his keys and wallet, he pushed them into his pockets before he returned to the mirror.
“Don’t wait up. I don’t know when I’ll be home.” He slid his palm along the slope of her neck and leaned down with a soft kiss on the top of her head. Martin turned and started from the room; his steps paused with the sudden yell of his name,
“Martin!” He turned toward the woman. “Do you have feelings for this woman?” Without answering her, Martin grinned sideways and stepped from the room. Perhaps she was right, but he wasn’t ready to admit that openly. He knew he fucked up, and it wouldn’t be easy to get Rose’s approval, but Martin had never been one to give up.
Once he had his mind set, he did everything he could to get what he wanted, and right then, what he wanted was Rose.
