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Even with her stunning looks, she’s still this real, down-to-earth girl. She cracks her silly jokes, and it only makes her all the more alluring.
Nina’s something special, and I’m finding it really difficult to reconcile this beautiful woman sitting next to me with the dorky, awkward girl who used to tag along whenever I hung out with her brother.
Luke might be an asshole, but he’s got something right. I feel something for Nina, something genuine, and I have no idea what to do with it.
That’s one of the reasons why my original plan was to send her home right away this morning—I don’t trust myself around her. But she batted those eyelashes at me, and I was putty.
My impulsive move to have her pretend to be my fiancée isn’t making matters any easier.
But she’s still Dean’s little kid sister and my employee, no matter what else happens. So I need to tread really goddamn carefully.
“So, you two from out of town?” the cab driver asks, interrupting my introspection.
“Yeah,” I say, not really wanting to get into a conversation. But if there’s something you can always rely on with a taxi driver, it’s an awkward, unwanted conversation.
“Ah, a romantic getaway, huh?” he asks, glancing at us through the rearview mirror. Before I get a chance to respond, he continues, “You look like a great couple. In fact, you remind me of my wife and me before the kids came along. Kids’ll take the winds right out of the sails of your love life, let me tell you that for free. We used to sneak out at night, do it all over the place, wherever we could, you know? The back of the car, in parks at night, wherever we could. Ah, to be young and in love again . . .”
Nina looks distinctly uncomfortable. She stares with wide, horrified eyes at the backseat where we’re sitting, probably wondering if the driver has made wild, sweet love to his wife right here.
“We’re here on business, actually,” I say brusquely.
The cab driver shuts up right away, and an awkward silence fills the car.
I turn to Nina. “I just want to thank you again,” I tell her, talking quietly, hopefully so that the driver can’t hear. “You know, for coming all this way and saving my forgetful ass. We couldn’t have done the deal without you, and I really mean that.”
She blushes, and I can’t tell if it’s because of what I said or the taxi driver’s comments. Whatever has caused it, it drives me wild.
“Don’t mention it,” she says. “I’m actually really enjoying myself. I’ve had a great time here . . .”
I could be wrong, but . . . the tone of her voice and the way she’s looking at me through lowered eyes tells me she’s not just talking about the sightseeing.
Fuck, why do I want her so much? Why can’t I fall for someone I can actually have?
We arrive at the hotel, and I quickly pay off the cabbie before leading Nina into the lobby.
“So, do you still watch football?” I ask as we approach the row of elevators, hoping to get rid of the awkwardness Luke and the cab driver have caused.
“No, not really,” she says, looking a little caught off guard by the question. “I catch the results on TV sometimes, but I don’t think I’ve actually sat down and watched a game in years.”
“Really? You never used to miss a game. You used to love it.” I step inside the elevator and press a button to keep the door open for her.
“Yeah, well, I uh . . .” Nina blushes again, casting her gaze down to the floor as she enters the elevator. “That could have been because I was just looking for an excuse to spend time with you. Maybe.”
“All those games you sat and watched with us, and you didn’t even like football?”
She laughs. “Teen crushes are quite a thing.”
I don’t know why I’m surprised that she’s just saying that so casually. This is the first time we’ve broached the subject of her little teenage crush on me. I glance at her as we walk side by side down the hotel hallway, wondering if there’s any trace of that crush left.
Outside her room, Nina cracks open the door and turns to face me. “So . . . what are we doing tomorrow?”
“Back to Denver. Fun’s over, unfortunately.”
But I wish it wasn’t, at least for tonight. Damn. You look so good, standing there.
She sighs. “I was worried you were going to say that. But I guess it couldn’t last forever. Well, goodnight, I guess. See you in the morning.”
She turns to enter the room, and for a moment it seems like that’s it.
But then something comes over me.
Maybe it’s her little confession, or maybe it’s the rush from having closed my first major deal, or maybe it’s just that my hunger for Nina has been building up, up, up for weeks now, and I can no longer keep it dammed up.
