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She tugged a bag of knitting from underneath her seat and pulled out the start of a tiny sweater. “This is for my daughter’s baby, due in October. Little girl. I can’t wait to be a grandmother.” She leaned over knowingly. “Pretty girl like you must have a boyfriend, don’t you, dear?”
Before I could stop it, a handsome face with dark-blond hair appeared in my mind’s eye. That thick lion’s mane. That stupid Cheshire grin. Oh, he would just love this conversation.
I shook my head, as much to rid myself of the image as to answer her question. “No, no boyfriend. I’m in school—too busy.”
“Oh, I see,” she said with the trace of sadness I often heard in Bubbe’s voice.
The bus chugged on into the night, and it didn’t take long for the hum of the wheels on the pavement to put me to sleep against the cold window. Hours later, I awoke to a light tap on my shoulder.
My seatmate smiled kindly. “We’re here, dear.”
Blearily, I pulled on my cap and pushed my glasses up my nose as I filed off the bus after my seatmate.
“Well, I hope you have a nice visit with your pops,” she told me as she took her suitcase from the driver.
“Thanks,” I replied, taking my overnight bag from him as well. “You have a nice trip with your son.”
“I will. Tommy’s waiting for me just over there in a taxi. I’d offer to introduce you, but I see you have an escort waiting for you.”
“What?” Confused, I looked up from my phone, on which I was checking the time.
She chuckled and tapped a finger on the side of her nose. “Sure, you’re too busy. Well, he’s a handsome one, dear, I’ll give you that.” She pointed over my shoulder.
I turned around, wondering who she was talking about. And there, of course, was Brandon Sterling, with that damn smile in its full-blown glory as he pushed casually off a lamppost like he had been waiting there for me my whole life.
Eight
“What the hell are you doing here?”
The question flew out, sharp and curt, before I could stop it. I was still half-asleep and probably had upholstery lines on my cheek. The last thing I expected was six feet, four inches of heart-stoppingly gorgeous, utterly chauvinistic tycoon waiting for me on a poorly lit corner in Chinatown. A solid day’s worth of dark-blond growth on his ruddy cheeks gave Sterling a more rugged quality than usual, but still dressed in his three-thousand-dollar suit, he looked out of place in this neighborhood.
A light nudge at my back reminded me that there were still other people waiting for their bags, so I handed a tip to the porter and walked past Sterling without waiting for his answer. The nearest Q stop was at least ten blocks down Canal Street. I wanted to get out of the cold.
“Skylar! Hey! Where are you going?”
I continued to walk. It was after midnight. I was tired and hungry, having skipped dinner. My bullshit tolerance was down to zero.
His steps quickened next to me.
“Hey,” he said again. “Not even a hello?”
I sighed but refused to meet his gaze as I kept on. I didn’t need that face doing things to me again. I just wanted to get home.
“Skylar, really?”
Finally, I mustered the best glare I could, even though just looking at him made my steps falter slightly. “Fine. Hi. How are you? And what are you doing here,Mr. Sterling?”
“It’s Brandon, I told you. Five days ago, I had my tongue down your throat, Red, so I think we’re past formalities, don’t you?” He raised a sly brow, and my steps tripped again.
I huffed at the wet pavement and tried to outpace him, but his long legs had no problem keeping up. So, I decided to give up the fight. I stopped and faced him, ignoring the way my bag fell down my shoulder again. This stupid coat. Stupid bag. I’d have given anything at that moment for a backpack or a rolling suitcase. God, I couldn’twaitto get home.
“All right,” I snapped. “What is your problem? Are you stalking me or something?”
Sterling grinned. His face transformed with that smile, an effect that irritatingly seemed to grow, not diminish. The more he did it, the more attracted I was, no matter my foul mood.
“It’s cute, you know. Your accent comes out when you’re pissed off.” He leaned in so his mouth hovered near my ear. “I wouldn’t mind bringing out that growl someplace more private, you know?”
That did it. I didn’t see a smile anymore. I only saw red.
