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Again, the correct response is no. The worst possible thing for me to do right now is get on the back of his bike and plaster my body against his.
This time, I don’t screw it up.
Me: I’ll meet you. Sending you directions.
Nate: See you soon xx
Oh shit. He xx’d me. I think that’s the first time he’s ever done that.
Heart pounding, I scroll through our meager chat thread to make sure. Yup. He’s never text kissed me before.
I remind myself that this means absolutely nothing and promptly push the thought out of my head.
I’ve been craving the Egyptian place down the street that Lee first took me to, so I head that way while texting Nate the location. By the time I’m seated and scarfing down flatbread, he walks in shaking the helmet head out of his hair. Dark jeans encase his long legs, and he’s wearing a black Henley beneath his leather jacket. He’s so fucking sexy it’s nearly impossible not to stare. At least I’m not the only one—I notice two women at a table by the window overtly checking him out as he walks past.
“Thanks for waiting.” He grins at my full tray of food.
I don’t even pretend to be contrite. “You’re welcome.”
Nate places his order at the counter, then comes to sit with his drink while he waits. “I think Lee used to work here.”
“Mm-hmm,” I hum through a mouth full of bread. “We ate here my first day of class.”
“How’s that going?”
“What? School? It’s fine.”
He leans back in his chair, the epitome of cool. “What about your lass Josephine?”
“Is this why you invited me to lunch? You’re dying to know about my research?”
He shrugs.
The waitress arrives to set his food down, momentarily interrupting us.
“Okay then. For the sake of conversation,” I say once she’s gone,“and not because I believe you have any genuine interest, I met with Ben Tulley, if you must know. He took me to an embarrassingly expensive lunch and invited me to a ball for Princess Alexandra’s engagement.”
Nate’s expression flattens. “You being serious?”
“We shared the last bottle of white from his family’s soon-tobe-sold winery.”
I mean to imbue the statement with as much sarcastic haughtiness as I can portray, but I’m not sure it translates. If anything, Nate looks more troubled.
“You ought to be wary of that one.” Nate stabs at his lunch like he’s mad at it.
“Who? Ben?”
“That family is a black hole. You won’t even know you’ve drifted too close until you can’t escape.”
“I appreciate the poetic advice. But as long as I’m still young and single, if some fancy guy wants to drag me around to his fancy parties, I’m going to take him up on it.”
“As long as you’re not foolish enough to fall for him.”
The accusation stings a little. More so because I’m not sure he didn’t mean it to.
“I could do worse.” Like drunken Aussie rugby players who can’t kiss a girl and mean it. “I didn’t come all this way just for the libraries. So what’s wrong with a little adventure? How many times in my life will I get to fall for a lord?”
In all honesty, Ben isn’t really my type, not to mention eight years older than me. But it’s more the principle of the thing. And the fact that Nate’s dismissive attitude has poked my more combative instincts.
