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I frowned and faced her. “Are you suggesting I take your class?”
“Of course. I can’t just bring you to the front of the class and say, Hey, this guy needs a fake girlfriend, any takers?” She chuckled. “I mean, I’d get a few laughs until they realized I wasn’t kidding.”
“I’ve never done yoga. I’ll make an ass of myself, and that won’t get me far with any of them.” Nah, bad idea.
“Almost every woman I know that’s my age is married or in a relationship. There are plenty of twentysomethings in my class who’d say yes to you.”
“Whoa, wait a second.” I cut my hand in the air. “That’s too young for me. I’m going on forty.”
Natalia swatted my chest with the back of her hand, and I stupidly snatched her wrist. Why was that always my first reaction when around her? To reach for her. “Good thing it’s fake, then, right? Who cares if she’s in her twenties?”
“Forget yoga.” When I realized I was smoothing my thumb along her wrist where I was holding her, I quickly let go. “Find someone older. I need this to be realistic, or my uncle won’t believe it.”
She blew out a breath and pursed her lips together.
“You know someone, don’t you?” I narrowed my eyes, and she winced. “You’re holding out on me. Who?”
“Maybe.” Her shoulders fell. “Just come to my restaurant tonight. After the dinner rush. I’ll ask her to be there at the bar.” She held an index finger between us. “And no, you don’t need to take me to work today. I already asked Enzo to bring me, but you can take me home when we close. Enzo lives in Uptown, so it’d make more sense for you to drive me.”
Enzo, huh? “You’re not going to give me a name for this potential date? Tell me anything about her?”
“All you need to know is that, um . . .” Natalia let go of a deep breath. “Well, I’m sure you’ll want to change your mind about the whole G-rated thing, that’s all.”
“Really?” And why do you look so upset right now? “Why didn’t you think of her before? Why push yoga on me?”
She rolled her tongue over her front teeth as if contemplating an appropriate response. “I mean, maybe I just wanted to see you in tights.” She was lying. But if she didn’t want to answer, I wouldn’t push her.
“You’ll never see me in tights.” I smiled. “Remember the Spiderman costume I refused to wear?”
“How could I forget?” she whispered. “Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t love to see you in it.”
“Oh really?” I teased. “Never gonna happen. Not for all the money in the world.”
“Not even for nine hundred and fifty thousand? You draw the line at tights, but you’re okay with fake dating a woman?”
Shit, you have me there. And that was a harsh reminder of my situation and why I was there.
Anthony. My brother. Her ex.
“I never understood you two,” I blurted before throwing the truck into reverse. “You and Anthony just didn’t make sense to me.”
Natalia was quiet for a moment before sharing, “That’s because what you said to the doctor was true. My mom has horrible taste in the men I should be dating.”
I shot her a quick look after leaving the Starbucks parking lot. “And who should you be dating? Someone like Enzo?” Damn, where’d that come from?
“We’re just friends,” she returned in a subdued tone.
“And if Enzo saw you in a white shirt without a bra? Would he still see you as just a friend?” I didn’t miss the slightly accusatory look in her eyes when I stopped at a red light.
“I assume he’d look at me the same as you did this morning, worried someone would see me like that, and he’d give me the heads-up to protect me. But that’s all.”
You thought that’s how I was looking at you earlier? I couldn’t help but laugh, forgetting she wasn’t in on the joke in my head.
“What?” She set a hand to her slender neck, her nude-colored nails drawing my eyes. Did the color match the panties she wore? She had to be wearing something light beneath that dress so they didn’t show through when the sunlight hit her. “Am I amusing?”
“Yes, you do amuse the hell out of me.”
“On the days you don’t hate me, you mean? Well, I guess I should be glad I can provide you some comic relief.”
