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“Thank you,” I managed.
“Another drink?”
I smiled lazily, the veil of comfort draping me in its grayscale warmth. I wondered why I had been against drinking earlier when it was starting to make even the cackling crows at table nine sound like white noise.
We took a couple more shots, and the stool started feeling like a pedestal under a clouded sun. Andrew talked enough for both of us, and I couldn’t remember much of what he said, but I was enjoying his company. He made jokes and flirted a little, and we seemed to be enjoying our dinner, which I ate hungrily. It was a steak, but instead of potatoes, I was given a small bowl of soup and plenty of vegetables. Andrew had ordered a salad, and when he didn’t finish it, I wondered if he only ordered food so I wouldn’t eat alone. I looked forward to seeing how well we worked together since we got along so well.
My hand spasmed at the feeling of fingertips drifting down my knuckles. “Maybe you’ve had enough,” Andrew said, his dark gaze holding mine. “You’re looking a little sleepy.”
I started to nod, then realized he’d been talking for a while, and I hadn’t listened since I began eating. I vaguely remembered him mentioning where he grew up and couldn’t remember where that was. Had I been speaking, too, or had I just zoned out after eating the steak I couldn’t remember tasting?
I was still nodding when Andrew captured my chin with his fingers and smiled slowly at me. I almost smiled back, but then his other hand caressed my elbow, and he urged me toward him and off the stool.
When I resisted, he tugged harder, so I descended to the ground and let him guide me. But he didn’t guide me to the door. Instead, he pulled me closer to him, grabbed the edges of his blazer, and tugged on it so that I fell into him.
“Sorry,” I managed, trying to push myself back. No, I was too drunk. I was way too drunk. My movements were slow, and I barely processed that he was still gripping my hand. “I need to get back,” I slurred. “Home.”
“Why don’t we just head to my place? Maybe watch a movie? I can make sure you wake up on time. You mentioned your flight leaves...”
My body chilled. My flight. I hadn’t even packed yet. Then my mom’s words came back to me, and I said, “I changed it.” Something about this didn’t feel right at all. He seemed like a good enough guy, I guess, but I didn’t feel comfortable going to his place. I barely knew him. I was about to work for him. I didn’t need to confuse our relationship before I even started.
When he pulled me close to him, the plume of heat from his body made my body swim with hormones, and my vagina felt like it was pulsing. “If you changed it, we have plenty of time, don’t we? We can get to know each other better.”
I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. “I... have a meeting. In the morning.” No, I had a meeting. Tonight. This dinner meeting. I was here for a reason, and now it was time to leave. Alone.
“I hope this isn’t another interview,” he intoned, his deep voice sending shivers throughout my body. Suddenly his mouth was near my lips, and I jerked back, but he caught my hands again and pulled me up onto his stool and into his lap, where he wrapped his arms around me and held me still. “My father wouldn’t like that. But I’ll keep it a secret. Just stay on my good side, and I’ll keep all your secrets.”
I couldn’t move. My mind begged for clarity as his erection bulged through his pants and pulsed against my inner thigh. My body tried to loosen up, but my mind wouldn’t let go. I remembered the pervert at the airport, and then I remembered Ryan.
After glimpsing the glass of water I hadn’t touched on the bar, I snagged it and dumped it on Andrew’s shirt. The ice fell over my shoulders, and some of it splashed down my neck, but I’d achieved my goal, and Andrew released me, so I leaped off the stool and stumbled to the ground. Picking myself up, I fumbled for my purse while Andrew cursed, and then I sprinted toward the swinging glass doors at the front.
I couldn’t understand why that had happened. I dug out my phone with shaking hands, and my fingers trembled over the screen. I could barely make out the apps but managed to get an Uber.
I felt like I’d just killed my chance for a job I’d just been hired for but wasn’t sure how it had happened or why. Even if the job was still open, did I want it now? Would there be strings attached? I hadn’t thought Andrew was like that, but until I wrapped my mind around what had just happened, I wasn’t sure what the right thing was.
This wasn’t how I wanted my career to begin. This wasn’t how I wanted my time in Dallas to close.
Chapter 18
Ryan
“How were those pancakes?” I asked, gesturing toward the mashed breakfast left on my son’s plate.
James’s grin filled his face while his sticky hands thrust before him as if to show me what triumph looked like. “Delicious!” he said with a jerk of his head. I laughed and reached over with a napkin dipped in water.
“You sure made a mess with those delicious pancakes.”
His head jerked in a nod again, and I fought his movements to clean his face. I cringed when the syrup touched my finger but gave up when he started laughing. He was playing me.
“Dude, you need to sit still.”
“Ilikethe mess!” he called out, forcing me to look around the restaurant for glaring stares.
“You sure do,” I said softly, “but if you’re messy, we can’t go do the next thing.”
His still-wobbling head stopped for a moment as he considered the gravity of what I’d said. I offered a challenging smile and waited a moment until it looked like he understood what I meant. “Are we getting ice cream?”
I belted a laugh that came without warning, and his small giggle filled me with more joy than I’d felt in a long time. He was an angel, if there ever was one, and somehow, he was in my life. “Boy, are you ever full?”
