Complications (3 page)

Before she could second guess herself, Olivia smiled back.

Chapter Three

Olivia felt like she was having an out-of-body experience.

They had finished cleaning and closing up the shop in record time. Olivia suspected that Alex had washed
more
than a few dishes in his day since he made quick work of the pan stack. And she had spent more time than she cared to admit tidying up the front of her shop. She gave it a deep clean, feeling confident—yet uneasy—that Alex was taking care of the kitchen. She had only needed to return to show him where the clean pans and utensils went.

The Italian restaurant Alex had led her to was only one block away from her shop, so they opted to walk instead of drive. But she felt terribly underdressed when they arrived. Alex was in his business attire. She was still in her casual work clothes, which consisted of dark jeans and a simple t-shirt. When she voiced her concerns to him, he had given her a very deliberate—and achingly slow—once over and proclaimed that he thought she looked great.

And now, sitting across from Alex while he ordered wine for the both of them was so surreal that she actually laughed. Granted, it was a quiet laugh, but she felt her whole body flush crimson when Alex and the waiter turned to her in surprise.

“Thank you, that will be all for now,” Alex murmured to the waiter, a slight amused smile on his lips as he handed back the wine list. The waiter disappeared, something Olivia wished she could do the very moment Alex turned his full attention on her. His lips were still quirked up into that smile she was beginning to associate with his heated glances. Case in point, the one he was leveling at her right now could melt the panties off any woman. His eyebrow raised in a questioning expression.

“I’m sorry. I just had one of those moments, you know?” She could feel the beginnings of a ramble slowly start to creep up on her. “This morning, for example. When I woke up this morning, I didn’t expect that after I closed my shop I would be having dinner at this nice restaurant with you, of all people. I expected to be in my pajamas, watching old TV show reruns, and cooking dinner.” The waiter returned with a tray, effectively interrupting her. A mixture of relief and embarrassment overwhelmed her. Olivia watched as the waiter presented the wine bottle to Alex, while he nodded. But as the waiter uncorked the bottle, Alex’s gaze returned to hers and she couldn’t look away.

The restaurant itself had rather dim lighting but there were candles placed on every table to make up for it. Olivia couldn’t help but notice that Alex looked even more devilishly handsome in their light. His eyes were darker and candlelight cut shadows across his face that accentuated his sharp jaw line and straight nose.

The waiter poured Alex’s wine first and waited for his approval before moving to fill her own glass. The waiter left and, once again, she found herself alone with him. “So, you would be in your pajamas right now? What kind would they be?” Alex asked, his tone deceptively innocent. She felt some nervous tension release from her shoulders as she managed a smile.

“Nothing as exciting as I’m sure you’re imagining,” she replied, shaking her head as though he was hopeless.

They both took sips of their wine. In Olivia’s case, it was more of a large mouthful in order to calm her nerves. But she noticed that Alex looked thoughtful when she returned her glass to the table. “I knew though,” he said.

“Knew what?” she asked, leaning forward a bit while she crossed her ankles together under the table.

“When I woke up this morning, I knew that I would be having dinner with you tonight,” he replied.

Shocked, she laughed. “That’s a little presumptuous of you, isn’t it? How could you have possibly known that I would’ve agreed?” But she couldn’t deny that his casual arrogance turned her on a little. Okay, maybe a lot.

His smile turned wicked and Olivia’s heart missed a beat when he leaned over towards her. Their table was already small, but he was so close that she could reach out a hand and brush the errant black lock away from his forehead. “I didn’t, but I can be
very
persuasive when I set my mind on something.”

“Or someone,” she murmured, her eyes locked to his. He grinned and leaned back right as the waiter returned to take their order. Slightly flustered, Olivia chose the first thing she saw on the menu. “I’ll have the spinach ravioli with prawns.”

“Chicken piccata. Thank you,” Alex said as he handed the menus back to the waiter. Olivia reached for her wine once again as she thought of something to say.

“So, Alex,” she started, testing his name on her tongue. “What do you do in order to be dressed up like that during the day?” she asked, gesturing to his clothes.

Alex looked down to his chest, with a mock frown, “What? You have a problem with my clothes?”

His tone was warm, so she knew he took no offense. Smiling, she said, “Not at all. I think you look very…” she trailed off, not wanting to say
sexy
, even though it was the first description that popped into her head.

He leaned forward again and his voice lowered, “Dashing? Handsome?”

“Formal,” she corrected, trying to hide a smile and failing. Whenever he lowered his voice that way, where it almost sounded like a purr, she felt light-headed and—heaven forbid—almost
giddy
. She felt like a little girl with her first crush. The idea was so ridiculous, she instantly sobered, not wanting to seem over eager to him. “And, not to mention, a little uncomfortable.”

“I think you may be the first person to say that to me,” Alex drawled, his dark eyes still locked to hers. “But as for the clothes, you get used to them when you wear them most of the day.”

“I couldn’t imagine having to wear high heels and skirts to work everyday. I guess it’s a good thing I work in a cupcake shop,” she replied. She could feel herself starting to relax. She figured the rich red wine was doing its job.

“And that you don’t have a boss telling you otherwise. Although, if I were your boss, I’d make you wear high heels and skirts to work everyday,” he said, his voice sinfully smooth. He smiled when he saw her responding flush.

“You’re a shameless flirt. Has anyone ever told you that?” she asked, trying to calm the redness of her cheeks with the back of her hand. But despite her embarrassment, she couldn’t stop the warmth flooding her lower belly.

“I just like watching you blush. So you can count on me doing anything and everything in my power to make you,” he purred, which, predictably, opened the floodgates to another full-body flush.
Jesus, this man will be the death of me.
Surely it was unhealthy to blush this much within the span of a few hours. She took another sip of her wine, watching as Alex mirrored her actions. He smiled and then said, “I’m the Director of Sales for a tech company in the city.”

Which directly translated to…
I’m loaded
. It sobered her even more. Olivia felt sudden dismay and she looked down at her lap to conceal the emotion from him. It wasn’t enough that he was the most handsome man she’d ever seen, but now they weren’t even on the same income level. What did he even see in her? She owned a small
cupcake
shop, for goodness sake! She did well for herself, enough to employ three people and a weekend manager part-time, but she was nowhere near his level.

She cleared her throat since it suddenly felt tight. “Ah, the puzzle pieces are finally coming together.”

“What do you mean?” he asked curiously, his gaze intent on her.

She shrugged her shoulders. “You strike me as the type of man who doesn’t take no for an answer. I’d assume that’s a pretty important personality trait to have in sales.” She swallowed and smiled tightly, “Besides, I’m sitting here right now, aren’t I? And you said you knew I would be.” Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the stares of a group of women. They were sitting at a booth along the back wall and even through the dim lighting she could see the stares they were giving Alex. But a few were looking at her. One woman, who looked beautiful in her tight black dress, whispered to her friend, who then turned to look at their table. They both laughed. Suddenly feeling very tired, she returned her attention to the man in front of her. “What am I doing here, Alex?”

“Are you upset?” he asked, his jaw tightening. His dark eyes drew her in and she felt the rest of the restaurant melting away.

“No, I just—” she took a deep breath. “We just seem so different, you and I. I’m just trying to understand why you asked me here tonight.”

“I asked you out because after I saw you last week, I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” he said it so matter-of-factly that she almost believed him.

“But why?”

“Why not? You’re a beautiful woman who I’m very attracted to. Do I need another reason?” His brow was furrowed and his hand was clenched on the table but his voice remained calm.

His admission shocked her and she blurted out, “I just thought that women like that—” she gestured over to the group of women from earlier—”would be more what someone like you went after.”

Alex glanced over in the direction of her gestured and she saw his face immediately darken. He whipped his head back to her, “Someone like me? Jesus, Olivia, we’re not a different
species
.” He took a breath, looking away for a brief second before returning his full attention on her. “Look, I’ll be honest. I’ve dated women like them. Lots of women. But most of them were cold. And you’re not a cold woman, Olivia, because you don’t wear a mask. I can tell what you’re thinking because I can read it as plain as day on your face. I knew from the moment I saw you that you were attracted to me, but you didn’t play games with me and act all coy. You tried to
hide
it and that intrigued the hell out of me. I wanted more.
That’s
why I kept thinking about you.”

Olivia felt a rush of air blow from her mouth as she dropped her face into her hands. It was completely frightening how accurately he pegged her. And he knew next to nothing about her.

She heard Alex shift and she looked up from her hands. His elbows were placed on the table and he was leaning towards her. “What’s this really about?” he asked. The genuine concern she heard in his voice made her throat tighten.
Great
, she thought bitterly.
I freak out on him and then I’m going to cry for the grand finale.

“I’m sorry, Alex,” she mumbled miserably through her hands. She lifted them away from her face. “This is just me and my old problems. You don’t deserve any of this.” Olivia shook her head, incredibly embarrassed and shamed by her accusations and judgments. “I don’t have my head on straight yet from my break-up. I think that this might have been a mistake.” She felt miserable as she toyed with the linen napkin in her lap, wondering if she should leave.

“Are you going to tell me what happened between you two?” he asked, his attention still fully focused on her. It was unnerving how he could make her feel as though they were the only two people in the whole restaurant.

“I thought you weren’t supposed to talk about exes on the first date,” she said with a small teasing smile, attempting to ease the tension that had uncomfortably settled around them.

His lips quirked in response, “Regardless, I’d like to hear.” It was such a simple request, but she still felt hesitant breaching the subject.

Just then, their waiter appeared, bringing out their dinner. Olivia had been so caught up in her freak-out that she had completely forgotten about it altogether. She bit her lip, wondering if Alex even wanted to have dinner with her still. She imagined he probably wanted to run away, screaming. Maybe it would be better if she just paid for their dinner now and left. Escaping with at least a tiny bit of dignity sounded like the best plan to her.

But in the end, Alex made the decision for her. “Plain as day. Remember?” She glanced up at him, confused, only to find him watching her. Intently. It hit her like a bag of bricks before he could even open his mouth to speak. He saw everything. The simplicity, yet absolute truth, of that idea was staggering. “Stay, please,” he requested.

Alex reached across the table, closing the distance between them. Her eyes slid shut the moment his fingertips touched her skin. He gently traced over the crease that formed between her brows, smoothing it with the rough pad of his thumb. He felt warm and his touch felt heavenly against her skin. Then he slowly slid his hand down the smooth lines of her face until his fingers brushed against her lips. Only then did her eyes snap open.

“I want you,” he said, in a voice so low it was almost a whisper, his eyes burning into hers. Her heart leapt into her throat at his declaration. She had never seen a look so intense, so deeply sensual. Despite the lasting effects of her embarrassment, she felt warmth unfurl in her lower belly as she returned his gaze, unable to look away. Even if she had the power to break his gaze, she was unsure she even wanted to. She felt desirable—the way a woman should feel—when he leveled her with a look like that. “But right now, I want you to eat your dinner and tell me about your asshole of an ex.” His hand withdrew from her and she barely managed to catch herself before she followed its warmth.

“How do you know he was an asshole?” she asked, trying to stall for time. She tried to sound nonchalant, but her voice came out breathless. Her mind was still focused on his smoldering look and the fact that she now had definitive confirmation that he wanted to sleep with her. She picked up her fork, but she was momentarily distracted by the way Alex’s jaw worked as he chewed his food.

“Because it’s obvious he cut you deep,” he said, once he swallowed. She couldn’t help it. The way he said those words with absolute certainty made her flinch. She hoped it was unnoticeable, but she should have figured she wouldn’t be so lucky. The man had eyes like a hawk. He picked up everything. “Ah, darling, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said it like that.”

She shook her head, “No, you’re right. He was an asshole.”

But what she didn’t say was that even though Miles had cut her deep, it was her own fault for letting him. Olivia realized that now and was angry enough at herself for letting him get away with backhanded compliments and cruel
honesty
, as Miles had liked to call it. She was ashamed now that she let him walk all over her. She had never wanted to be
that
woman, but she had discovered herself in that position less than a year ago. Yet, she’d still fallen for his illusion that marriage was quickly impending and that he loved her.