Romancing My Love (Love in Bloom: The Bradens) Contemporary Romance (7 page)

She crossed and uncrossed her arms, feeling like an utter fool. He was being nice and she was acting like a bitch.

“God, Pierce. I’m sorry.” She sighed loudly. “You can take me back to my car. I…You don’t need someone like me in your life. Look at you. You’ve got your life together, and I’m just starting to piece mine back together. I overreacted and, honestly, I have no business going up against a guy like Martin even if I am capable of it. The guy’s an ass. I wish I was in a position to have just left without my check, but I’m not. I probably never will be, and that’s okay, but I don’t want to be the type of woman who makes you wonder what the hell she’s going to do next. I’m really not a rampant crazy woman who hits men or tells them off.”

“I don’t think of you in that way.” His voice was so sincere it softened her anger.

She looked up at the sky and closed her eyes for a second while she mentally pulled herself back together.

“I don’t think of myself in that way either,” she admitted. “Really. I’m not that person. I mean, I am if I
have
to be, and unfortunately, you’ve witnessed two terrible situations in as many days, but really, I’m just a girl who lost her mother and wants to get on with her life. I want to finish school, land a job I love, and I don’t know, have some modicum of a life far away from places like this.”

“How about if we start with the fact that I’m a man who just wants to have dinner with you. Whether or not you went up against Martin and despite the fact that I acted out of turn.”

She had to smile at the absurdness of it all. “Gosh, Pierce. Are you really this nice of a guy, or is this all some farce?” She walked back toward the car.

Pierce grabbed her hand and stopped her cold with his serious stare. “I assure you, I am not just this nice of a guy. I can also assure you that this isn’t a farce. I have my faults, and you’ve just seen one of them.”

He opened the car door and she climbed in. “That was a fault?”

He went around to the driver’s side and settled into the driver’s seat. “Yeah, it is a fault. I should have listened to you. Remember, we talked about how neither of us likes to give up control?”

Rebecca covered her face with a groan. “Oh God. We’re going to butt heads a lot, aren’t we?”

He drove away, leaving the city lights behind. “I don’t have a clue. Everything about you throws me for a loop.” He took her hand in his again. “And for whatever reason, I like it.”

BY THE TIME they reached Pierce’s driveway, Rebecca’s nerves had calmed, and with the help of Pierce’s jokes, she’d shed the embarrassment of going to pieces in front of him. They drove through a stone and iron gate, beneath an umbrella of trees, and followed the in-ground lights up the long driveway. Acres of grass fell away to either side of the driveway as the house came into view.

“It’s really serene out here.” Given Pierce’s clothing and that he worked in the executive offices of the casino, Rebecca had expected that he would have a fancy house and car. She was totally taken off guard when he parked at the end of the circular drive, in front of the cutest stone house she’d ever seen.

“Your house is adorable.” She took in the large picture windows, the gable over a deep front porch, and twin peaks that rose from either side of the roof.

“Adorable.” Pierce let out a little laugh. “I think my sister was going for elegant without being flashy when she designed it for me.”

“Your sister designed this?” She opened her car door.

“Yeah. She’s an architect, and she’s really well known in the passive house industry. This was one of her first, and I love it.”

“What’s a passive house? Are there aggressive houses, too?” She arched a brow with the question.

Pierce smiled. “Maybe there should be.” She loved that he fell right into teasing her back. “Passive houses use a higher standard for energy efficiency and leave a much smaller ecological footprint. Changing the world one house at a time and all that.”

Pierce arrived at her side of the car after she’d already stepped out. He retrieved her purse, then reached for her hand. “Do you ever let men open doors for you?”

She bit her lower lip. “I’m sorry. I don’t do that on purpose.” They walked through the heavy wooden doors into a beautiful, high-ceilinged foyer that led to an open living space with glass along the far wall and a fireplace tucked into the corner of the room. Rebecca had expected marble floors and chandeliers, not warm, dark wood floors and a room full of family photographs. To their left was an arched opening into a library with two full walls of books and a blue sofa that arced in a half circle. The front windows ran almost ceiling to floor, and on the far wall was a gorgeous fireplace with a slate hearth and a decorative wood mantel.

“Your house is beautiful, and I’m sorry about the car door. I guess I’ve spent so many years being the one to hold doors open and taking care of my mom that the dating world is still a little foreign to me.” She couldn’t help but wonder how often he brought women home. Every night? Weekly? A man like him had to have a plethora of women at his beck and call.

“Well, I was brought up to open doors and pull out chairs for women, so is it something you can get used to, or should I retrain my brain?” Still holding her hand, Pierce led her through an archway to their right to a beautiful wooden bar. He set her purse down. She was trying to get used to carrying one again. If she was going to break out of the working in bars and IHOP scenes, she couldn’t very well carry her key and driver’s license in her heels.

Pierce placed his hands on her hips.

She loved the feel of them, steady and sure. Around Pierce she didn’t feel like her ass was wide or her body was out of proportion. He looked at her like she was beautiful, and when he touched her, everything inside her sizzled and came alive.

“Would you like a glass of wine?”

His voice brought her mind back to reality, and reality was even hotter. He stood so close, his lips a breath away. She could pucker hers and they’d probably touch. 
Let yourself enjoy him, even if it’s only for a night
, the woman in her pleaded. Three years without a man was a very long time, and his touch felt so good. She reminded herself that she was living in her car, that this date couldn’t lead anywhere serious. And she needed a one-night stand like she needed to lose another job. The sensible side of her brain took over.
This is a dinner date, and that’s what it is going to remain
.

“Sure,” she managed. He moved around the bar and she wanted him back, touching her again, looking at her like she was beautiful, and sexy, and—

“How was your day?” he asked, as if they’d been dating forever. Or maybe every guy asked simple questions like that; she couldn’t remember.

“Really great, other than the whole Martin fiasco. I got a job at the casino. It’s just a waitress job, but I start Monday, and there’s growth potential, so you never know.”

He joined her again and handed her a glass of wine. “That’s great. Have you waitressed before?”

“Oh, goodness, yes.” She swatted the air, as if she were an expert. “I mean, not at anyplace as nice as the casino, but how hard can it be? I do need to memorize the menu, but I’m a quick study. I have it in my purse.”

“Ah, it wouldn’t fit in your bra?” The side of his mouth quirked up with the tease.

“Actually…” She pulled the top of her dress out from her chest and looked down. “I’m not wearing one tonight, so…”

His eyes darkened, narrowed. “I’m going to pretend I don’t know that; otherwise I’ll have a hard time concentrating on cooking dinner.”

Nice to know I have that effect on you.
 

He took her hand again, and it was starting to feel familiar, the way his big hand engulfed hers. Strong and Protective. “Come on, braless wonder. I hope you like steak.”

She laughed. “There isn’t much I don’t like.” Pierce was easy to be with. She loved the way he joked, and the way he looked at her made her feel special, though she knew she had to be careful there. Before her mother became ill, when Rebecca had been in the dating realm, it had been her experience that most men were after something sexual without the desire for anything more, and as much as she wanted an end to her three years of abstinence, she wasn’t interested in being a notch on anyone’s belt. Not even Pierce’s.

They went into a beautiful kitchen with stainless-steel appliances and warm, wooden cabinets. “Is this how you woo all your women?” She had to ask, and it wasn’t her nature to be coy about such things.

The surprise in his eyes and his gaping jaw told her that maybe she’d been a little too brusque.

“I’m sorry. I’m not judging you. I just do better when I know where I stand. You know, going in with my eyes open.” She tucked her hair behind her ear and watched as he opened the fridge and withdrew a glass dish of marinating steak.

He set it on the counter without answering, then returned to her side.

“No holding doors and questions that could make the most confident man falter. I like you, Rebecca Rivera.” He took her hand in his and rubbed his thumb over the ring on her index finger.

Her mother’s ring. When he met her gaze again, the honesty in his eyes was unyielding. The warmth in his touch reassuring.

“I’m not going to lie to you. I have used my wealth to impress women in the past. Fancy cars tend to have that effect. But as far as this house goes, this is my private residence. I usually bring women I date to a room at the resort.”

“Why?”

He stepped closer and settled his free hand on her hip again. “I’m going to answer honestly and you may not like it, but I’m not a liar, so what you see is what you get.” He lowered his chin and looked deeply into her eyes. “Are you sure you want to know?”

Gulp. No
. “Yes.”

“Because my private residence is just that. Private. The women I usually date are…” He shrugged. “Not the type of women you bring home.”

She drew in a deep breath. She did understand that. Before her mother had become ill, she’d dated guys she wouldn’t bring home, either.

“I’ve done that myself. So, why am I here?”

“You’ve done that yourself?” He tilted his head.

Ah, so what’s good for the goose isn’t good for the gander?
Better to find out now, because Rebecca was nothing if not confident in what she’d done in her life and her reasons for doing them. Not that she owed anyone an explanation.

She shrugged, an action he could understand, given he’d just done so himself. She sipped her wine, enjoying the torturous wait she was rolling out for him.

“I’m not a saint either.” She nibbled on her lower lip and let that sink in. “Let’s just say that we all have needs.”

“I thought you said it had been years since you’d been with a man.” He arched a brow. A challenge.

She took another sip of wine and licked her lips slowly, evocatively, and felt his grip on her hip tighten.

“It has been. But I did have a life before that. I’m twenty-seven years old, Pierce, not seventeen. My home is my private, intimate space. It’s where I let my hair down, where I can throw on sweatpants and eat a pint of ice cream without judgment. And the last few years, it was the place my mother and I shared. I’ve never met a man who was good enough to bring home.” As she recounted her feelings, she missed having a home. She suppressed the longing and focused on him looking at her with a quizzical expression. She wanted to know what he was thinking. His eyes narrowed, and when she lifted her glass for another sip of wine, he stilled it with his hand.

“I like you, Rebecca. You’re a no-bullshit woman.”

“Well, I like you, too, Pierce.” She eyed the wineglass, then drew her eyes back to his. “But you still haven’t told me why I’m here.”

An easy smile spread across his lips. “I have no idea. You tell me.”

Oh boy
. “My best guess…”

He released her hand and she lifted the glass to her lips, then licked the sweet alcohol from them, realizing too late that while she was licking the last drop, Pierce read it as an invitation. He moved in closer and pressed his lips to hers. His kiss was deadly. Sinful. A fury of heat that swirled through every part of her body, and by the time he drew away, she could barely breathe.

“Your best guess?” he whispered. 

She set the glass on the counter and tried to think past the fresh gust of desire that was whipping through her like a hurricane.

“My best guess is that I’m here because you think you’ll get a night of hot sex and maybe you don’t want the people at the resort to know you’re seeing me because I was a prospective employee—and now I
am
an employee—and you work there.”
Holy cow
. Where had that come from? She hadn’t even put the whole job-dating thing together before that minute.
No, no, no. Please don’t let that be why he brought me home.

He ran his index finger down her cheek and then touched the ends of her hair. “You are sadly mistaken, Rebecca. If I were worried about being seen with you, I would never have agreed to meet you in the lobby.” His voice turned serious. “And if I thought dinner might lead to a night of hot sex and nothing more, you would most certainly
not
be in my house.”

“Oh.” It was a hollow reply, but the only one she could muster.

“Is that what you were thinking when you said you’d meet me in the lobby? That I wasn’t good enough for you to take home? That I was going to be a night of amazing sex and nothing more?” He touched her bare shoulder, stealing her ability to think clearly. “It’s okay if you were. I just want to know where I stand. You know…go in with my eyes open.”

“No.”
I was thinking that I didn’t have a home where you could pick me up, and now I just can’t think at all
.

“Well, that’s good to hear.” He took a step back, but Rebecca still felt the heat of him compressing her chest. “If you want the truth, I liked you. You didn’t strike me as a
get-her-plastered-and-take-her-to-bed
type of date. Hell, I don’t know what you struck me as. You confused me. You clocked a guy in a bar, you blew me off, and then you opened up to me and I got a glimpse of who you were. And as crazy as it sounds, I was attracted to you in a way that I’ve never been attracted to a woman before. Ever.”

She finished her wine in one gulp. “I…liked you, too.”

“Liked, or like?”

“Like, definitely like.” She reached for his hand, and when she touched his warm skin, it startled her. What was she thinking? Her brain told her arm to come back to her side, but it didn’t listen. Thank God it didn’t listen.

“Talking to you last night was nice. It was something that I wanted to do more of, and I figured if we went out to a fancy restaurant, we’d be sidetracked by the glitz of it, and I really just wanted to get to know you.”

Slowly, her ability to breathe returned. He didn’t sound like he was spewing lines, like the introduction he’d given to his friend outside of the Astral. This felt true and genuine. “I want to get to know you, too.”

He squeezed her hand and then gathered the steaks, took a plate of shrimp on skewers from the refrigerator, and handed Rebecca the bottle of wine. “Come on; let’s talk out by the grill.”

One flick of a switch illuminated a stone patio, and white lights lit up the surrounding trees, giving the evening a romantic feel. Another switch brought music to speakers mounted on the back wall of the house. Pierce fired up the grill, put the steaks on, and then refilled their wineglasses. A few minutes later a warm breeze picked up the scent of seasoned steaks and carried it into the night.

“You don’t really think I want to hide you from anyone, do you?” Pierce flipped the steaks and set a skewer of shrimp on the grill beside it.

“I don’t know. Maybe?”

“Wow, brutal honesty again.” He shook his head, but he smiled, and she knew he wasn’t offended.

“I don’t believe it now. But is there a problem with dating someone from work? They didn’t cover that in the interview.” She liked watching him at the grill. She liked the way he stole glances at her, and when he rolled up his shirtsleeves, exposing muscular forearms, she couldn’t help but reach out and trace a muscle from elbow to wrist. She felt his eyes on her while hers were trained on his arm.

“Sorry,” she whispered, and lifted her finger from his warm skin.

“Don’t be. I don’t think we have to worry about anyone saying anything if we continue to date.”

If we continue to date
.

“Which I hope we do,” he added.

Oh, thank God
. “Okay. I don’t want to get either of us in trouble.”