Tempting Nora (2 page)

Nora girded her loins.

"Hey," she said to the woman.

The
woman stared at her as if she'd sprouted tentacles from her ears.

"My name's Nora." She flashed
the woman her best smile, which probably wasn't all that great.

"I'm Meg." Meg exchanged glances
with the redhead at her side.

"
So I'm going to be honest here."
Here goes nothing.
"My guy friend in the corner has his eye on you. He may not be perfect, but he's nice and dependable. If you're at all interested, he'd sure like it if you stopped by to say hello."

"Really?" Meg's eyes lit up. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I'm pretty hot stuff, you know."

Nora wasn't sure whether the woman was kidding or not, so she tried to keep her expression neutral.

"What are you doing just sitting here?" The redheaded woman elbowed
Meg. "Go talk to him."

"Will you be okay all alone?" Meg frowned.

"I'll be fine." The redhead flashed a grin. "Dmitri will be here any minute. Until then, I can handle a few minutes alone."

Dmitri must have been the redhead's husband.

"Okay, if you're sure." Meg hopped off the stool. "Thanks, Nora. Where's your friend?"

Nora pointed at Robert who waved.

"His name's Robert," she said.

After she watched Meg wade through the crowd of people, she sighed. That conversation
had taken more out of her than running six miles. And she didn't run. Ever.

"Just so you know, if your friend is a jerk, I'll have to kill you," the redhead said.
"I'm not the sort of woman who lets her friends get hurt."

Nora looked up, shocked.

"He's not a jerk." At least, not to women he'd just met. "By the way, I didn't catch your name."

"My name's Chloe Anderson."
The redhead grinned.

"Nice to meet you." Nora nodded.

"You too." The redhead glanced at Robert, her expression hopeful. "Well, if your friend isn't a jerk, then I hope this works out well. I'm a matchmaker, but I still can't seem to find somebody for Meg. Every time I set her up with somebody, it ends badly. I don't know why."

"
Beats me." Love was a mystery to her. "But I'm sure she'll find someone."

"
I hope so. Meg probably gets lonely." Chloe stirred her milkshake and then took a sip. "We used to hang out all the time, but I have two kids now and don't have much free time anymore. Oh well. I suppose she'll find someone when the time is right."

"Yeah, I guess so.
" Nora shifted, uncomfortable. Conversing with strangers was not her forte.

Chloe nodded
but didn't say anything more. Since Nora took that as a sign the conversation was over, she hopped off the stool.

"
Well, see you." She nodded at the woman.

"
Bye." Chloe waved, then returned her attention to her dessert.

I wish I had a milkshake,
Nora thought before walking away.

****

After Nora walked out of the bathroom, she glanced at Robert and Meg. The two of them were chatting happily at the bar. Since it looked like her best friend was enjoying himself, she should go home. She checked the time on her cell phone. It was eight o'clock. She'd still be able to take a hot bubble bath and read while in the tub. Yeah, that wouldn't make the most adventurous Friday night ever, but it was a scenario she preferred.

I sh
ould probably let Robert know I'm leaving.
Feeling awkward—she didn't want to disrupt the romance—she headed over to her friend and tapped on his shoulder.

"I just wanted to let you know I'm going to take off now," she said.

"Wait." Robert grabbed her arm. "Your cake."

She
realized a piece of chocolate cake sat in front of Robert. The cake was six layers of decadent deliciousness.
This is what love at first sight must feel like,
she thought, eyeballing the dessert. Okay, she'd stay a few more minutes and have her scrumptious chocolate delicacy. Her bathtub wasn't about to grow legs and run. Besides, the slice of heaven would be her dinner, so eating it instead of cooking herself a real meal would save her loads of time.

"
Hand that baby over." She let out a sigh of ecstasy.

"Your reward, milady." Robert handed her the cake and a fork. "Thank you for your marvelous help."

She was only half listening. Her eyes were on the slice of cake.

"Uh-huh," she said.

She brought her cake to an abandoned table in the corner. After she took a seat, she ate a bite of the dessert. The icing was thick and rich, the chocolate mousse light and fluffy.
Oh. My. Gosh
. She squeezed her eyes shut, certain she was going to levitate above the table.

"Mmmm." She squirmed in her seat, sucking every last available bit of chocolate
from the fork.

"That sure looks good," a deep, sexy voice said.

Stiffening, she looked straight into a pair of caramel colored eyes. Oh no, it was the sexy Adonis, aka Mr. Trouble. The bite of cake went down the wrong tube and she coughed. As her eyes watered in pain, the man sat in the chair across from hers. When her vision finally cleared, she was dazed. How could any man have legs that long or muscles so toned?

But then the allure faded. She was much more concerned about all of the glares she was
receiving from the girls who'd been sitting with the caramel-eyed man before. Even the gorgeous blonde was watching her with narrowed eyes. She looked down at her slice of cake and groaned.
Why did this have to happen?
The guy was gorgeous, yeah, but that was a problem. Gorgeous people made her nervous. How could she enjoy eating this delicacy when she could hardly hold her fork because her hand trembled so much?

Frustrated, she tried hard not to look at the
man as she speared a bite of frosting and licked it. To her surprise, the guy watched her eat. His hot, intense gaze made her instantly uncomfortable. She put down her fork, wishing he'd look somewhere else. After all, it wasn't fair that someone could smolder like that. It was a wonder that the fudge icing on her piece of cake didn't melt from being so close to him.

"
Can I have a bite?" the guy asked.

He wanted a b
ite of her cake? Her delicious, better-than-falling-in-love cake? She was pretty great at sharing most things, but never chocolate cake.

"Heck no." She drew her
dessert closer to her, holding her fork like a sword. If he tried to steal the plate, she'd stab him…maybe.

The
man's caramel eyes darkened.

Then it occurred to her—he wasn't after her cake. He was trying to
hit on her.
No way,
she thought, stealing a glance at the far prettier women who'd been at his side at the bar. She wasn't bad looking, but she could stand to lose ten pounds and had bad skin. Compared to the model-like beauties who were throwing themselves at this guy's feet, she couldn't compare.
I must be wrong. He can't be trying to make a move on me.
Frowning, she scrutinized the gorgeous guy, wondering what he could possibly want from her.

"You don't like to share
." The man's smile returned.

"Oh, I don't mind sharing
most things." She was impressed she managed to keep her voice from trembling
.
"Just not cake. Or anything else with chocolate."

"You like chocolate?" The guy
cocked his head.

"Doesn't everyone?" She frowned.

"I don't mind it, but I find other indulgences to be more…pleasurable." He licked his lips.

"Um, okay."
Good going, Captain Witty!

"By the way, I'm Gideon
Greyson." He held out his hand.

"I'm Nora
Williams." She shook his hand, painfully aware of how sweaty her palm was.

"Nora." Gideon flashed a perfect smile that left her breathless. "That's a lovely name. Why did your parents choose it?"

Thinking about her parents was like a kick to the chest. She could still remember the day her mom had dragged her kicking and screaming into an orphanage. From that moment on, she'd been passed from foster home to foster home like an unwanted hand-me-down. It was the last thing she wanted to think about.

"I don't know." She shrugged.

"I see." Gideon leaned closer, breathing his sweet breath all over her. 

Fire burned in her belly
. She fanned herself with her hand as she glanced nervously around the bar.

"Geez, is it hot in here?"
It felt like somebody had turned up the heater.

"I think the temperature is just right." He grinned
roguishly.

"Oh, really?" Why couldn't she actually make conversation?

It's his face,
she finally realized.
His gorgeous face is turning me into a complete idiot.

"Yeah." He nodded and then glanced at the bar
. "So do you want a drink?"

"Umm…" Well, eating chocolate cake dry was hard. "Milk would be nice."

Gideon looked at her as if she'd announced she wanted to drink battery acid.

"Milk?" He raised an eyebrow. "You want
milk?"

"What's wrong with milk?" She raised an eyebrow.

She was starting to feel insulted now. Nothing was wrong with her drink choice. So what if she didn't drink alcohol? Her mom had been drunk the night she'd become pregnant with her. Yeah, the woman had been in a relationship with her biological father at the time, but the drunkenness was what had made her lose her inhibitions.

"You don't have to buy
me a drink." She crossed her arms. "You asked if I wanted something and that's my choice."

Finally, the shock disappeared from Gideon's eyes.

"Forgive me." Gideon bowed his head apologetically. "You just didn't say what I expected."

"And what did you expect me to say?"
She raised an eyebrow.

"Hmmm. You seem like a wine drinking kind of woman if you ask me." Gideon eyeballed her. "You look free-spirited but intelligent. Bookish. I could see somebody like you drinking red wine by the fireplace with a novel in hand. Am I wrong?"

He was right. Well, if one replaced the glass of red wine with a cup of steaming hot cocoa or diet soda. Still his ability to judge her was unnerving.
Probably I shouldn't let him know that,
she thought, wincing. She didn't like the idea of a stranger being able to read her so well.

"You're wrong," she said. "And I don't drink red wine."

Because she didn't drink. Period.

"Interesting." Gideon's grin widened. "Well, you're the first person
who's surprised me in many years."

"Is that a compliment?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know." Gideon shrugged.

Geez. This guy
was bizarre.

"Has anybody ever told you that you're a strange person?" She
guessed he could get away with having oddities, what with him being gorgeous enough to make girls faint at his feet and all.

"Is that a compliment?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said, mimicking him.

Gideon snorted and shook his head.

"Well, Nora, if it's milk you want, then it's milk you're going to get," Gideon said. "Don't you dare move a muscle while I'm gone."

After the man flashed her another dazzling grin,
a stampede of tingles rushed through her. For a moment she was so lightheaded she thought she might pass out. Once Gideon glided over to the bar to order her milk, she finally snapped out of her daze enough to check to make sure she wasn't drooling. When she noticed no spittle oozing from her lips, she let out a sigh of relief. So far, so good.

As she waited for Gideon, s
he scratched the back of her neck and cast a glance at Robert. She expected him to be chatting with Meg, but to her surprise, he was staring at her. Just as she was about to look away, Robert started mouthing words.
What in heaven's name is he trying to say
? She squinted as if that could help her see. Finally, after many embarrassing hand motions on her part, she understood. Robert was mouthing the words, "Get his phone number!" She waved her arms wildly and shook her head. Her friend just smirked, looking annoyingly smug.

"That idiot," she muttered.

"Idiot?" Gideon sounded amused.

She yelped in surprise.
Gideon had been standing beside her and she hadn't even noticed. Boy, he was stealthy. 

"How long have you been standing there?" she
said.

"Long enough to see
you waving your arms around." Grinning, he took his place at the table with a glass of milk and a shot of golden alcohol. "If we somehow end up playing a game of charades, remind me to never be your partner. You're terrible."