When a Champion Wants You (7 page)

He chuckled. “That’s all
you have to say?”

“
Yep. Now it’s my turn to
do you.”

He grinned at her
words.
Do you
.

“
Okay, wrong choice of
words,” she said smiling. “It’s my turn to
analyze
you. Is that
better?”

“
Yes. That’s better,” he
said, then picked up his wine glass, swished it around in the
glass, smelled it and took a sip.

“
Okay. Um…hmm…where do I
begin?”

“
I’m
that
complicated?”

“
I just need to get my
thoughts together,” she said. “Okay, so I think you feel that you
have certain rights that other men don’t possess because of your
status, especially since you have money and all.”

“
How so?”

“
Dimitrius, you pulled me
aside on my lunch break and told me that you wanted to spend the
rest of your life with me and, outside of today, we’ve never had a
full conversation.”

He shrugged.
“So.”

Melanie shook her head.
“See…that’s exactly what I’m talking about. You’re proving my point
for me as we speak.”

“
No, you’re wrong. I don’t
feel like I’m entitled to anything or anyone. I just go for what I
want.”

With raised eyebrows,
Melanie asked, “And you want me?”

“
In more ways than you
could ever begin to imagine. Yes.”

Melanie felt a tug at her
stomach. Nervously she asked, “Why me?”

“
Because I chose
you.”

There he goes with that
nonsense again
. “You
chose
me? This isn’t an episode
of
The Bachelor
,
Dimitrius.”

“
I know that. Besides, I
don’t need to filter through a bunch of women to know that you’re
the one.”

“
But isn’t that what you
did. I mean, if what you claim is true and you actually want me,
then you’ve had your fair share of women already. It’s no secret
that the Champion men are eligible bachelors…running all around
here taking women down one-by-one.”

“
Everyone has a past. I’m
sure you were no saint.”

“
I’m not claiming to have
been, but I’m certainly not promiscuous by any means.”

“
Neither am I. Don’t judge
the man sitting across from you by rumors and other things you’ve
heard. Get to know me for yourself. That’s all I ask.”

Moments later, the food
arrived. Melanie ate silently, taking her time to slice the steak
into smaller pieces, and adding butter, salt and pepper to the
steaming hot baked potato.

“
How is it?” Dimitrius
asked.

“
It’s good.”

He nodded. “It’s pricey,
but it’s worth it,” he added. “So how long have you and Emily been
friends?”

“
A long time…we used to
work together.”

He nodded. “She’s a good
woman. I’m glad my brother met her. She fits him
perfectly.”

“
Yes, she does. He fits her
perfectly, too.” Melanie smiled. She was a strong advocate for
Emily and Dante’s relationship and liked to take credit for the
fact that they’d gotten together. After all, she had convinced
Emily to give Dante a chance.

“
Do you have siblings?” he
asked.

“
No. I’m an only
child.”

“
And what about your
parents…”

“
They live here in
Asheville. What about yours?”

“
I lost both of my
parents.”

“
Oh…sorry to hear
that.”

“
Thanks.”

“
Now I see why you’re so
close with your brothers.”

Dimitrius wiped his mouth
and took a sip of wine. “What makes you think we’re
close?”

“
Well, you all run The
Champion Corporation together. And you play pool together every
Friday night at Dante and Emily’s.”

He smirked. “And how do you
know that?”

“
Emily is my best friend.
Duh.”

“
Is that why you don’t come
over to their house on Friday’s? Avoiding me?” He smiled and then
finished his wine.

“
No. Emily and I just
prefer to go out. That’s all.”

“
I’m not buying it,” he
said. “And I was right. You don’t want to see me again, do
you?”

“
Um…” Melanie drawled out,
but her hesitancy to answer the question was, in itself, and answer
to his question.

“
Why not,
Melanie?”

“
Honestly, Dimitrius, I’m
not looking for a relationship and I don’t want to be involved with
anyone right now. I need to be single in this stage of my
life.”

“
What stage is
that?”

“
The
I-don’t-have-time-for-relationship-drama stage. I need to do me
right now.”

“
Well that’s too
bad.”

“
What is?”

“
The fact that you think I
would actually be accepting of your rejection,” he said, giving her
a pointed stare.

“
Dimitrius—”

“
Listen, Melanie…here’s how
this is going to go. Every day for the rest of this month, we’ll
interact in some kind of way whether it be by something you
schedule or something I arrange. I won’t touch you, kiss you, make
a move…none of that. At the beginning of the month, TCC is
re-launching a payroll software system in Vegas. Before
we
go, I will ask you to
marry me. If you accept, we’ll get married, and even then, I won’t
touch you. I won’t lay a hand on you unless you want me to. After
that, we’ll come home, continue to get to know each other and if
we’re still feelin’ each other, you’ll move in with me. How does
that sound?”

“
Sounds like you had a
little bit too much of that Cabernet Sauvignon Imperial.” She
laughed.

He didn’t crack a smile. In
fact, he replied with unmistakable determination, “I’m serious,
Melanie. How does it sound?”

“
Dimitrius, I don’t know
what’s wrong with you if you think this is actually going to work.
I—”

“
Sleep on it,” he said,
interrupting her. “Sleep on it and call me in the morning. I’ll
text you my number.”

“
How can you text me when
you don’t have my number?”

“
I have your resume,
remember? I have your address and your phone number.”

“
Oh, right,” she replied,
feeling flustered at the fact that he had her address. What if he
decided to show up at her house one night? “Okay. I’ll sleep on it,
but don’t be surprised if my answer is still no.”

“
Don’t be surprised when I
don’t accept your
no
.”

“
You’re being
difficult.”

“
I know. It’s what I’m good
at, beautiful,” he tossed back.

Melanie couldn’t help but
smile. Why did he have to be so handsome and charming? “Can I chip
in on the bill, leave the tip or something?”

“
No. Not at all. I got the
bill.”

“
Okay, well, if you’re
finished barking orders at me, I think I’ll go now.”

He smiled again. “Wait…let
me get the check, then I’ll walk you out.”

“
That’s not
necessary.”

“
It is when you’re with me.
Give me a moment.”

Dimitrius summoned Bailey
to get the check and once he paid, he walked Melanie to her
car.

To avoid reaching out to
hold her hand, he sunk his hands in the pockets of his pants and
said, “It’s a beautiful night, isn’t?”

“
Yes, it is.”

“
Hopefully we can get
together soon and enjoy nights like this, somehow,” he said as they
came to a stop in front of her car.

She looked up at him and
shrugged. “Maybe…”

“
Wow. I got a
maybe
this time. That’s a
lot better than the
no
you gave me inside.”

“
Still could be no. I’ll
text you tomorrow.”

“
No…don’t text me. Call
me.”

“
Why?”

“
I would just prefer a
phone call.”

“
Well, in that case, I’m
going to text you just to piss you off.”

He grinned. “You would do
something like that, wouldn’t you?”

“
Yep,” Melanie said,
reaching for the car door.

Dimitrius reached ahead of
her, opening the door.

“
Thank you.”

“
Thank you for having
dinner with me. Have a good night, Melanie.”

“
You too, Dimitrius,” she
said after she was in the car, sitting on the driver
seat.

Dimitrius closed the door
and when he did, she felt her heart pounding even more.
Man he’s fine
, she
mumbled to herself, watching him walk away in the absolute, sexiest
stride she’d ever seen. She started the car, flicked on the
headlights and took a final breath to calm her nerves, then took
out her cell phone.

Chapter 9

Melanie couldn’t get
out of the parking lot before she was already
dialing Emily’s number, and from the four missed calls she saw from
Emily, she knew Emily was dying to find out what had
happened.

“
Did you go?” Emily
answered.

“
Yes, I went. I’m leaving
the restaurant now.”

A giddy-like squeal left
her mouth. “How was it?”

“
Well, the food was good,”
Melanie said.

“
Skip the food…I’m talking
about Dimitrius. Come on. Tell me.”

“
He’s...different. He’s
definitely a smooth talker…and do you know he was serious about
wanting to spend the rest of his life with me?”

“
Yes!” Emily
screamed.

“
Emily, you’re supposed to
be on my side here.”

“
I am on your side.
Dimitrius is a good catch, girl.”

“
Oh, so now that you’re
married to a Champion man, they all have to be good catches. Need I
remind you that you wouldn’t give Dante the time of day when y’all
first met?”

“
Need I remind you that you
talked me into it which is the same thing I’m doing with you.
Consider it a huge
thank you
for encouraging me to give Dante a
chance.”

Melanie shook her head.
“Well, all I can say is, they may be brothers, and they may look
alike, but Dimitrius and Dante are as different as night and
day.”

“
How was he at
dinner?”

“
Different.”

“
Details, Melanie.
Details.”

“
Well, first off, he wore a
three-piece suit to dinner, the same suit he had on at work. I
mean, why not go home and change clothes first before you have a
relaxing dinner?”

“
You’re going to crucify
the man because he didn’t change out of his clothes?”

“
It just seems
odd.”

“
Um…not really. Dante told
me that Dimitrius is usually the last person in the office. And I
have to imagine that he came straight to Connelley’s instead of
going home to change clothes, because he would have to pass the
restaurant to get home. And, since he lives about thirty minutes
away, that would’ve made him late, and he’s
never
late for anything. Besides,
since Connelley’s is such a fancy restaurant, his work attire works
just fine.”

“
Of course you wouldn’t see
anything wrong with it. Ugh.”

“
What? So the man likes to
dress nice. I see that as a good thing.”

Melanie didn’t want to
admit it, but she saw it as a good thing too. The only thing sexier
than seeing a man dressed to impress was seeing him in the perfect
pair of Levi’s. “Well, that’s one thing I didn’t like. Another
thing is, he’s bossy.”

Emily laughed. “I think
that is a trait that they all share.”

“
So Dante’s
bossy?”

“
Yeah, but in a good way. I
love the way he takes control and owns it.”

Melanie frowned and
chuckled a little. “Um, what are
you
talking about?”

Emily giggled. “Never mind.
What else didn’t you like?”

“
Um…he seems to be a little
flashy…taking me to Connelley’s and had the nerve to ask me if I’ve
ever eaten there before…like I can afford to eat a Connelley’s. And
then, he orders a nine-hundred-dollar bottle of wine.”

Emily smirked. “And what’s
wrong with that?”

“
Come on, Em…you know me.
You know that’s not how I roll. I like men who are down to earth
like me…not a man who comes at me with a bunch of nonsense because
he
got it like that
. He actually told me that he wanted us to get to know each
other for the rest of this month. Said we should spend every day
together and, if we’re really feelin’ each other by the beginning
of next month when they go to Vegas, we would get
married.”