them, and began
her investigation of his yard. The trees and his house blocked most of the
wind, leaving a mild breeze to swirl a few dead leaves on the bricks. “I hope
you’ll forgive me. I decided not to cook. Instead, I ordered pasta from a
little Italian restaurant down the street.”
“Oh, I see. Bait-and-switch.”
He dragged two wrought-iron chairs with
leaf-patterned cushions away from a ring of chairs that circled a fire pit and placed
them next to a table, indicating she should sit. “How do you mean?” He claimed
the seat next to her, keeping his golden tiger eyes trained on her.
She took a sip of wine before placing her glass on
the table. “You bring me here under the guise of a home-cooked meal. Once I’m
settled, you pull the old bait-and-switch routine.” If he didn’t stop looking
at her like that, she was positive she’d melt.
“Trust me. When you taste Mama Maria’s linguini
with chicken piccata, you won’t know the difference. Besides, can you blame me
for wanting to focus more on you than cooking? I’d much rather be staring into
your beautiful green eyes than garlic cloves and pasta.”
A feeling of lighthearted happiness bubbled
inside until it spilled onto her lips. “A deceiver and a charmer. I imagine a
lot of women would fall for that one.”
His eyes zeroed in on hers. “Would you?”
She inhaled, trying to keep her concentration. “I
don’t know. I guess we’ll see.”
“I guess we will.” He watched her over the top of
the rim of his glass as he took a sip of wine.
Her heart stuttered before dashing into
overdrive. She knew he was flirting, knew these were probably pick-up lines he’d
used on many unsuspecting women before, but she didn’t care. His words, the
sexy way he spoke, left her feeling more alive than she had in a long time. “Thank
you.”
He arched his brows. “For what?”
“For inviting me here. For letting me escape into
your haven of solitude. For flirting with me so outrageously so I can forget
my problems for a while.”
He snorted then. “What? You think I’m doing this
for you?” A spark of attraction flared in his eyes. “Believe me. Having you
here is purely selfish on my part.”
Another smile lit on her lips as a pleasant warmth
spread through her body. “I don’t even know what to say to that.”
“You don’t have to say anything. Just sit there
and let me pamper you a while. You need it.”
Chapter Seven
Xander closed his front door after generously
tipping the delivery driver from Mama Maria’s. The tantalizing scent of garlic
filled the air as he moved from his foyer to the kitchen. He gathered plates
and utensils, before glancing out his back door to the woman who occupied a
seat on his patio.
Now that Nicole had agreed to see him, it seemed
as though she’d dropped her shield. He’d been prepared to do whatever it took
to win her over, but flirting with her, making small talk had come far easier
than he’d expected. He only hoped he wasn’t overdoing it. His whole line
about not cooking so he could look into her eyes was a little over the top, but
she hadn’t seemed to mind. In truth, as he’d been changing his clothes, he’d
realized if he were to cook a decent meal, he’d have to be focused on what he
was doing as opposed to trying to read her expressions and learning when she
might be telling the truth and might be lying.
Then again, she did have beautiful eyes. Spending
hours trying to figure her out wouldn’t be a hardship.
In all actuality, he’d really scored when he’d
picked up this assignment. Christian’s last job led him to pal around with a drug
dealer who’d lost most of his teeth and had numerous scars on his face from abusing
drugs.
Xander set the food containers on a tray with the
plates and napkins and headed outside. Nicole glanced up as he joined her, the
corners of her eyes turning up as she
her investigation of his yard. The trees and his house blocked most of the
wind, leaving a mild breeze to swirl a few dead leaves on the bricks. “I hope
you’ll forgive me. I decided not to cook. Instead, I ordered pasta from a
little Italian restaurant down the street.”
“Oh, I see. Bait-and-switch.”
He dragged two wrought-iron chairs with
leaf-patterned cushions away from a ring of chairs that circled a fire pit and placed
them next to a table, indicating she should sit. “How do you mean?” He claimed
the seat next to her, keeping his golden tiger eyes trained on her.
She took a sip of wine before placing her glass on
the table. “You bring me here under the guise of a home-cooked meal. Once I’m
settled, you pull the old bait-and-switch routine.” If he didn’t stop looking
at her like that, she was positive she’d melt.
“Trust me. When you taste Mama Maria’s linguini
with chicken piccata, you won’t know the difference. Besides, can you blame me
for wanting to focus more on you than cooking? I’d much rather be staring into
your beautiful green eyes than garlic cloves and pasta.”
A feeling of lighthearted happiness bubbled
inside until it spilled onto her lips. “A deceiver and a charmer. I imagine a
lot of women would fall for that one.”
His eyes zeroed in on hers. “Would you?”
She inhaled, trying to keep her concentration. “I
don’t know. I guess we’ll see.”
“I guess we will.” He watched her over the top of
the rim of his glass as he took a sip of wine.
Her heart stuttered before dashing into
overdrive. She knew he was flirting, knew these were probably pick-up lines he’d
used on many unsuspecting women before, but she didn’t care. His words, the
sexy way he spoke, left her feeling more alive than she had in a long time. “Thank
you.”
He arched his brows. “For what?”
“For inviting me here. For letting me escape into
your haven of solitude. For flirting with me so outrageously so I can forget
my problems for a while.”
He snorted then. “What? You think I’m doing this
for you?” A spark of attraction flared in his eyes. “Believe me. Having you
here is purely selfish on my part.”
Another smile lit on her lips as a pleasant warmth
spread through her body. “I don’t even know what to say to that.”
“You don’t have to say anything. Just sit there
and let me pamper you a while. You need it.”
Chapter Seven
Xander closed his front door after generously
tipping the delivery driver from Mama Maria’s. The tantalizing scent of garlic
filled the air as he moved from his foyer to the kitchen. He gathered plates
and utensils, before glancing out his back door to the woman who occupied a
seat on his patio.
Now that Nicole had agreed to see him, it seemed
as though she’d dropped her shield. He’d been prepared to do whatever it took
to win her over, but flirting with her, making small talk had come far easier
than he’d expected. He only hoped he wasn’t overdoing it. His whole line
about not cooking so he could look into her eyes was a little over the top, but
she hadn’t seemed to mind. In truth, as he’d been changing his clothes, he’d
realized if he were to cook a decent meal, he’d have to be focused on what he
was doing as opposed to trying to read her expressions and learning when she
might be telling the truth and might be lying.
Then again, she did have beautiful eyes. Spending
hours trying to figure her out wouldn’t be a hardship.
In all actuality, he’d really scored when he’d
picked up this assignment. Christian’s last job led him to pal around with a drug
dealer who’d lost most of his teeth and had numerous scars on his face from abusing
drugs.
Xander set the food containers on a tray with the
plates and napkins and headed outside. Nicole glanced up as he joined her, the
corners of her eyes turning up as she
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