potential one for the interview.”
He studied her face, turned on anew at the resolve currently etched in her features. She’d just insulted him, yet she stood by her words. Flat-out wrong words, but he liked that she had the guts to say them to his face. He allowed a real smile to form, wishing for the first time in years he could have the freedom to get to know a woman. “You think that’s the kind of person I am? Entertaining two small children for the sole purpose of publicity?”
A brief lift of her shoulders. “Most people would do similarly if presented the opportunity.”
“Most people?” He leaned back, putting a gap between him and the table, and wondered what had happened in her past to give her so little respect for people in general. He wanted to peel back the layers to find those answers himself. “Including you?”
“No.” She spoke quickly, vehemently. She shook her head and swallowed a large gulp of her wine. He’d had the idea to open another bottle of the imported Cabernet Sauvignon when he’d seen how much she enjoyed it, but he hadn’t wanted her getting more than a little tipsy. “I’m a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of girl. If I want something from you, I’ll come right out and ask for it.”
Stubborn pride gleamed from the depths of her gorgeous eyes, showing him more about her than he’d managed to figure out until this moment. He leaned across the table, closing the gap to a narrow breadth, and was rewarded with a small hitch in her breathing. “That’s something you’re proud of, isn’t it, Vega?”
“Absolutely,” she answered, almost hesitantly. “For instance, as you pointed out yesterday,” her words came out breathy as if his nearness made her nervous. Or excited. “I may be currently looking to use you, as you say, but only in the sense to be beneficial to both of us. I’m not trying to hide what I’m doing—when you asked, I told you—but I’m also honestly looking to help you in return. That concept goes beyond most people’s imaginations.”
“And you think that includes me?”
“Well…” Her lashes flickered. “Given who you and your family are…yes.”
If he were a less confident man, her bluntness would put a dent in his ego. And what a paradox she was. The bluntness went totally against the hesitant, almost shy woman her downward glances sometimes indicated.
“Do you have such little respect for my family?” he asked, not questioning her impression in thinking he might have been raised the way she’d implied, but rather, trying to understand how she’d come to that conclusion.
“That’s not it at all, I have great respect. But I also suspect you know how to work people for your benefit. You wouldn’t be so successful today if not.”
She made a very good point.
“I think you have a bad habit of making assumptions, Vega.” He reached over and trailed the tip of a finger along her jaw, enjoying the feel of fresh, clean skin with no makeup between him and her. “You might want to consider working on that little flaw of yours. It could lead you astray.”
Her chin lifted, her eyes blanked. “Or it could be exactly the right path.”
Interesting. It was almost as if something else was trying to make its way into their conversation, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what that might be. “Confident in that assertion?”
“It hasn’t failed me yet.”
“No?” He settled back in his seat, unsure why he was pushing this line of questioning, yet unable to back away. “Never?”
Something zipped through her gaze, but she maintained her bravado. “Never.”
That brief flash struck him as hollowness, the kind caused from pain, and he went with his gut. “Not even with whatever happened in your past?”
She jerked back, clearly shocked by his abrupt change in topic, and her momentary loss of control confirmed it for him. Something definitely haunted her. Something painful, and if he had to guess, something that
He studied her face, turned on anew at the resolve currently etched in her features. She’d just insulted him, yet she stood by her words. Flat-out wrong words, but he liked that she had the guts to say them to his face. He allowed a real smile to form, wishing for the first time in years he could have the freedom to get to know a woman. “You think that’s the kind of person I am? Entertaining two small children for the sole purpose of publicity?”
A brief lift of her shoulders. “Most people would do similarly if presented the opportunity.”
“Most people?” He leaned back, putting a gap between him and the table, and wondered what had happened in her past to give her so little respect for people in general. He wanted to peel back the layers to find those answers himself. “Including you?”
“No.” She spoke quickly, vehemently. She shook her head and swallowed a large gulp of her wine. He’d had the idea to open another bottle of the imported Cabernet Sauvignon when he’d seen how much she enjoyed it, but he hadn’t wanted her getting more than a little tipsy. “I’m a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of girl. If I want something from you, I’ll come right out and ask for it.”
Stubborn pride gleamed from the depths of her gorgeous eyes, showing him more about her than he’d managed to figure out until this moment. He leaned across the table, closing the gap to a narrow breadth, and was rewarded with a small hitch in her breathing. “That’s something you’re proud of, isn’t it, Vega?”
“Absolutely,” she answered, almost hesitantly. “For instance, as you pointed out yesterday,” her words came out breathy as if his nearness made her nervous. Or excited. “I may be currently looking to use you, as you say, but only in the sense to be beneficial to both of us. I’m not trying to hide what I’m doing—when you asked, I told you—but I’m also honestly looking to help you in return. That concept goes beyond most people’s imaginations.”
“And you think that includes me?”
“Well…” Her lashes flickered. “Given who you and your family are…yes.”
If he were a less confident man, her bluntness would put a dent in his ego. And what a paradox she was. The bluntness went totally against the hesitant, almost shy woman her downward glances sometimes indicated.
“Do you have such little respect for my family?” he asked, not questioning her impression in thinking he might have been raised the way she’d implied, but rather, trying to understand how she’d come to that conclusion.
“That’s not it at all, I have great respect. But I also suspect you know how to work people for your benefit. You wouldn’t be so successful today if not.”
She made a very good point.
“I think you have a bad habit of making assumptions, Vega.” He reached over and trailed the tip of a finger along her jaw, enjoying the feel of fresh, clean skin with no makeup between him and her. “You might want to consider working on that little flaw of yours. It could lead you astray.”
Her chin lifted, her eyes blanked. “Or it could be exactly the right path.”
Interesting. It was almost as if something else was trying to make its way into their conversation, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what that might be. “Confident in that assertion?”
“It hasn’t failed me yet.”
“No?” He settled back in his seat, unsure why he was pushing this line of questioning, yet unable to back away. “Never?”
Something zipped through her gaze, but she maintained her bravado. “Never.”
That brief flash struck him as hollowness, the kind caused from pain, and he went with his gut. “Not even with whatever happened in your past?”
She jerked back, clearly shocked by his abrupt change in topic, and her momentary loss of control confirmed it for him. Something definitely haunted her. Something painful, and if he had to guess, something that
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