Read Online Huddle With Me Tonight by Farrah Rochon - Free Book Online Page B

guiding her directly in his path. There would be no escaping him. She could only hope he would ignore her as he made his way to his table.
    She should have known better.
    He stopped yards away and waited for her. “Good evening,” he greeted as Paige approached.
    “Hello, Mr. Smallwood,” Paige said, her voice as unaffected as she could possibly expect it to be considering the situation.
    “C’mon, Paige. I think there’s enough history between us to be on a first-name basis by now,” he said with that smile that made her stomach tremble and skin get all tingly.
    “I don’t know. I kind of like some of the other names I’ve been calling you,” Paige said.
    He barked a laugh. “I definitely don’t want to hear any of those.” He leaned in and said with a stage whisper, “Unless they’re really dirty.”
    She shouldn’t engage in this back-and-forth with him, but she found it hard not to fall into the playful tit for tat. “Oh, they are pretty dirty,” Paige said. “Not the way you think, though.”
    His smile widened, and there was a definite weakening of her knees.
    “If you don’t mind, I was just about to have dinner,” Paige said.
    He looked to the table attendant, who’d been standing there watching their exchange with interest. Paige considered deducting a few points from her review of the restaurant for having a nosy waitstaff.
    “Are you dining alone?” Torrian asked.
    “I am now,” she answered honestly.
    “Would you mind some company?” he asked. “ You’re alone?” The question escaped her mouth before she could temper her surprised tone.
    “The last time I took my sister and nephew out for sushi, it didn’t go over too well,” he answered, and with a shrug continued, “I’ve been eyeing this place for a while and decided to finally give it a try. After turning down all my invitations to dinner, I can only assume this is fate stepping in.”
    In her book, what he was doing qualified as flirting, but Paige wasn’t sure the same rules applied to charmers with the professional expertise Torrian possessed. She’d seen him unleash that smile on enough fans and reporters to know that reading anything more into it would be a faux pas on her part.
    But what about that… something that had passed between them before he left her apartment? Tremors of excitement rippled along her skin whenever she thought about his heated gaze. It made her wonder what would have happened if his cell phone had not interrupted them. Would he have left her apartment? Would she have let him?
    “So, Paige, can I join you for dinner?” He leaned just a bit more toward her, and lowered his voice. “Maybe we can finish what we were discussing yesterday.” Which part? she wanted to ask.
    Over the course of the half hour he’d been at her apartment, the air surrounding their discussion had traveled along a spectrum of intimacy that still caused Paige’s breath to hitch. She went from not wanting to invite him into her home, to suffering a moment of sadness when he’d had to leave. How was that even possible?
    “For two?” the table attendant asked, an expectant, excited look on her face.
    “For two,” Torrian said, and Paige didn’t refute him.
    They were guided to a table in a corner, which is what she’d asked for, Paige remembered. It certainly had a different connotation to it now. The attendant waited until they were seated, then presented them with menus. “I will get the drink menu you requested,” she said before leaving.
    Paige nodded her thanks, then turned her attention to her new dinner guest. “Did everything turn out okay?” she asked. “You left in a hurry last night.”
    He waved away her concern. “My nephew is going through a knucklehead phase. Skipping class, missing curfew, driving his mom crazy. She’s convinced it’s something more than typical teenage stuff, so I had a little heart-to-heart with Dante last night. It’s all good.” Torrian opened his menu. “I’ve