you. This is really nice. Did you decorate it yourself?â
âWith a little help from my sister.â She had chosen neutral beiges and tans with splashes of coral to complement the stone fireplace. âIâll be right back.â
In her bedroom, Siobhan paced and rubbed her temples. âWhat are you doing, Siobhan?â she mumbled. âAll it took was a stupid kiss, and youâre going back on your word.â But damn, the man could kiss.
She stopped pacing and went to her closet. He said he didnât expect anything but some fun and an enjoyable evening. She could do this...as long as he kept his lips to himself.
Chapter 6
âN ow, wasnât this better than the coffee shop?â Justin asked, leaning back in his chair after they finished their meal.
Siobhan scanned the upscale steak house with its elegant furnishings and intimate atmosphere. Several couples sat across from each other holding hands and sharing smiles. There wasnât an empty table in the place. âItâs very nice, but how did you get reservations on such short notice?â
He took a sip of his wine. âI made reservations two days ago.â
She angled her head. âYou kept the original reservation, even after I canceled?â
âYes.â
âA little presumptuous, donât you think? And why didnât you respond to my message?â
âNot at all.â Justin leaned forward and reached for her hand. âAs far as not responding, I had hoped that by coming to your house, I could convince you to reconsider. I canât tell you how glad I am that you changed your mind, Siobhan.â
The timbre of his voice, the way he said her name and the way he touched her had Siobhanâs heart racing a mile a minute. Not wanting him to know how much he affected her, she eased her hand away and took a sip of her wine. âLike I told you before, youâre persistent, if nothing else.â
Justin chuckled. âOnly when necessary.â
They shared a smile, both remembering that particular conversation.
âDo you ever let go and just do something spontaneous? Maybe that one thing you always wanted to do, but havenât.â
âNo,â she answered immediately. âWith my schedule, I donât have room for spontaneity .â
âThen what do you do for fun?â
If she could recall the last time she did something fun, she might have been able to answer his question. âI hang out with my family and best friends.â Outside of the monthly family dinners and weekly lunches with her two friends, she couldnât come up with anything else that would qualify. Once she had handled that mess with Arthur, Siobhan had completely shut down her personal life. Not wanting to talk about her life anymore, she shifted the conversation. âYou said your parents live outside of Las Vegas. Is that where you grew up?â
Justin smiled knowingly. âNo. I grew up right here in Los Angeles. They moved there two years ago when the environmental consulting firm my father works for relocated. He said he was too close to retirement to start over. My mother is a librarian, and she said as long as they had books, sheâd be fine.â
Siobhan laughed. âI know you mentioned one of your sisters worked in forensics and the other one was in college. Are they here?â
âYep. Yvonne works in the Long Beach Police Department crime lab, and Jocelyn is at UCLA. As a matter of fact, they paid me a surprise visit on Thursday. So, what were you doing in Las Vegas?â
Usually Siobhan had no problems directing the attention away from her, but Justin wasnât so easily put off. He kept finding a way to turn the conversation back to her personal life. âMy two friends and I went to celebrate after graduating from college several years ago.â
âThat had to be a blast.â
âWell, it wouldâve been if Kendra hadnât got food poisoning.
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