Her Charming Heartbreaker (19 page)

“If worse comes to
worse, I can hold my own ground. As for feeding you... I’ve learned
my lesson. Next time I invite you to dinner, it’ll be cheese and
crackers.”

“Ouch. I had that
coming.” She sighed and gave him a small smile. “I do appreciate
the effort you put into the evening. But it really wasn’t
necessary.”

“Are you out of touch
with the rituals of dating?” Didn’t women have an unwritten rule
about no sex until after the third date?

She chortled. “At the
risk of sounding like I’m selling myself short, I know you’re not
hanging around and that means you come with an expiry date.” She
pressed her lips against the rim of her champagne glass. “I’m not
delusional. This isn’t leading anywhere.”

She sounded too
matter-of-fact. And he didn’t like it. Not one bit.

“Is that a phone
ringing?” she asked.

The ringing stopped
only to start up again. “Ignore it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.” He wasn’t
about to hop on a plane to London because his mother needed her
mood perked up. She had plenty of people around her...

“What if it’s something
serious? I’d feel better if you checked.”

“You just want to see
me walk across the room naked,” he said chuckling as he crossed the
room. Moments later he returned, his phone in hand.

“Everything okay?”

“No major dramas that
can’t wait.” He refreshed their glasses and settled on the couch
again.

“So… you actually think
there’s going to be a next time,” she said.

“I live in hope.” Theo
wondered how many nights together it would take to break her
heart.

He tipped his glass
back until he’d drained it.

He hadn’t taken Joyce’s
suggestion seriously but in the end, he would go his way and Eddie
would go hers. He didn’t think his departure would cause any
enduring pain, especially not when he was giving Eddie exactly what
she wanted. Maybe that’s all he needed to do. Walk away.

“I’m making the best of
the situation and grabbing what I can get.”

Like it or not, he was
stuck with the role of heartbreaker. Joyce could not have been
clearer.
It’s what Eddie wants
... “I’m a lucky man.”

“And don’t you forget
it.” She drained her glass and smiled. “To be honest with you, I’ve
never had a fling before, so I’m not up on the rules of the
game.”

“It’s all about
enjoying the moment.”

“I get the feeling I’m
not supposed to overthink it.”

Could he walk away
without even a thank you, it was lovely meeting you, if we ever
bump into each other, let’s do it again? Joyce had assured him
Eddie believed she needed to experience one more bad relationship
before she could move on to her happily-ever-after. He wouldn’t
mind knowing who’d put the idea into her head.

It felt wrong to
anticipate the end even before they’d had a proper beginning...

“Is there any chance
dessert wasn’t ruined too?”

Theo welcomed the
change of subject. Dessert had been his lead up to seduction. But
first, he’d planned on sitting down to dinner to enjoy an intimate
setting, perhaps talk about their lives, where they came from,
where they were going. He’d known this wouldn’t be an ordinary
dinner. That afternoon’s visit to the pub had cleared the way for
something spectacular. And despite knowing in advance what to
expect, he had planned on pacing himself, but Eddie had completely
derailed his plans, not that he was complaining. What man
would?

“Theo? Dessert…”

“Yes, what about
it?”

She tapped her finger
against his chin. “What were you thinking just now? Come on, out
with it. Something put a naughty boy smile on your face.”

“Naughty boy?” He drew
her against him.

“You had something
planned for dessert. Whipped cream?”

“Aphrodisiac enhancers.
Fruit. Figs and honey. Chocolate covered strawberries...”

“You were going to
seduce me with fruit?”

“Little did I
know…”

She pouted. “That I’d
pounce on you?”

“I think I should give
you a warm cup of cocoa and tuck you into bed now.”

“Fruit,” she said
sounding unconvinced.

“It’s a known
aphrodisiac. I didn’t think you’d care for partridge brains, mashed
into powder and swallowed with red wine. That used to be quite
effective—”

“You just happened to
know that?”

“And much more. The
Romans embraced the idea of love potions with a passion. Street
sellers peddled concoctions such as frog’s bones, sucking-fish,
dried marrow—”

“Please, stick to
fruit. And feel free to apply whatever else you’ve learned so long
as it’s not mashed up bits of animal entrails.”

“I actually got that
little fruit nugget of information from watching an episode of
Seinfeld
. Give me a few more minutes to regain my strength
and we’ll give the strawberries a whirl. I’m curious to see what
effect they’ll have on you.”

“Because I’m a
firecracker without them? What must you think of me?” She raked her
fingers through her hair. “You might as well know, I’ve been single
for a while,” she said, her voice close to a whisper.

“It’s been a while for
me too. So I didn’t have it in me to resist you.”

“You take what you can
get?”

He tipped her chin up
and frowned at her. “I’ve wanted you since the moment I first set
eyes on you.”

“But you had
reservations. And willpower.”

He drew in a deep
breath. “I had other things on my mind. And I know that’s not the
sort of admission a woman wants to hear.”

“A man on a mission,
letting nothing and no-one stand in your way.” She snuggled closer
to him. “I can live with that.”

“The thought of you
distracted me more than once,” he said.

“Now you’re trying to
butter me up. I feel very powerful. Then again, you came looking
for Claire. And now she’s gone and you’re looking after her son. So
your mission is probably on standby. And you suddenly find yourself
with some time on your hands.”

“Are you trying to keep
this in perspective?” Staying on track, not fooling herself into
weaving a happy ending. Had she actually nominated him as her
official heartbreaker?

“I’m trying to be a
realist.”

“You’re not an
afterthought, Eddie.”

“But I’m not your
priority, either.” She shrugged. “It’s okay. I really don’t have a
problem with that. You’re serving a purpose too.”

Only because she wanted
to be hurt. As if that would wipe the slate and pave the way for
better things to come...

“I really don’t mind
that you came here looking for Claire because...” She lifted an
eyebrow and nudged him.

“You want me to fill in
the gap. Are you about to use your feminine wiles to get the truth
out of me?”

“I’m giving you a
chance to confide in me.” She turned and rested her back against
his chest, snuggling against him. “We know Jon Kendrick is your
father.”

It didn’t surprise him.
However, he hoped they hadn’t made the connection between Claire
and Jon. He didn’t think Claire would appreciate being the subject
of gossip. Although, Claire was a single mom and he imagined that
would have been enough to trigger a guessing game. “So, you know
who I am. Now who’s been keeping secrets?” He chuckled.

“We figured you’d tell
us eventually.”

“Or maybe you were
giving me enough rope to hang myself. Waiting to see if I did or
said something to give myself away.”

“You have no idea how
impressed we are. You’re a celebrity—”

“No, I’m not. That’s my
father.”

“Okay, you’re a
celebrity by association. Anyway, we were expecting you to do
something obnoxious. Something along the lines of ‘do you know who
I am?’ or—”

“How dare you treat me
like a nobody?” he laughed.

“You obviously value
your privacy. And the fact I didn’t let on I knew about your father
shows I can be trusted.”

“More champagne?” He
topped up her glass.

“Fine. Just don’t
expect me to share any secrets with you.”

“Let’s talk about the
wedding.”

“Whoa. You’re changing
the subject and jumping the gun. This was just sex, Theo. If you
think I’m now going to propose—”

“Joyce told me about
your friend’s upcoming nuptials.”

“Sounds like you and
Joyce had a chat fest,” she said, her voice thickening as his
fingers drew lazy circles along her neck.

“You only say that
because you weren’t part of it.” He wouldn’t mention anything about
Joyce warning him to stay away from Eddie and then suggesting he
break her heart. Had he been that obvious about his attraction?
Hell, even Eddie’s brothers had caught on to it.

Seeing her having
dinner with another man had been like waving a flaming red flag in
his face and daring him to stop dragging his feet and take
action.

“If you offer yourself
as my date for the wedding, I’m going to have to slice you open and
see what’s inside. You can’t possibly be a human male. In my entire
life I’ve never come across a man who would willingly volunteer to
dress in a suit, sit through a ceremony and dance attendance—”

“Are you done?”

“Not quite. I only
stopped because I had to take a breath. Now I need a refill.”

“I’m beginning to think
the men around here need a swift kick.”

“So which planet do you
come from?”

“Okay, so weddings are
not a man’s favorite pastime, but some men are prepared to go the
extra mile and endure the arduous task for the sake of pleasing the
woman in their lives.”

“Did you have that
memorized?”

“I have a few ready
made responses to suit all occasions and I’m not prepared to admit
that’s one of them. It would be giving too much away.”

* * *

Eddie decided she could
spend hours talking with Theo and not be at a loss for words. She’d
never get bored with him. Throw sex into the mix and—

Don’t get too
comfortable, she told herself.

“So you’re offering to
be my plus one for the wedding.”

“Only if you promise
you won’t slice me open. Cross my heart, I will bleed.”

“Can I at least poke
you?” He had to have a flaw.

“I suffered a bruised
jaw for you. What more do you want?”

“Your parents must be
wonderful people.” He was almost the perfect man.

“They trained me from
an early age to be sink or swim self-sufficient.”

“Are you trying to say
you had a lonely childhood?”

“No. Sometimes I
wondered what it would be like to experience peace and quiet. There
were always too many people milling around for me to feel lonely.
My parents are both in the business of collecting hangers-on.”

“Peace and quiet is
overrated. I’ve tried it and it only leaves room for too much
thinking. My grandmother lives alone and every time I visit I
expect her to overwhelm me with conversation, instead she waits for
me to talk. We’ve tried coaxing her to move back to town but she
won’t hear of it. Which is a pity because she’s quite a character
and fun to be with.”

“This is the
Grandmother with the double barrel shotgun?”

She nodded. “Getting me
to hunt the wild boar was her way of—” …Snapping her out of her
self-absorption and self-pity after she’d broken up with Roy.
“Never mind.”

“If you don’t tell me,
I’ll—”

“You’ll what?”

“I’ll withhold all
sexual favors until you open up to me,” he threatened.

“You wouldn’t last a
day.” She laughed. “Now that you’ve had a taste of me, you’ll want
to spend every last minute of your stay in Eden with me.”

He pressed his lips
against her shoulder. “We already know you have no willpower to
speak of. Out of the two of us, you’d be the first to break,” he
murmured.

“I can be gritty when I
set my mind to it. If I have to go without sex to preserve my
dignity, I will.”

“It’d be easier if you
opened up and shared all, but I’m happy to test your mettle.” He
nibbled her neck and then closed in on her mouth.

Her toes curled until
she thought they’d break. “I was coming out of a bad relationship
and my grandmother thought I needed to feel empowered. Happy now?”
There was no shame in giving in. None whatsoever. So long as he
kept kissing her...

“I like her already.”
He twirled his finger around a curl. “Was it a bad break-up?”

She hated to hear his
voice softening. Pity never sat well with her. “My unofficial
fiancé got another woman pregnant.” She felt more than heard the
rumble in his chest, like a predatory animal ready to pounce.

“That’s enough to make
anyone wary of relationships.”

“I’m optimistically
cautious. There has to be a bright light at the end of the tunnel.
Of course, when I see it, I’ll make sure it’s not a train heading
my way.” His silence put her on edge. She didn’t want him to feel
he needed to make up for someone else’s sins. And he seemed to be
the type who would.

“I’ll have to see about
getting myself a suit for the wedding.”

Eddie decided she
wouldn’t hold him to it. If he came with her, she’d enjoy every
breath she drew in his company—

“When I came here
tonight, I was thinking how gullible I’d been to believe you were
not with Claire. People lie to get what they want.”

“Not everyone. Here,
have some figs.” He teased her bottom lip until she took a
bite.

“Okay, some people, I
won’t name names, refrain from telling the truth and that tends to
cast doubt...”

He brushed his lips
against her neck. “If I’ve lied to you, then—”

“Then it would have to
be the sweetest lie of all.” Right along with the fantasies
flitting around her heart, celebrating a future she knew would
never be hers. From the start, Theo had told her he had a return
flight booked. Their time together came with an expiry date.