If I Say Yes (14 page)

I laugh. “Are you kidding me?” I walk around my desk and towards
him. “Like you have really made an effort? Let’s see… first, you blackmail
me into going to that godforsaken club with you, and you don’t even
abide by the condition I set for the interaction. Then, you show up to my
apartment, kiss me, and take off after like a bat out of hell.” I shudder
at the memory of his soft lips against mine. What I wouldn’t do to feel
them again. “Then we go to lunch, where we’re supposed to be talking
about how you were going to help me sign an author, which if I may remind you, we still haven’t started yet. So comforting to know that
you are not a man of your word.” Reid flinches when I say that. I really
should stop while I’m ahead. “At lunch, you make fun of me because
of my apartment and the car I drive, which I happen to like. You flirt with
the waitress in front of me, and then you disappear for a few days—”

“I already explained to you why.” His voice is low.

“Yes, you did. And while the walk was nice, I can count a couple more times where you have been a complete ass when it hasn’t been necessary.”

“That’s your decision, then?”

I say nothing and nod my head. What is he expecting me to say?
It’s not like he’s been the nicest guy on the block. So what if he ignites
my blood on fire? Or the fact that we have some magnetic pull to one
another? It doesn’t excuse his jackass persona. Reid spins on his heels and heads to the door. He hesitates for a moment before turning back
around and closes the distance between us. Before I can comprehend
what is going on, his lips are crushing against mine, and I find myself
kissing him back.

“It really wasn’t what you thought.” He whispers against my lips. I start to say something, and he cuts me off. “No, let me explain. Lilith,
that’s my secretary—”
so the skank has a name
“—she came on to me. At
first, I thought I wanted it, anything to distract me from thinking about
you. Which only made me think about you more, so I told her to stop.
She wouldn’t, and when I tried to
push
her off of me, her hair got tangled
up in the buttons of my shirt. Th—”

I burst out laughing, a full on head thrown back, loud laugh filling
the air. My stomach muscles ache at the spontaneity of it. “You seriously
cannot expect me to believe that. That’s like one of the most ridiculous,
oldest excuses in the book.” I completely forget that just a second ago
our lips were locked into a passionate kiss.

Reid frowns. “I’m being serious, Liza, and I have no interest in
her or any other woman that comes my way. I only want you.” He’s
whispering again, his voice seductive and making my toes curl inside
of my flats.

“Why?” I push away and turn my head. “Am I just another challenge
for you to conquer? Just someone you plan on tossing aside after you
get what you want?”
Way to ruin the moment with my big mouth.
But Reid
makes me a little irrational at times. “Because I will tell you right now,
that will never happen. We will never happen.”

My heart aches as I say the words out loud, because as much as I
want him, I can’t go there. I want his lips to touch every surface of my
body. I want to hear his low, seductive voice telling me how much he
wants me. I can’t let it happen. Not matter how much I want it to.

“I’ll admit,” he says as he comes closer to me, “I’ve never had to work this hard to get someone to go to dinner with me. Neither have I had someone so openly dislike me.”

“I never said I didn’t like you,” I say quickly.

“No, but you did point out every reason why you shouldn’t.” I
sigh. I can’t disagree with that. I have been pretty cruel. “Regardless of
the fact, I don’t see you as just another notch on my bedpost.” I raise
my eyebrows. “Not that I do that. But I genuinely want to get to know
you better.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re the first person who sees through the bullshit, the
first not to be affected by whatever charm I apparently have or my
money, and because… well… because when you look at me, I know you
see me. You see the person I want to be, the person that I can be.
You
make me want to be a better person, and not the kind who thinks of women as an accessory.”

I gasp softly. This is not what I expected to hear. I glance back at him again and find that his dark eyes have softened to a soft black, taking over his predominately glossy cold stare. “If I say yes to this, it comes with one condition.”

Reid smiles. “You and your conditions.”

“We can go to dinner as friends.” He frowns, not afraid to show his
disappointment. “We’ll go to Mercury’s Diner on whatever day works
for you.”

“How about Saturday?”

“That’s the date of the charity event.” Reid shrugs his shoulders.
He seems to care about the event just as much as I do. While it’s a good
event, raising money to donate books to the local schools, I can’t stand
them. “If you’re sure, then Saturday it is.”

“It’s a date,” he says, finally flashing his breath taking, charming smile.

I frown and shake my head. “It’s not a date. Just two friends having
dinner.”

“I’ll take what I can get,” he says before he turns and walks out of my office, closing the door behind him. As soon as the door shuts, my
phone beeps, alerting that I have a new text message. I pull my phone
out of my pocket and see that it’s an unknown number.

Great, now whoever it is, is sending me messages
. With the thought in
mind, I click on the message and open it.

Next time you won’t be so lucky.

Remember, Elizabeth… you can only hide for so long.

MERCURY’S DINER
is the perfect place to go to for a ‘not a date’ dinner. Fifteen minutes outside of town, filled with unfamiliar faces
and some pretty good burgers. I had accidentally discovered this place
a few years ago, when I decided to take a drive one day and see where
I would end up. The diner isn’t the greatest or the nicest of places; in
fact, it’s quite the opposite. The booths have cracked pleather, the tables
are rickety, the wallpaper is peeling, and the flooring is warped. What
it lacks in style and grace, it makes up for with the welcoming, home-
like atmosphere and fantastic food. I pull into the crowded parking
lot and see Reid’s black sports car sticking out like a sore thumb. He’s
early. I don’t know how long he has been here, but it has to be a while
considering I am twenty minutes early myself.

It’s a shame, and almost an embarrassment, pulling up and parking
my car next to his. But I stand by my decision. I love this beaten car of
mine, even if it seems to be on its last leg. Though it isn’t a date — we’re
just two friends having dinner — I still dress up. Well, what I consider
dressing up.

The floral print, strapless summer dress I’m wearing billows around
me as I step out of the car and into a light breeze passing by. My left heel gets stuck on a rock as I cross the rocky, dusty parking lot, and I know I must seem like a fool. Gee, what if Reid is watching me right now? I brave glancing up towards the diner, and I don’t see his face
in any of the windows. I breathe a sigh of relief. He must be sitting
somewhere else, but it still doesn’t mean he can’t see the charade going
on outside. A strong gust of wind picks up and dirt flies everywhere.
I choke and cough, covering my eyes with my arm. I pick up the pace and run through the little dust storm. The door chimes as I basically fall through it, still choking and coughing from the sudden attack of wind and dirt.

That’s a sure fire way to snag unwanted attention.
I roll my eyes and
laugh softly to myself. Everyone snaps their heads towards me, the
diner utterly silent, and I am unable to move for a moment. I smooth
the top of my dress and hair down, glancing around the diner. At first,
I can’t seem to find Reid, even though I’m almost positive that is his car outside. I keep scanning all the faces that have been staring at me
since I barged in. Once I begin to move, they turn their attention back
to their food and conversation.

“Liza!” I hear him before I see him. All eyes are on me again as I
scan the room searching for him. There, tucked away in a small booth
in the back of the diner, is Reid. I cringe. Of course, he has to go and
choose the smallest table available. The one where you can only sit on
the side of the table, at a small bench against the wall. I’m not sure I can
sit so close to him. I take a deep breath and start walking towards the
back. Reid slides out of the booth and grins as I approach him. “I
figured since we’re dining as friends, we’d sit next to each other. Since
that’s what friends do.”

Uh huh, I’m sure that’s exactly what you were thinking when you chose
this spot.
I keep the thought to myself, smile, and slide onto the bench.
I move to the furthest end of the seat as possible, which doesn’t make
much of a difference. I am fully aware of Reid, of his scent and warmth,
when he slides in next to me with a grin bigger than I have seen before.
Only confirming my suspicions. He is up to something, I just have the
feeling. I pick up the menu and pretend to be looking at what they have
for dinner selections. Doing this is pointless though. I already know what
I am ordering. I knew as soon as I suggested the place. A short, elderly
woman with graying hair and a name tag that says Sally approaches
our table.

“What can I get for you two love birds?” she smiles. I tense and feel Reid laughing silently next to me.

“We… uh… we’re here as friends,” I say quickly.

“Uh-huh, sugar, whatever you say.”

“I like this woman,” Reid chimes in. He chuckles again, and this
time I can hear his luscious laugh. I stare at him, and he shrugs his
shoulders. “I’ll just take whatever my
friend
here is having.”

The woman shifts her focus back to me, a notepad in one hand and
a pen in the other. “I’ll take the bacon cheeseburger, waffle fries, and a
strawberry milkshake.”

“A girl who isn’t ‘fraid to eat,” Sally says. She turns to Reid, bends
down so she’s at his level, and stares him in the eyes. “That girl,” she nods towards me, “is a catch. Don’t let her get away.”

“I know.” His voice is low and
serious
. I
tense
again next to him. The
woman stands
back up, winks at
Reid
, and heads off to put in our order.

Reid grabs the glass of water off the table. His arm brushes against
mine as he brings it to his lips. I watch out the corner of my eye as his
tongue dances across his lips and licks off the remaining drops of
water. Reid must have seen me, because I can feel his eyes on me. I
straighten up and stare straight ahead. I feel him shift in his seat. He
clears his throat, and I hesitate before peeking towards him. He has
shifted his body so that it is angled towards me, with one arm on the
back of the bench reaching behind me. I can feel the heat of his arm in
my proximity. I let out a sigh.

“So what do
friends
talk about at dinner?” He’s mocking me.

“Well,” I hedge. I reach out, grab my glass of water, take a sip, set
it back down, and turn so I can see him. “Anything, really. The weather,
how their day was, what their plans are for the weekend, the newest movies. Anything…” I reiterate.

“And how was your day, Ms. Liza?” He raises an eyebrow and
smirks.

“Really? You’re seriously asking me that?” I let out an irritated sigh
and take another sip of my water.

“You’re the one who suggested it.” Crap, he’s right. I did. “Cut me some slack, Liza. I’m really trying here. This is all new to me.”

I laugh and stare at him. Nothing on his face shows that he is
joking. It’s the complete opposite, and he acting as serious as he can
be. “Wait a minute… you’re telling me that you have never had dinner
with a friend?”

“Sure I have, a million times,” he says, matter-of-factly. “Just not with someone I want to be more than friends with.”

I should order an ice cold beer, or three, if I want to make it through
the
night. “That’s a good line.” I laugh. “D
oes
it work with all the
women?
”

“Believe or not, you are the first female I have willingly taken to
dinner.” He isn’t finding my humor funny in the slightest bit. I bite
back a smartass comment I had been preparing to say, knowing that he probably won’t find it as funny as me.

“I’m sorry,” I say, “It’s just hard to take you seriously, given your
track record and all.” He shakes his head, his eyes start taking that
familiar gloss stone-hard gaze. I’m pushing him too far and losing him
quickly.
Knock it off, Liza.
I take a deep breath and shake my head. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry… I’m not used to dating.”