Chapter Three
Josh
Josh had spent the remaining innings engaged in multiple conversations with Paul and Chase, keeping himself occupied while Carina caught up with Mia and met the rest of his inner circle of friends. He tried to avoid eye contact with her, but there were times when their paths crossed, momentarily making everything come to a standstill. He must have appeared out of it at one point, because Chase asked if he was feeling okay. Chase and the rest of the crew had no idea that he and Carina had put on an award-winning performance for her boss and whatever else the fuck he was. Against his better judgment and his gut, Josh had agreed to keep their run-in with Carina’s boss a secret. But how the hell could he not give her what she asked, when she looked at him with those distracting green eyes of hers?
As much as he enjoyed a night at the ballpark, he was eager for the Phils to wrap up the game so he could get the hell out of there. But there was another reason that he wished for an expedited ending. He wanted Carina far away from that ballpark, far away from Eric Ross. He had no idea why his thoughts went there. He was thinking like a possessive freak about a woman he had just met.
The game finally ended and their group slowly filtered out of the ballpark. Because she had come separately, the odds that Carina’s car was parked in the same lot where their group had parked were not good. He didn’t want to draw attention to himself or Carina, but there was no way in hell he was going to let Carina walk to her car alone…with her boss possibly lurking about. She seemed to be engaged in a conversation with Erin about baby names as they walked through the exit gates when he came alongside her.
“Where are you parked, Carina?” Erin was in mid-sentence when he rudely interrupted her. “It’s dark, I don’t think you should walk through the lot alone.”
Erin’s face went pale.
Josh instantly felt like an ass as her loss of color registered in his thick skull. Why the fuck didn’t he think before he spoke? No one would know better than Erin how dangerous it could be for a woman to walk alone at night. He wanted to apologize, but he also didn’t want to bring up her past in front of Carina, a virtual stranger. But to his surprise the color in Erin’s face returned quickly, an encouraging sign that her therapy was working. However, Josh was convinced that therapy was only a fraction of the reasons that Erin had moved on from her attack. The man she was going to marry, the man who was clearly devoted to his soon-to-be wife and unborn children, had shown her that although there was much darkness in the world, life was worth fighting for.
“Carina, he’s right,” Erin said, stopping in front of Chase’s car. Erin walked over and gave him a hug.
While in her embrace, Josh whispered, “Sorry, that was careless.”
Erin gently pulled away. Her color remained and this time she smiled. Erin didn’t acknowledge his apology and said to Carina, “Trust me, it’s not often I say those words.” Erin’s devilish grin only grew. She was so beautiful, so strong…and so much like his sister.
“Um, thanks, but I didn’t park far from here. Just one lot over, actually,” Carina said, looking from Erin to Josh.
“Not close enough. I’ll walk you,” he said. Erin’s jaw dropped slightly and he realized that his offer to escort her to her car had come off as a straight-up demand, leaving Carina with no room to object.
It wasn’t like him to command women, except in the bedroom, and even then, it was with their absolute consent. The women he slept with knew what he desired, what they were getting into, before they came to his bed. He promised them pleasure, not commitment, not love. And there had been many who agreed to his stipulations.
But there had been occasions, although rare, that a woman had wanted more. Just recently he was forced to end an affair. The professor he had been fucking for a month confessed she had developed feelings for him and wanted a relationship. He had been disappointed in himself that he had missed the signs, that he didn’t see she had wanted more, more than he could ever give.
It had been over a month since he had been with a woman. Maybe that was why he was acting erratically now. Yes, that had to be the reason for his sudden interest in Carina and his need to keep her safe. He would need to rectify that over the weekend. A night of uncomplicated fucking with a woman who accepted his stipulations was in order.
“Carina, let him walk you to your car. It would make me feel better,” Erin said with knowing eyes. Josh was grateful that Erin had stepped in.
“Okay, Erin.” Carina gave her new friend a hug and then moved on to Mia, who hugged her for over a minute. Josh heard Mia whisper something in Carina’s ear, causing Carina to squeeze her friend even tighter. The embrace ended with Mia wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. But through the tears, Mia smiled. Carina said her goodbyes to the rest of the group. She appeared comfortable with his friends, though she had only met them two hours ago.
But as the last member of the group drove away, leaving them alone in the parking lot, her comfort level seemed to take a nose dive and she suddenly appeared anxious. Her flawless skin took on a pinkish hue and it seemed as if she was going out of her way not to make eye contact.
“My car’s in the orange lot,” she said, turning on her heel and making her way toward the next lot over. He quickly caught up with her, as there was no chance he was going to trail behind her like some lost puppy, though the quick view of her tight ass and the sway of her hips almost made him reconsider. He always appreciated lush curves, favoring women who didn’t fret over having some meat on their bones, as opposed to rail-thin women who viewed food as the devil incarnate. And from the multiple glimpses throughout the evening, coupled with the opportunity he had been given to caress her back as they performed before her boss, he determined that her body was built for sin and seduction. But there was also something wholesome about her. Something that screamed girl-next-door.
He wasn’t thinking clearly, as he was distracted with the walking contradiction at his side and blurted out, “Are you or were you sleeping with your boss?”
Carina’s speed walking came to a halt and she stared at him with what looked like shock and annoyance. “That’s none of your business,” she said, folding her arms across full, perky breasts.
Yeah, she was definitely annoyed.
“You kind of made it my business when you asked me to participate in that little performance we put on for Eric. Don’t you think?” he asked. “Eric Ross makes you uncomfortable. Why?”
“You want to know what’s making me uncomfortable, Josh?” Her arms fell to her sides as she stepped closer to him. Fully erect nipples pierced her cotton shirt and he struggled to breathe for a second. “This conversation. That a man I just met is trying to pry into my life,” she continued, poking at his chest with two fingers.
Her touch distracted him and he shifted his gaze from her breasts to her eyes. He reached down and grabbed the fingers she was using as a prodder. “I make you uncomfortable, Carina?”
Her eyes sprang wide open and her lips parted. “I…I need to get to my car. Are you going to walk me to it or not?”
Josh got the sense she wanted to appear pissed off, and maybe she was. But she also seemed flustered. He released her fingers. “There’s no way I’m leaving you alone in this lot, not with Eric Ross—or any man, for that matter—lingering around.”
She didn’t respond. Instead, she began to walk toward a small cluster of cars about a hundred yards away. She remained silent during their trek, though he did catch her on two separate occasions glancing at him. Her pace slowed as they came upon a charcoal gray Nissan Rogue. Josh heard the vehicle’s locks disengage.
“Look. I’m sorry. I appreciate you walking me to my car and for pretending to be my boyfriend tonight. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but there are things I like to keep private, with Eric Ross being one of them.”
“Eric Ross, your boss? Eric Ross, the man who makes you uneasy? Eric Ross, the man who asked you to join him in his office first thing Monday morning?” Josh asked, taking a step toward her.
“I can speak Italian fluently, which isn’t a monumental feat since I was immersed in the language as a little girl. It’s not a strange request, even coming from Eric.”
“I would bet everything I own that you walk into work on Monday and find no Italian family in need of your skills.”
“How can you be so certain?” Carina opened the driver’s side door.
“I just am,” Josh said, watching her slide into the driver’s seat. “I’ll tell you what. If I’m right, then you will agree to join me for lunch on Monday.”
Carina’s hand was on the handle, as if prepared to end this conversation with the swing of the door. Josh anticipated her next move and held the door open, not giving her the opportunity to shut him out. “I don’t think that’s such a great idea,” she said.
“I do. It will help solidify our charade to your boss,” Josh said. She again avoided his gaze and busied herself with her seatbelt. But her face was flushed and she appeared embarrassed, maybe even disappointed.
She started her car, another indication that she wanted this interaction to end, and looked up at him. “I appreciate the offer, but it won’t be necessary. I’m confident that I will be conversing with a new family in Italian bright and early on Monday.”
Josh smiled, shut her door, and stepped back from her vehicle. “I’ll see you soon, Carina.” She shook her head as if he was deluded and drove off.