Juliet’s eyes go wide, and her perfect lips—covered in nothing but lip gloss this time—drop open an inch. She’s stopped dead on the sidewalk, inches from where I’m standing, my heart pounding in my chest. I was half hoping she’d run into me, and if she lost her balance, I could break her fall, let one thing lead to another....

“Mr. Grant.” She straightens to her full height, lifting her chin like she’s some kind of princess—a queen, I correct myself instantly—and her hand goes to the handle of the oversized bag she has slung over her shoulder. “I didn’t know you’d be giving a lecture today.”

I laugh out loud in the oppressive heat, which must be swallowing her whole. There’s no way she’s immune to it, even if she looks the part. “That was not a lecture. It almost wasn’t a speech at all, as I’m sure you noticed.”

That makes her crack a smile, one that I’m sure she’s trying not to give me. “You choked hard, Weston Grant.”

I look into her eyes, smiling back, a jolt of electricity running down my spine. I want to keep her smiling. “Even billionaires can’t buy themselves a flawless speech every time.”

She rolls her eyes, settling her gaze back on my face. “I’d hope the other speeches you make are better than that.”

“You’re not usually sitting in the front row.”

A pink rises to her cheeks that would have been invisible in the low lights of the Rose. “If I’d known you were going to be here today, I’d have chosen a seat in the back.”

I step closer, not caring in the slightest about the students streaming out of the building around us. They’re far enough behind her that she must have been hurrying to avoid me. “Why would you want to do that, and deprive me of another glance at your beautiful face?”

Juliet laughs again, and the sound sends peals of joy through my chest. “What are you, some kind of prince in disguise?”

I raise my hands in the air. “Look, some ladies like that kind of thing.”

“I’m not one of them.”

“The way you’re blushing says otherwise.”

“Go on the words coming out of my mouth. I don’t need to be flattered.” 

“Who said I’m trying to flatter you?”

“You did.”

“I’m not trying to flatter you. I’ve been wishing I could see your face again for the last four days.”

She looks to the side, then seems to steel herself, forcing herself to look back at me. “I haven’t thought about you at all.”

I look at her for a long moment, and that’s when Juliet gives herself away. For the briefest moment, she slips, biting her bottom lip. “There it is,” I say with a grin, wishing I could reach up and put my thumb against her lip, followed by my tongue.

“There’s what?” Her voice has gone soft, even if she’s still holding herself stiff.

“You’ve been thinking about me.”

She sucks in a breath, and there’s a flash of something in her eyes. Is it defiance? Is she making a decision?

“It’s not because I want you.” Juliet’s words have that same hint of a lie, that same untruth to them that resonated through me when she said she hadn’t been thinking about me.

I give her a level glance. She might be standing here with her chin raised, determined not to give an inch, but she’s already giving in, even if she doesn’t realize it. Juliet is leaning toward me, and something tells me that if I keep pushing…

“That’s a bold claim.”

“So is the claim that you can offer me anything I want.”

Touché. “Maybe you’re right.” Her violet eyes go a little wider, but the more I talk to her, the more I see how in control she is of the expressions that move over her face. It’s only from the tiniest hints that I get any idea at all of what she’s feeling. And I could be wrong about that, too. Clearly. “Maybe I got a little…ahead of myself.”

“I’d say.” Her grip tightens around the handle of her bag. 

The urge to touch her is so strong that it takes every ounce of my strength to stay in place on the sidewalk. There’s one thing and one thing only that’s keeping me rooted here, instead of turning my back on her and getting into my car, which is exactly what I would have done if any other woman had toyed with me this long. The reason I’m still standing here is that Juliet hasn’t moved an inch, either.

She’s free to walk away at any time, but she’s still here, letting me get closer and closer. 

I throw away every flattering line I could say to her, pushing them all out of my mind. I throw away everything that’s ever worked on any other woman I’ve spent time with. Juliet is an entirely new frontier, and if I’m going to make any headway, I’m going to have to start treating her like one.

“An offer of anything would have made a hundred other women say yes to me without a second thought.” I move half a step closer so I can lower my voice, giving us an illusion of privacy in the middle of the crowd that’s still milling in front of the steps. No doubt it has to do with me. “But you, Juliet James? You’ve turned me down twice. So this time, I think I’ll ask you for something different.”

She’s breathing fast, her breasts rising and falling underneath the fitted tank top she’s wearing. “And what’s that?”

“A single date. One hour. Right now. If you don’t like how it goes, you’ll never see me again.”

Juliet narrows her eyes, looking straight into mine, and every fantasy I’ve ever had about a woman swirls around in my mind until they’ve all become images of her—of my hands lifting her shirt and tugging it over her head to reveal perfect breasts, of the pretty way she’d moan when I had her stripped down to the deepest level of desire, of the way she’d hold on to me so tightly, her nails digging into my back while she whispered my name, begging me for more, more. It’s like all those other women never existed. 

She bites her lip.

That’s when I throw down the gauntlet—the one thing I know she won’t be able to refuse. Not on a day like this.