Chapter 14
Sebastian
“Eli White is her brother. You’re sure?” I’ve been tapping my pen on the edge of my desk so hard that it looks like I ran it over with my car.
“He’s listed as her emergency contact on her last three job applications. Relationship says brother.”
“And the kid?” I’m more freaked out about him than the guy. Guys come and go. I know that better than anyone. But kids last a lifetime. Those are definitely deal-breakers for me.
“Her last five tax refunds show no record of a dependent. I think the babysitting story is probably true.”
Thank god. “Anything else I should know about?” Not that I want to know anything else that doesn’t pertain directly to me fucking Emma again.
“She seems relatively boring. No obvious skeletons, if that’s what you’re looking for.”
“It is.” Someone easy and low key. That’s what I’m looking for. Other than working her ass off, Emma seems like a safe fuck buddy.
“Well then, my friend, you should go for it. She’s smoking hot.”
My jaw clenches at Tim’s words. He’s not wrong, but he doesn’t need to be looking at Emma like that. “All right. Thanks, man.”
As soon as I’m off the phone with Tim, I send a text to Emma. Free for dinner?
Within seconds, I can see that my message was read. But the little bubbles that indicate she’s typing a response don’t appear for a good five minutes. Who is this?
Ouch. I’m not surprised she doesn’t know who I am since she doesn’t have my number in her contacts. But a small part of me wishes she would’ve asked if this is Sebastian. At least then I’d know I’m the only person poking around and asking her about going out. For all I know, I’m at the bottom of a long line of guys calling her. It’s Sebastian James. Are you free tonight?
This time, her response is immediate. I’m not. Sorry.
Is she still playing games with me? I truly don’t understand this woman. When we’re together, her body definitely responds as if she’s interested. But she’s stubborn as hell when it comes to actually saying yes. What about tomorrow?
The response bubbles light up and then go away without a message coming through. After I watch them appear and disappear for several long minutes, she finally sends it through. Tomorrow works.
Okay. At least I know she’s willing to be reasonable…sometimes. Great. I’ll pick you up at seven.
I can meet you somewhere???
If she thinks this isn’t going to end with me in her bed again, she’s as delusional as she is stubborn. I’ll pick you up at seven.
See you then.
Good girl. She knows when to give in. That’ll suit her well when we’re together tomorrow night.
~**~
I pick up Emma at exactly seven. In the few seconds it takes for her to turn off some lights and grab her jacket, I take a quick look around her apartment. I’m pleased to see she’s alone. But I’m not so pleased that I don’t at least ask the question on my mind. “Is your brother here? I’d love to meet him.”
“No, thank god. He was only here for about a week.”
“You don’t get along?” It’s hard not to notice her mixture of relief and discomfort when talking about him.
She sighs heavily, as if the conversation is already taxing. “He brings a lot of drama with him. He’s okay to hang out with some of the time, but life’s less complicated when he’s not crashing on my couch.”
“Understandable.” Emma opens her front door and steps through it, giving me a chance to look at her from the back. She’s wearing a brown dress that stops at her knees and black boots that tuck up just underneath the hem. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you. You look nice too.” She turns to face me and runs her hands down the front of her dress from her rib cage to her thighs. “I wasn’t sure how dressy to get, but since it’s kind of chilly tonight…”
“You’re perfect,” I whisper, catching myself too late. I shouldn’t say that shit out loud. “What I mean is, you look perfect for the restaurant I have in mind. Do you like Italian?”
“I love all food.” She opens her mouth and then closes it as if there was something else she was going to say but thought better of it.
“What?” I press, stepping over the threshold of her front door to meet her.
Emma shakes her head with a small grin. “Nothing. Just a stupid joke.”
“I like stupid jokes.”
She rolls her eyes indulgently then pulls out her keys to lock up. “Usually I say I like all food, especially when it’s free. But that’s a little tacky to say on a date.”
“You don’t ever have to hold back with me.” I pull the door shut behind me. “I can handle tacky.”
“Gee, thanks,” she says sarcastically, reaching around me to lock the door.
Wordlessly, I take the keys from her hand and engage the deadbolt before handing her keys back to her.
“Thank you,” she says quietly, slipping her keys into her clutch and turning toward the elevator.
I’m not sure if she’s upset that I’m being so presumptuous, but she’ll get over it. I just feel better knowing the door is properly locked and when I bring her back later to fuck her into the mattress, there will still be a mattress waiting for us.
Gentry is waiting right outside Emma’s building when we step out. The drive down Bell Road to my favorite restaurant is short, but it feels longer because of the tension in the car. Emma seems distracted as she fidgets with the zipper on her clutch.
“Everything okay?” I place my hand over hers to still her fingers.
“Yeah, sorry.” She flattens her hand over her bag then gives me a quick smile. “Just wondering what my brother is doing right now.”
Not exactly what I was expecting her to say. “What do you think he’s doing?”
She laughs and cocks her head. “Could be just about anything. I’m just hoping he’s not getting himself killed.” She gasps and then looks at me like she wasn’t supposed to say that out loud. “I mean, causing trouble, you know. He tends to attract it.”
Interesting. I’ll have to ask Tim to look more closely into her brother. Maybe he’s the one I need to be cautious of, not Emma. “You’re worried about him?”
She shrugs. “I’m sure he’s fine. And I certainly don’t wanna spend our evening talking about my brother. So, where we going?”
“Have you been to Dionisio’s?” Dionisio is a good friend of mine. We met through Isabelle, and I got to keep him after the breakup. He was dating her sister at the same time I was with Isabelle, so he knows better than anyone how the crazy runs in their family.
“No, but I’ve heard it’s good.”
“It’s one of my favorites. I think you’ll like it.”
Emma smiles and raises an eyebrow. “You take lots of women there?”
“Actually, no. I don’t date much.”
“I find that hard to believe.” Gentry pulls up in front of the restaurant, and I get out first, holding the door open while Emma slides out my door.
“I rarely lie, Emma. And certainly not over something so silly.”
She looks oddly pleased. “Okay, sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry for.” I rest my hand in the small of her back and guide her inside. Dionisio promised one of his best tables when I talked to him last night, so I’m not surprised when the hostess takes us to a table in the back that is spaced farther apart from the other tables than most.
As soon as we’re seated, Emma folds her hands on the table in front of her and looks right at me. “If you don’t date much, why did you ask me out?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” I pause while glasses of water are placed in front of us but never take my eyes off Emma.
“No, it’s not,” she says once we’re alone. “I don’t really get it.”
“You’re a beautiful woman, and I’ve enjoyed the time I’ve spent with you so far. Why wouldn’t I ask you out?”
Emma shrugs. “You probably have your pick of the women in this town. Why me? You already know I’m not exactly in your pay grade. Is this more of that altruistic charity your secretary was telling me about?”
Now I’m speechless. I don’t know what Rena would’ve said to her, but Emma obviously thinks higher of me than she should. Her gaze holds mine, and she doesn’t back down when I stare back.
Finally, I answer in the only way I know how. Honestly.
“Let me make this clear. I don’t do pity. Just because I can be generous at times doesn’t mean I’m out to save the world. My acts of generosity are more about paying forward some of the advantages I’ve had my whole life, so I don’t feel like such a privileged tool. If that tip I gave you helped you out of a tight spot, that’s great. But that has absolutely nothing to do with why you’re here tonight. My reasons for sitting with you now are completely selfish and completely inappropriate.”
Emma’s gaze flits down to my mouth, and her tongue wets her lips. “Inappropriate, how?”
I lean forward and speak low so only she can hear me. “If we weren’t at my friend’s restaurant right now, it would be hard for me to resist flipping you over, pulling up that dress of yours, and fucking you right on this table until you were screaming my name. Because that’s exactly what I’ve been thinking about all damn day.”
“Oh…” She reaches for her glass of water and takes a sip. A slight blush colors her throat as she swallows. “So, um, your friend owns this restaurant?”
“He does.” I lean back and smirk, enjoying how flustered she is. “I’m sure he’ll come out and say hello at some point.”
Emma has both hands wrapped around her water glass as she takes another sip, looking at me over the rim. That’s exactly how she looked when she had her hands wrapped around my cock and was drinking from it too.
Absolutely gorgeous.