Natalie

“Is anyone using this chair?”

The deep rumble sent shivers down my spine, but I didn’t look up from the file my boss had given me during our morning meeting. This case was too important for me to mess up. Being the new kid meant I had to work twice as hard because I needed to make a good impression.

“No,” I mumbled, expecting the owner of the delicious voice to drag it to some other table so he could sit with a group of friends, or his girlfriend, or whatever. What I didn’t expect was to spot a masculine hand out of the corner of my eye as it nudged one of my stacks of papers to the side.

Jerking my head up in surprise, I found myself staring into warm brown eyes. My cheeks filled with heat as I took in the incredibly gorgeous man who’d sat down in the seat across the table from me. He had thick, dark hair that looked like someone had been running their fingers through it. His full lips were stretched into a stunning smile, showing perfectly straight teeth. The scruff on his face went beyond a five o’clock shadow, even though it was early afternoon, but it only enhanced how hot he was.

Taut muscles strained against his French blue dress shirt as he propped his elbows on the surface and leaned towards me, tanned skin visible at the unbuttoned collar. His long legs were stretched out under the table, the tip of one of his brown, leather wingtips less than an inch from my feet. He was, by far, the sexiest man I’d ever seen in my life, and all of his attention was focused on me. It was exhilarating, and I took a deep breath to try to settle my nerves.

I glanced around the bakery, surprised to find most of the surrounding tables empty. I hadn’t made it out of the office for lunch until a little past two, but I expected the bakery to be full since he was sitting in my extra chair. Why else would a drop dead gorgeous guy pick the only table with someone else sitting at it?

My mystery man chuckled at my obvious confusion, drawing my gaze back to his face. His smile had widened and the corners of his eyes were crinkled up with humor. I was so nervous that I couldn’t even describe the feeling in my stomach as butterflies taking flight, it was more like my insides were doing somersaults.

“Umm,”—I glanced around the empty room again, wondering if someone was pulling a prank on me—“Can I help you with something?”

“Sure you can, sweetheart. You can tell me your name.”

He was hot, there was no denying it, and the confidence in his voice made it clear he was well aware of the affect he had on women. I’d been around enough arrogant men in my life to know it was better to steer clear of them. It was why I’d come half-way across the country to take a job outside of my step-father’s sphere of influence. I wanted to make it on my own, without the stigma that would follow me if I let him help me. I’d never truly be taken seriously with everyone assuming I’d been given my career rather than having earned it.

I knew I should nip this, whatever it was, in the bud before it even started, but I couldn’t bring myself to actually do it.

“Natalie,” I answered softly.

“Natalie,” he repeated, his eyes lazily sliding down my body and back up again before he continued. “I’m Jax.”

Jax. I should have guessed he had a hot guy name. Although, I doubted he’d be any less attractive if his name had been Harold.

The waitress, who’d only been by my table to take my order, then drop off my latte and sandwich, made a beeline towards us as soon as she noticed Jax sitting across from me. The flip of her hair over her shoulder and sway of her hips were clearly for his benefit.

“What can I get you?” she asked breathily, bending forward to give him a clear view of her cleavage.

“Black, dark roast coffee for me,” he told her without looking up. “You want a refill, Natalie?”

Her crestfallen expression made me laugh, considering she’d had the nerve to try to flirt with a guy who very well could have been my boyfriend for all she knew. “No thanks. Just the check please. I need to head back to the office.”

“Then I guess I’ll take mine to go since my reason for staying will be gone.”

The waitress sighed in disappointment and moved away. I waited until she was far enough away not to hear our conversation before asking the obvious question. “How could I be the reason you’d stay when you don’t even know me?”

“My plan was to grab a quick cup of coffee to go, but it flew out the window the second I spotted you sitting here.”

I would have found myself flattered except his answer came way too easily for him. “Why do I get the feeling you’re entirely too smooth for my own good?”

“It comes in handy in my line of work, but I promise I’ll be good to you.”

As a lawyer, I was adept at using words to my advantage, but I had a feeling I was in over my head with this guy. Between his good looks, deep voice, and charisma, I was finding it hard to concentrate on what I wanted to say. “What is your line of work, exactly? Sales? Advertising?”

“Have dinner with me tomorrow, and I’ll tell you.” His mouth said dinner, but his tone and eyes told me he wanted more than just a meal.

“I can’t.” Or, at least, I shouldn’t since I still had boxes to unpack and prep work to do if I was going to be ready for an early morning deposition the next day.

The waitress chose that moment to set his to-go cup of coffee on the table in front of him, along with his check. I couldn’t help but notice her name and phone number in red ink at the bottom. It was another reason not to go out to dinner with him since I had a feeling this kind of thing wasn’t unusual for him.

I flipped mine over and there was only the amount due circled in red. Before I’d had the chance to read the numbers, my check was yanked out of my hand, slapped on top of his, and handed back to the waitress along with a twenty-dollar bill.

“Keep the change,” he told her, making it clear to both of us that he had no interest in pocketing the ticket with her phone number on it. The move was well played, and I found myself relaxing a little—right up until the moment his dark eyes latched on to mine again and refused to let me go. “I’m not going to take no for an answer.”

His confidence was starting to grow on me, but that didn’t mean I was going to make it easy for him. “What if I’m married?”

His hand slid across the table, snagging mine, and he rubbed his thumb across my fingers. “No ring. It was the first thing I checked.”

“Boyfriend?”

He flipped my hand over and laced his fingers through mine. “I have a feeling you’re not the type of woman who would have looked at me the way you did if you were committed to someone else.”

The heat from his hand seared into my palm like a bolt of electricity. “And if I was?”

“For the first time in my life, I’m not sure that would be enough to keep me away from a woman. Not when it’s you.”

Holy shit, there went my panties, right along with my desire to say no to dinner with Jax.

“Dinner. Just dinner.” The reminder was for myself as much as it was him.

“Six o’clock?”

I thought of the stack of papers on my desk, along with the work I’d brought to lunch with me. Tomorrow’s work load wouldn’t be any better. “Can you do seven instead?”

He smiled, and I almost laughed at the triumphant gleam in his dark eyes. “Tell me where and when, and I’ll be there to pick you up.”

“I’ll meet you at the restaurant,” I corrected, pulling my hand from his and gathering up my paperwork to shove it into my briefcase.

Oddly enough, his eyes filled with approval. “Smart girl, not trusting me with your address yet.”

“It’s a moot point since I’ll be coming straight from work.”

“Sounds like a long day.”

“New job,” I explained.

He pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “Then I guess you’d better give me your phone number, just in case something comes up and you can’t make it.”

I cocked my head to the side and narrowed my eyes at him. “Wouldn’t that mean I’d need your number so I could call you and not the other way around?”

“I’ll send you mine as soon as you give me yours,” he smirked.

“Fine,” I huffed good-naturedly and rattled off my number. He typed it in, his fingers flying over the keys. My phone buzzed a moment later with a text message notification. Pulling it out of my purse, I was surprised by what he’d sent me.

See you at 7. Dinner at Charleston. Jax.

“I might be new to town, but from what I’ve heard Charleston is a special occasion kind of restaurant.”

I watched as he uncoiled from his chair and prowled around the table to pull mine back and help me up with his hand at my elbow. “It’s our first date.”

“And that makes it a special occasion?” When his hand slid around to my lower back, my voice came out shaky.

We’d made it to the front door, and when his free hand reached out, I expected him to open it. Instead, he tugged on my shoulder and pulled me into him. His head dropped down, his mouth covering mine in a kiss. My lips parted in surprise, and he took full advantage. My thoughts scattered as his tongue swirled slowly in my mouth. Just as my legs began to shake, he lifted his head and stared down at me. “What do you think, sweetheart?”

It was going to be way more than just dinner if I wasn’t careful, that’s what I thought.