Chapter 5
Chapter Five
D amon didn’t have a game tonight, but he’d had to practice and watch film and barely made it home in time to shower, change, and arrive at Audra’s workplace at the end of the day. He didn’t want to draw attention to himself and tugged his cap lower on his forehead, hoping not to be recognized.
He watched the employees pouring out the front doors of the building. Then he saw her, looking professional yet sexy in a white blouse and black sarong skirt that showed off her figure. She carried the bouquet of roses he had sent earlier in the day, so she was easy to spot. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail that swayed with each step she took in a pair of black heels.
“Damn,” he muttered, licking his lips.
This wasn’t the first time he’d seen her since the party. He’d stopped by once before and sat in his car, watching as she exited the building. He’d had the same visceral reaction and muttered the same word— Damn .
Pushing away from his black SUV, he shoved his hands in his pockets.
Audra looked both ways and then crossed the street. When she arrived on his side, she veered right, probably toward her car. She hadn’t seen him.
“Audra.” He took several steps as she looked over her shoulder. She paused, her eyes lighting up and a faint smile touching her lips. A good sign.
Damon stayed put, not wanting to freak her out.
“Damon.” She said his name with surprise and wonder.
“Hi. I swear I’m not a stalker.”
“Says the man standing outside my job.”
He laughed. “You have a good sense of humor.”
“I like to think I’m funny.”
His eyes dropped to her full, ruby-colored lips before returning to her dark eyes. “Can we talk?”
“Sure.” Clutching the roses in her hands, she slowly approached and stopped directly in front of him.
“I see you received the flowers.”
“I’ve received all your flowers. And the gifts. Did you get my message?”
She had sent a message through Claudia, who passed it on to Jacob, thanking Damon for the gifts. She hadn’t provided her phone number, though, which was what he’d been hoping for.
“I did, which is why I’m here.” He tilted his head sideways. “Have I made any headway?”
She copied his move by cocking her head and shifting her lips into a moue. “Should I be worried about you?”
“What do you mean?” Damon asked.
“You’ve been sending me gifts for the past three weeks, and now you’re waiting outside my job.”
“That’s a fair point, but I promise I’m not dangerous.”
“Are you sure about that?” she asked.
He chuckled. “We should probably start over, or I need to start over. Honestly, I don’t usually act like this about women.”
“Let me guess, I’m ‘different?’” She did air quotes with one hand.
“Come on now, don’t do that.”
“Don’t do what?” she asked with wide-eyed innocence.
“What you did two seconds ago. Basically, whatever I say, you won’t believe me, right?”
“Everything you’re about to say, I’ve heard before.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You’re a beautiful woman, and you’ve probably heard a lot of bullshit from other men, but I’m not like?—”
“Other men,” she finished.
He paused. “That’s not a line.”
“Of course not,” she said.
Damon let out a little laugh, shaking his head as he bit his bottom lip. “Why did you send the message to me?”
“Because I appreciate all the gifts.”
“And why do you think I’m sending you gifts?”
She shrugged.
“Audra, if I wasn’t interested in you, do you think I would be trying this hard? I admit it, okay? I’m obsessed. Maybe a little stalkerish, but I’m harmless. I want to get to know you. Let me take you out. One night, that’s all. We don’t have to call it a date. We can call it two acquaintances getting to know each other. Two buddies going out to dinner.”
“Hmm…”
“Come on, we’ll be bros. Except one of us is shaped like a Coke bottle, has beautiful brown eyes, and lips that haunt my dreams.” His voice dipped lower at the end.
She swallowed and lowered her gaze. “Now you’re making me blush.”
Do or die time.
Damon stepped closer, and she looked up at him. “I would like to get to know you better, but if you’re not interested—and you want me to stop—I’ll stop now. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable, and it’s not my style to push up on a woman who’s not checking for me. You say stop, and I’ll go away. You’ll never hear from me again.”
He held his breath, abs tight as he waited for her reply.
She averted her gaze for a moment, as if in deep thought. “You seem like a decent guy, Damon.”
He heard the “but” coming, and the corrosive ache of disappointment seared his chest.
She licked her lips. “I would like to take you up on your offer for dinner.”
Damon was so surprised by her answer, at first he didn’t respond. Then he shook off his stupor. “Okay.”
“We’re going as friends, right? Buddies?” Audra asked.
“That’s right. Completely platonic. I’ll treat you like one of the guys,” Damon confirmed. Yeah, right.
“Good, because I wouldn’t want there to be any misunderstandings. You seem to have a lot of women that occupy your time, so…”
“You looked me up online.”
“Of course. You have quite the roster, and I’m not talking about baseball.”
He briefly closed his eyes and groaned. “My dating situation is not as bad as you think. Sometimes celebrities link up for publicity purposes. I promise you, you don’t have anything to worry about. I don’t have a girlfriend, and your girl Claudia said you’re not seeing anyone seriously.”
“I’m not,” she confirmed.
Perfect . “Then we can both go out and have a nice meal and enjoy each other’s company.”
“As friends.”
“Oh yeah, as friends.”
“Sounds good.” She smiled, and she was so damn beautiful his chest hurt.
Before she could change her mind, Damon made sure they exchanged numbers and then walked her to her royal blue BMW.
“Are you busy this weekend? I have a couple of ideas for restaurants,” Damon said. Now that she’d agreed to go out with him, he wanted to lock her into a date.
Audra stopped at her driver’s side door. “This weekend works for me, but I have a request.”
“Shoot.”
“Although I didn’t know it initially, you’re obviously very famous. I’d like to go somewhere low-key, if that’s okay with you. I don’t want my photo all over the gossip blogs and social media.”
Damon understood her reservations. The blogs could be vicious. When they weren’t dissecting his love life, they were scrutinizing the women he dated—everything from their hairstyles to the shoes on their feet. Most of the women he became involved with were accustomed to the attention, and some welcomed it because of their line of work as actresses or models. Someone like Audra wasn’t used to having the eyes of the public on her and clearly wanted to maintain her privacy.
“That’s not a problem,” he assured her. “Matter of fact, one of the places I’m thinking about would be perfect. We can arrive separately and meet up inside. Does that work for you?”
She seemed surprised by his accommodating suggestion. “Sounds perfect.”
“Good. I’ll make the reservation and call you with the details later.”
“You’ll make the reservation? I figured you’d have a personal assistant who takes care of those types of tasks for you. Someone who orders these flowers every week too.”
“Is that what you think?”
“It’s pretty normal.”
“Maybe, and I’m not saying that I don’t have an assistant. I do. He takes care of a lot of stuff for me, but I order those flowers for you every week, I pick the gifts, and I’m going to handle our dinner reservations.”
“Oh. I didn’t know.” She seemed genuinely surprised, a soft wrinkle appearing on her forehead. Before she climbed into her car, she turned one more time to face him. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why do you handle those tasks yourself if you have someone who can do them for you?”
“Because I want to. You deserve the personal touch.”
If her skin had been lighter, he was certain he would see her cheeks turn red. Instead, she lowered her gaze, and a soft smile touched her lips.
“You’re something else, Damon. I look forward to getting your call.”