Chapter 10
~
June
“I guess that’s your way of complimenting me,” I said, placing my jacket and bag on the seat next to me.
“No, that’s just me making an observation,” he said, picking up his drink and swirling the contents around.
“If I was going to compliment you, I would tell you that you’re the most beautiful woman in this room.
And probably any room you step into, but I figure we should stay within the locale for now. ”
I felt my cheeks heat up. “That’s quite the compliment.”
“Do you always blush at the truth?” he said, smiling over his glass. “If so, it’s rather charming.”
“You’re one to talk about charming,” I said, trying not to study the way his throat bobbed when he took a sip of his drink. “Seems like you have a lot of practice exercising that skill of yours.”
“I’m deeply flattered you consider it a skill,” he replied. “I think of it more as a hobby.”
“This is a rather expensive hobby, don’t you think?” I asked, looking around at our surroundings.
He chuckled and my core clenched at the sound. “You think I’m taking you out tonight to exercise my charm? I’m not sure how much free time you think untenured professors have, Miss Price, but I can assure you it’s nowhere near enough to throw away every time we wanted to test our appeal.”
He had this way of saying something that could come across as condescending for all the quiet confidence he owned. But for some reason, even his quips never felt the least bit patronizing. Teasing, maybe.
“So why did you really invite me here, Ronan,” I asked. I didn’t know where the hint of desperation came from that tinged the edge of my voice. Perhaps I just wanted some certainty in the face of all this recent chaos. “Because I don’t think it’s only due to your contacts at Muller clean, short nails. No noticeable callouses.