Chapter 4 #4
I glare at him but pick up my fork. The apple pie is warm and sweet, the crust flaky and buttered. It’s the best thing I’ve tasted in months.
“So,” Grayson says, watching me eat with an intensity that makes me self-conscious. “Saturday mornings. What time?”
“Ten.” I take another bite of pie. “And this is just temporary. Until you find a new nanny.”
“Of course.” But there’s something in his smile that tells me he doesn’t believe that any more than I do.
When we finally finish, our waitress brings the check. I reach for it, but Grayson snatches it first.
“I said I’d buy you dinner,” I protest.
“And I said I’d fix your car.” He pulls out his wallet and leaves enough cash to cover the bill plus a generous tip. Then he looks at me with a grin. “You may think I’m a jerk, but I’m not that bad.”
Heat rushes to my face, and I look away, suddenly very interested in the pattern on the napkin holder.
Our waitress comes by to collect the payment and beams at us. “You two have a wonderful night!”
“We will, thank you,” Grayson says smoothly.
As we stand to leave, he holds out his hand. “I’ll need your keys.”
I blink at him. “What?”
“So my mechanic can pick up your car from the hospital parking lot in the morning.”
My hand instinctively moves to my bag, then stops. “I can just bring it to the shop myself.”
“Miranda—”
“I appreciate the offer, but I can handle it.” I start walking toward the door, avoiding the conversation entirely. “Where’s your car?”
He follows me out into the night, clearly not fooled by my deflection. “Hospital parking lot.” He gestures across the street. “And you’re being difficult again.”
“I’m not being difficult.”
“You are.” He’s already heading toward the crosswalk. “Come on, I’ll drive you home.”
“I can just drive my own car—”
“You’re exhausted, and it’s after midnight.” He glances back at me. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
I want to argue, but he’s right. I’m too tired. The thought of getting behind the wheel and navigating through the city streets feels overwhelming right now. I follow him across the street to the hospital parking lot.
His car is something out of some luxury car magazine, a dark color with a sleek shape. It’s as expensive inside as it looks outside. Leather seats, that new car smell, dashboard that looks like it belongs in a spaceship. I slide into the passenger seat and immediately feel out of place.
Grayson starts the engine with a smooth purr and pulls out of the parking lot. “Where to?”
I give him my address, trying not to notice how good he looks behind the wheel. How his hands grip it with casual confidence. How the streetlights play across his features as we drive through the empty streets.
“You’re staring,” he says without looking at me.
“I’m not.”
“You are.” His mouth curves into a smile. “It’s okay. I’m used to it.”
“Your ego is suffocating.”
He laughs, and the sound fills the small space between us.
The drive is shorter than I’d like. Too soon, we’re pulling up in front of my apartment building. It’s a shabby complex in a not-so-great part of town. Peeling paint, flickering security light, and a chain-link fence that’s seen better days. I can feel him taking it in, and I feel defensive.
“Thanks for the ride,” I say quickly, reaching for the door.
“Miranda.”
I pause, my hand on the handle.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?”
I turn to look at him. He’s leaning toward me across the center console, those amber eyes fixed on my face. The space between us shrinks.
I immediately lean back against the passenger door. “I’m not kissing you for driving me home!”
His grin is slow and wicked. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Then his hand comes up, fingers gripping my jaw gently but firmly. He pulls me closer across the console, close enough that I can feel his breath against my lips. His gaze drops to my mouth, lingering there for a heartbeat too long.
“But if you want a kiss, all you have to do is ask.”
Heat spreads through my core. I feel myself getting wet, a throb between my thighs that makes me press them together.
He laughs lightly, the sound low and intimate in the quiet car. “Maybe you could just give me your keys instead.”
His thumb brushes across my cheekbone before he releases me, and I immediately lean back again, putting distance between us.
I yank my bag into my lap, refusing to look at him as I dig through it with shaking hands. The keys jangle as I pull them out and shove them at him without a word.
His fingers deliberately brush mine as he takes them.
I turn to get out, desperate to escape before I do something stupid, when his hand catches my chin again. He turns my face toward him, and before I can process what’s happening, his lips brush against my cheek. Soft. Deliberate.
Then he winks at me.
“See you Saturday, sweetheart.”
“Hey!” I sputter, but he’s already releasing me, that insufferable grin on his face.
I stumble out of the car, my cheek tingling where his lips touched. He waits until I’m at the building entrance before he drives off, and I’m left standing there with my heart racing and my mind completely scrambled.