Dazzling

by Elizabeth Hayley

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Same thing everyone else is. Learning to paint,” he said, holding up the brown bag that was filled with the art supplies he’d picked up on the way. “I have those. Watercolors, I mean. I didn’t know what you’d be using, so I got a little bit of everything to be prepared.”

  Siobhan’s eyes widened and she lowered her voice. “You came to take the class?”

  “If I’m being honest, I came to see you. But I feel like it might be weird to sit here and stare at you if I’m not painting anything.”

  A smile ghosted her lips—lips he’d like to taste. And her clear blue eyes twinkled with amusement.

  “Oh, and this coffee’s for you, if you want it.” He extended one cup out to her to take.

  “Thanks, that’s sweet of you. But I’m more of a tea girl.”

  Derick laughed softly. “That’s good, actually, because I’m pretty sure all the ice melted.” Finally he turned toward the class, which he’d just noticed was a sea of elderly women staring at the two of them with rapt attention.

  “There’s a seat here, honey,” a little old woman said, gesturing to the white chair next to her. Derick gave her a grateful smile as he made his way over to sit down. The woman beamed at him. “You smell nice.”

  Derick didn’t quite know what to say, but luckily he’d filtered the you too that had nearly rolled off his tongue. Instead, he just took out his large pad of paper and watercolors. He quickly squeezed some onto the small palette and, dipping his brush in the paint, did his best to catch up. Most of the class already had the background painted, so he slapped on some blue to cover the top half of his paper.

  It didn’t exactly resemble the sky in the other students’ work—which was a subtle mixture of crimsons and oranges—but it would have to do. His eyes roamed over the landscape—lush trees, bright-green grass leading down to the pond.

  Derick could see why Siobhan had picked this location for her class. But despite its beauty, the park had nothing on Siobhan. The way her worn jeans hugged her ass as she moved the brush across the canvas made him glad he was sitting down. He was definitely hot for Teacher.

  But Siobhan’s physical attributes weren’t the only things that held his attention. The way she proceeded through the class, giving each student a bit of individualized attention as they worked, made her even more alluring. He could tell from the way her face lit up during every interaction that she loved what she did.

  Finally, she made her way over to him. “Not bad,” she said with a small smile.

  He looked at the picture in front of him, which his four-year-old nephew could have painted, and was sure Siobhan was being polite. That or she needed her eyes checked. “Thanks. You’re a good teacher. Art isn’t really my thing, though.”

  Siobhan looked intrigued. “No? What is your thing?”

  As she leaned down a bit, Derick noticed the hint of bronze shimmering on her cheekbones—a sharp contrast to the dramatic makeup she’d worn last night at the bar. She was even more beautiful without all the cosmetic help. “Since last night?” he said. “You.”

  Immediately Derick could see the embarrassment redden her face. Though he didn’t regret his comment, he felt the need to change the subject so Siobhan would feel more comfortable. “I didn’t know how difficult it was to paint with real watercolors. I’ve only ever used the ones in the white plastic container that kids use. The guy at the art store had to tell me which kind I should get.”

  Siobhan glanced down into the bag he’d brought with him, which was filled with pastels, oil paints, and charcoal pencils. “Oh my God. You got all of that? It probably cost hundreds of dollars.”

  Derick shrugged. “You said you couldn’t do lunch.”

  “You’re a sweet boy.” The voice came from the woman next to him. “My husband, God rest his soul, could have learned a thing or two about romance from you. You did all this just so you could see your girlfriend?”

  Siobhan’s eyes widened. “Oh, we’re not…” She gestured between them, shaking her head. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

  Derick glanced up at Siobhan, who couldn’t have looked more awkward. Strangely enough, it suited her. “Yeah,” he agreed. “She’s not my girlfriend.” He felt his eyes crinkling with the smile he couldn’t hold back. Not that he was trying to. “At least, not yet.”

  The woman raised her eyes at Siobhan. “Well, what are you waiting for, dear?”

  Siobhan glanced at Derick, a twinkle in her eyes that made him hopeful. “We haven’t even been out together yet. Crashing my art class doesn’t count as a proper date.”

  Derick chuckled as he finished cleaning up his supplies. “I guess it doesn’t.” He dropped his things into his bag and stood. “Do you need help getting anything to your car?”

  Her eyes narrowed, and she tilted her head slightly. “No, that’s okay. I got it.”

  Derick nodded and shot her a smile, unsure of what could be causing her confusion. Maybe he was reading her wrong. “All right. I’ll see you later then.” He gave a small wave to the other students who still remained and strode off.

  Chapter 4

  “What do you mean, he left?” Blaine asked as she put away the glassware in preparation for opening.

  Siobhan sighed. “Just what I said. I thought I was making it clear that I wanted him to ask me out, but all he did was offer to help carry my stuff to my car. It was mortifying.”

  “Do you even have a car?” Blaine asked.

  “Is that really the most important detail out of everything I said?”

  Blaine shrugged.

  “And of course I don’t have a car. This is New York.”

  “I saw him in here a few times since. So he’s not avoiding you,” Blaine added.

  “So I’m the only one who feels awkward. Spectacular.” Siobhan’s lips pressed into a thin line.

  “Well, at least he seems clueless. I’m sure he didn’t notice you throwing yourself at him,” Marnel chimed in.

  “Thanks for that,” Siobhan deadpanned. Though she silently hoped Marnel’s comment was true. She definitely wanted Derick with a primal urge she hadn’t felt before. But she didn’t want it to be obvious to him. It would be mortifying. She slid her palms over the smoothness of the sleek bar, the subconscious action soothing her frayed nerves.

  Until Blaine slapped her fingers. “Stop feeling up my bar. It’s not the kind of wood you’re after.”

  Siobhan snatched her hands back. “You girls are supposed to be supportive.”

  Marnel raised her hands, adopting a meditative stance as she closed her eyes and shook her head, making her blond hair sway behind her. “Oh, I didn’t realize. I can work with that. Let me have another shot.” When she looked back at Siobhan, her eyes were intense. “It’ll all be okay, Siobhan.” She placed a hand on Siobhan’s shoulder. “One day your prince will come. If you wish upon a star, it makes no difference who—”

  Knocking her hand off, Siobhan glared. “You are not seriously quoting a Disney song to me right now. You two totally suck at this.”

  “Sorry. I wasn’t in the right headspace. No Disney. Got it.” Marnel stepped toward Siobhan and then grabbed her shoulders before pulling her into a firm hug. “Don’t worry, honey. He’ll come around and see that you’re just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.”

  Siobhan jerked away. “Notting Hill? Really, Marnel?”

  Marnel let her arms flare out to her sides before letting them slap back against her thighs. “So that you’ve seen. A Nell reference flies right over your head, but you’re fluent in Notting frigging Hill?”

  “It’s a good movie. And I like Julia Roberts,” Siobhan defended, though she quickly realized she had no reason to do so.

  But before she could call Marnel out for changing the subject, Marnel started ranting. “Of course you like Julia Roberts. Everyone likes Julia Roberts. Whether she’s a prostitute or a spoiled diabetic, people rave about her. That’s it! I’d pla
nned to be Yvette, but tonight I shall be Julia.” She slammed her hand down on the bar for emphasis.

  “Better settle down there, Julia. Saul’s staring at us,” Blaine muttered.

  Siobhan snuck a furtive glance. Definitely staring. “Okay, I guess I better get to work. Thanks, girls. You were of absolutely no help.”

  She started to walk away when Blaine’s voice stopped her. “For what it’s worth, I think this is all just a big misunderstanding. A guy doesn’t hunt you down in Central Park just for kicks. So unless he decided to give it a go with one of the Golden Girls, there’s a pretty good chance he’s interested in you. But you need to relax, or you’re going to develop stress-pattern baldness.”

  Siobhan took a deep breath and digested Blaine’s words. “You’re right. I need to clear my mind and not obsess over it anymore.”

  “Thatta girl. Now go introduce Julia to the adoring public.”

  Siobhan laughed and made her way to the front of the house. She could do this. She could forget about Derick and focus on her job.

  And she did. For about ten minutes. Then she started picturing him naked again and got completely sidetracked. She didn’t know what her problem was. It wasn’t like her to be this flustered by a guy. Siobhan was hardworking and driven—not an obsessive chick who let a simple crush reduce her to a vapid buffoon.

  The fact that Derick was having this effect on her was ticking her off. She’d been messing up all night. If she accidentally called Marnel by her real name when introducing her to guests one more time, Marnel might hurt her. Supposedly she was really feeling the Julia mojo, and Siobhan was ruining her chance at fame and fortune.

  Siobhan was also ruining her own chances of staying employed at the Stone Room. She’d led guests to an already occupied table twice, knocked over a vase full of flowers and water with a menu, and pulled out a patron’s chair without warning him that she’d done so. Thank God the guy had incredible balance and a strong core or he would’ve been assed out on the floor and Siobhan would’ve been in deep shit. Thankfully Saul had been taking inventory for most of the night and had missed her trainwreck of an evening.

  It got so bad that she barely even registered Derick walking toward her. Wait…Derick? “Derick?”

  “Hey, Siobhan,” he said, as he leaned in for a hug.

  Her body returned the hug as her mind scrambled to catch up. Once it did, she dropped her arms.

  Derick seemed to sense the shift, because he backed away from her with furrowed brows.

  Siobhan’s mind was in a state of flux. She was both happy to see him and annoyed as hell.

  Shoving his hands in his pockets, he rocked on his heels slightly and smiled at her.

  The smile did it. How dare he seem so happy when she’d been going crazy for the past three days? Uh-uh. No way. Smiling was unacceptable. “Party of one, sir?”

  Derick raised an eyebrow. “Sir?”

  Chapter 5

  As he waited for Siobhan to speak again, Derick did his best to read the woman standing before him. She seemed different than the person he’d met not even a week earlier. And he couldn’t figure out why. Four days ago at the park she’d seemed interested in him. At least he thought so.

  “‘Sir’ is how the owner insists we greet customers.”

  “Okay.” Derick smiled, but it felt uneasy. “I guess I thought we were past the formal greetings.”

  Siobhan grabbed one of the black leather menus from the shelf behind the hostess stand and turned away from him. “Right this way.”

  Derick followed her as she led him toward the back of the bar to a small table against the wall. He didn’t speak again until she’d stopped walking. Then he moved in front of her to look her in the eye, their bodies only inches apart.

  He could smell faint traces of her shampoo, but he couldn’t quite identify the scent. Almond maybe. “I had hoped that we were moving beyond the hostess-customer relationship. Did I misread that?”

  Siobhan closed her eyes for a moment too long to be considered a blink. When she opened them, she cast them toward the floor before bringing them back up to meet Derick’s. It was one of those gestures people do when they know it’s rude to roll their eyes, but they want to get across their annoyance anyway. “I can’t…” She released a long sigh that sounded a lot like defeat. “Enjoy your evening.” She placed the menu on the dark wood table and turned to leave.

  “Siobhan,” Derick said after she’d walked a few feet away. “What’s going on?”

  She stopped but didn’t turn around.

  “I’ve been hoping to catch you when you’re working. And now that you’re finally here, you don’t seem like you want to talk to me.”

  She turned around to face him again. “I guess I could say the same for you.”

  Derick didn’t think it was possible to be more confused than he already was. “What?”

  Siobhan crossed her arms over her chest and shot him a look that told him she thought he was an idiot. He didn’t disagree. “The art class, Derick. You show up out of the blue talking about how you want to see me. Then when you have an opportunity to ask me out, all you say is, ‘Do you need any help getting anything to your car?’”

  Well, shit. “I thought I was being nice.”

  “Look. I’m interested in you. Or I was.” Siobhan shook her head. “I don’t actually know which one.” He could hear the uncertainty in her voice, but when she spoke again, she seemed surer of herself. “But what I do know is that I don’t need the games. Your server will be right with you.”

  He could tell she was about to turn around again. But this time he wouldn’t let her. At least if he could help it. “I don’t want another server. I want you.”

  Siobhan’s shoulders seemed to let go of some of the tension they’d been holding, and her eyes softened a bit. “I’m not a server.”

  Derick stepped a few feet closer to her, closing the small gap between them. “I guess that’s true. But that doesn’t change my last comment. I want you.”

  This time Siobhan didn’t suppress her eye roll. But some of the anger that had been present a few minutes ago seemed to have dissipated.

  Derick took a deep breath as he noticed the light dusting of freckles below her collarbone. God, he’d like to run his tongue over them. “You’re beautiful. And the other day at the park,” he began, “I wanted to ask you out, but there were elderly women surrounding us, and I was covered in paint and sweat.”

  “I was covered in paint and sweat, too.”

  He lifted his hand, letting his fingers tuck Siobhan’s wavy hair behind her ear. His thumb toyed with her silver earring that dangled down just low enough to graze her neck as she tilted her head to the side, seemingly waiting for him to respond. He couldn’t resist pushing her against the deep crimson wall behind her, causing her breath to hitch. “Yeah,” he said softly, “but you looked fucking perfect.”

  She inhaled deeply and licked her lips. Which was distracting as hell.

  “I couldn’t ask you out there, like that. It’s not really my style,” he continued.

  “And what is your style?” Her voice was hushed, her deep blue eyes twinkling in the dim recessed lighting overhead.

  Derick laughed softly. “Apparently it’s showing up to a bar four nights straight and making the servers at the Stone Room think I’m an alcoholic.”

  “I’m sure they don’t think that.”

  Derick paused for a moment. “I actually don’t care what they think. Because they’re not you.” He could feel the friction between them evaporate into a sexual thrumming. “So what do you say?” Derick dropped his hands to hers, grasping her fingers between his. “Go out with me tomorrow. Let me take you on a real date—one that doesn’t involve paint, watered-down coffee, and other women.”

  The corners of Siobhan’s mouth turned up into a carefree, amused smile.

  “Is that a yes?”

  “How could I possibly turn down a date that doesn’t involve other women?”

/>   He gave her a small smile of relief and lifted a hand to her cheek, gently caressing her skin with his thumb. Almost involuntarily, his face seemed to move closer to hers as if her soft pink lips were drawing him in.

  But right as Siobhan’s eyes drifted closed, a voice made them both break away. “There you are,” Cory said, seeming slightly uncomfortable about interrupting them. “Saul’s been looking for you. He’s about to flip out.”

  “Shit,” Siobhan whispered as she ran a hand down her clothing.

  Cory headed back in the direction she’d come, leaving the two of them alone again.

  “You better get back out there,” Derick said. “I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble. I’ll find you before I leave so I can get your number.”

  Siobhan nodded. “Sounds good. That’ll give me time to decide if I want to give it to you.”

  He could tell she was trying like hell not to crack a smile. And as he watched the way her ass moved in that tight black skirt as she walked away, he hoped that eventually her number wouldn’t be all that she’d be giving him.

  Chapter 6

  Siobhan let her eyes drift closed as she took another bite of her lobster fra diavolo. “This is seriously amazing,” she said, looking across the small table at Derick, who seemed pleased with himself.

  “I told you.” He held up the bottle of wine he’d brought with them for dinner at the Italian cafe he’d suggested. “More?” he asked.

  “Sure. Just a little.” She passed him her glass and then helped herself to some more salad from the large bowl that the waiter had placed next to their table.

  She took a long drink of her wine to wash down the salad. Noting the label, she identified it as one of the wines the Stone Room carried. And though she had no idea how much it cost, she knew it had to be expensive if the elite bar sold it.

  The waiter came back to check on them. “Is there anything else I can get for you?” he asked as he removed their plates.

  Derick looked to Siobhan. “You like cannolis?”