“I’ve already eaten. I—” She looked away from me at the sound of soft footsteps in the hallway. Relief loosened her muscles when she saw it was Millie. “There you are, sweetheart. We don’t want to be late for school.”
“I know, Grandma. I’m ready. Good morning.” Millie smiled at her, crossing the entrance hall to grab her backpack. It was lying underneath the side table that held our bowl of keys. Shouldering it, she twisted around to face me. “Are you going to see Heidi today? If you do, please tell her hello from me.”
“Who’s Heidi?” My mother swung around to lock her gaze onto mine before I could answer Millie’s question.
I held my hands up with my palms facing her. “Calm down, Inquisitor Lee. Heidi is the party planner.”
“How do you know the party planner?” my mother asked Millie, her eyes now fixed on her.
Millie smoothed the front of her skirt with her brow furrowing. “She watched the rugby game with us on Saturday. Are we in trouble?”
“No, sweetie. Of course not.” I shot Mum a look to make it clear that she needed to back off Millie. “Grandma’s just nosy, that’s all.”
“Curious, not nosy.” She sniffed and held a hand out to Millie. “Why did this party planner watch the rugby game with you?”
“Relax, Mum.” My lips curved into a smile to hide the irritation crawling into my gut. I was thirty-three years old, for fuck’s sake. “I ran into her at the game. Hugo had an extra ticket and I invited her to sit with us. It was really no big deal.”
“It wasn’t, Grandma,” Millie agreed. “Heidi is really nice.”
My mother ignored Millie’s comment and swung her eyes back to mine. “You don’t need to be bringing random women into her life, Archer.”
“It’s nothing, Mother.” I rolled my eyes, knowing how much she hated it when I did that. As expected, she sniffed again then looked away.
Unfortunately, just because she wasn’t looking at me didn’t mean that she was ready to drop the subject. “Searching for someone to settle down with is not a good idea after that last one. You know it and I know it.”
I balked at her suggestion. “I’m not looking for someone to settle down with. I know that it’s not a good idea.”
“Good.” She nodded firmly, as though something had been definitively decided, and then tugged Millie’s hand. “Come on, dear. We really should go.”
After the door closed behind them with a soft click, I exhaled a deep breath and dragged my hands through my hair. I knew what I was doing. I sure as hell didn’t need my mother to remind me.
I just couldn’t believe she’d even mentioned settling down. She knew full well how I felt about that. Why she would even think it after having Heidi mentioned to her one time was beyond me.
One night of possibly hooking up with the woman wasn’t a fucking proposal or a key to my house. It was stress relief, an opportunity to diffuse the tension I felt brewing between us, and then that would be it. I wasn’t stupid and I would make sure we were on the same page about it before anything happened.
The thought of settling down with her was so far-fetched as to be unfathomable to me. Shaking my head at the closed door, I sighed and went to grab my stuff before leaving the house myself.
When I got to the office, my mother’s comment wasn’t bothering me anymore. I wouldn’t let it. She was way off base and this wasn’t something I needed to discuss with her anyway.
Heidi was at the forefront of my mind again and it was time for me to do something about it. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I scrolled to her number and hit call.
“Hi, Archer,” she answered a few seconds later. “I’m almost done with your plans, as promised. I’ll have them ready for you later today.”
“Great. I can’t wait to see what you’ve got for us. Since we’re pressed for time as it is, do you want to meet me for dinner tonight and we can discuss what you’ve got?”
She hesitated for a beat. “Sure, we can do that. Where would you like to meet?”
I gave her the name of a restaurant on the top story of a building near the waterfront. “Does seven suit you?”
“I should be done at the office by then,” she said. “If I run into any problems with time, I’ll let you know. Otherwise, I’ll meet you there at seven.”
Satisfaction rolled through me. That had been much easier than I’d thought it might be. “See you there.”
Heidi ended up letting me know she would be done on time, and when I arrived at the restaurant with five minutes to spare, she was already there. She was seated at a table out on the deck overlooking the soft white sand and the twinkling water from the ambient city lights.
The roof over the deck was covered in rope lights with flickering oil candles on the tables providing a soft glow. Heidi’s hair formed an orange halo around her head, loose waves tumbling past her shoulders.
She had her fingers linked together with her chin resting on the bridge they formed, her gaze far away as she looked out at the view. Damn beautiful, that was what she was.
Two glasses of white wine were already on the table, beads of water trickling down their sides as the ice in them melted. Heidi looked up when I approached the table, a warm smile spreading on her lips.
“Hey. I got here a little bit early and I didn’t know what you’d like to drink, so I just ordered the same for you as what I wanted.”
“Perfect.” I pulled out my chair and sat down, fighting the sudden urge to lean over and kiss her. Her lips were shiny, probably from some kind of gloss, and inviting. I wondered what they would taste like, what flavour the gloss would have. But I had to tamp down on those thoughts—for now, hopefully. “Thank you for ordering. Have you been waiting long?”
A faint smirk lifted the corners of her lips. “Not that long. God forbid I was late to another meeting with you, so I might have raced a little to get here early.”
I laughed, raising my glass and tipping it towards her. “I wasn’t that bad, was I?”
The wine was dry and crisp as I rolled my first sip around in my mouth. So far, so good.
Heidi arched an eyebrow with disbelief in her sparkling hazel eyes. “You weren’t that bad. You were worse. I know I’ve accepted your apology and all, but I didn’t really want to risk a repeat performance. Would you like to see the plans now?”
She was already bending over to retrieve something from her handbag when I reached out to touch her arm. “How about we relax for a few minutes first? No working, just two friends having dinner together.”
“Friends, huh?” She held my gaze for a long minute before she gave one, swift nod. “Right. Okay. I can do that. No working for a few minutes sounds good. You wouldn’t believe the day I’ve had.”
“Tell me about yours and I’ll tell you about mine.” I grinned as I took another sip. “But I should warn you, it’s been one of those Mondays for me.”
“Same here. I’m sure we can handle each other’s complaints, though. My only warning is that I might need some more wine before my part of the story is over.”
“Done,” I said, signalling a waitress who caught my eye as soon as I looked up. She flashed me a smile and nodded when I motioned to our glasses. “Did you drive here?”
“Yes, but I’m thinking of just getting an Uber home. I don’t want to have to worry about driving.”
“Agreed.” I raised my glass and rolled my index finger in the air. “Have at it. I’m listening.”
“Okay,” she said, leaning forward as she clasped her wine in both of her hands, sipping as she decided where to start. “So I have this client who wants us to organise her child’s first birthday party in February. She’s decided on a Hello Kitty in Paris theme, and this morning, I got to the office to find her waiting there for me. Apparently, she decided to come by to show me in person the centrepieces she’s ordered for the tables.”
“Wait, there are tables at a first birthday party? For the adults, right?”
She shook her head, amusement d
ancing in her eyes as they widened. “These are for the kids’ tables.”
“But they’re never going to sit,” I said drily, thinking back to Millie’s first birthday. “They don’t even really know how to sit on a chair without falling off them at that age.”
Nodding emphatically, she laughed. “That’s what I said. But that’s not even the worst of it.”
We ordered dinner while she explained her client’s antics and then moved over to the second appointment of her day. Talking to her like this, it kind of felt like we were getting to know each other on a relationship level, as if this was a first date without either of us calling it that.
But talking about our days, getting some insight into how she thought and what she found funny or what angered her, that was stuff people did on dates.
I had to admit that it was fun. I found myself actually enjoying listening to her and laughing at the ridiculousness of some of the requests she got.
“Okay,” she said eventually after we’d had our starters and had ordered our main course, which was a seafood platter to share. “That’s everything I’ve got that happened today. Your turn.”
“My first appointment was a little less amusing than yours. Well, depending on how you look at it, maybe it was even more amusing actually.” I took a sip of my wine and looked her right in the eyes. “One of my clients wants to invest in a new production company.”
She frowned in confusion. “Okay, so?”
I lowered my voice, unable to keep from grinning as I delivered the punchline. “They will be producing adult films. Like full-on blue movies.”
“Oh.” Her eyes went wide and then she laughed so hard she was clutching her stomach. “I’m assuming you don’t think their prospects are so good?”
“Not if you’re a happily married politician with seven children, all of whom are still in primary school.”
“Oh, yeah. No. That sounds like a terrible idea.” She laughed again, picking up her glass as she scooted forward. “What did he say when you told him?”
I waved my hand, chuckling as I thought back to the expression on his face. “That he would do it whether I thought it was stupid or not.”
“Well, then, I think he probably deserves all the backlash he’ll face if it ever comes out.”
“Apparently, his wife supports the idea,” I said. “That’s the kicker.”
Heidi’s jaw slackened, and then she was laughing some more. I loved the melodic sound of it, and for some reason, knowing that she was laughing at things I was saying made it feel much more satisfying than it should of.
“I feel so sorry for their kids,” she said once the laughter had subsided. “What would you have done if you’d found something like that out about your parents?”
“My father has never really been in the picture, so I don’t know what I might have done in the exact same shoes as those kids. I’ll tell you one thing, though. If I’d found that out about my mother, I’d probably still have been in therapy.”
“Same here,” Heidi agreed. “My mother married my stepfather after a whirlwind romance and I thought that was scandalous enough. Her owning a company that produces porn definitely would have scarred me for life.”
We clinked our glasses together and kept talking all through the meal. The food was good, but I could have been served cardboard with a fish sauce over it and I doubted I’d have noticed.
Heidi became more animated as she relaxed, polishing off her second glass of wine as we finished our food. Lifting her napkin, she cleared her throat and gave me a meaningful look.
“We should probably take a look at those plans. I’m not sure I should have any more wine until we do. I have them on a flash drive. I’ll just have to go get my laptop out of the car.”
I cocked my head, deciding that this was the opening I’d been waiting for. “Why don’t we grab an Uber together to my place? We can check them out there. I’ve got a pretty big computer screen. It’ll probably be easier than trying to do it all on a laptop in this light.”
Surprise flashed in Heidi’s eyes. Then she gave me a long look before she nodded. It was almost as if she knew that I had ulterior motives and was weighing up what she should do about it. “Okay, yeah. We can do that.”
Score one for the home team. I felt like I should have celebrated.
After paying our bill, I pulled up the app on my phone and organised our ride. Heidi and I kept talking, even once we were pressed together in the back of the car.
It was totally unnecessary to sit this close together, but neither of us seemed inclined to move. I sure as hell wasn’t.
Heidi’s side was warm against mine, her arm and her leg snugly fitted against mine. Her scent enveloped me, the faint hint of wine and something floral and feminine.
Her hand was on her knee, as if it was just waiting there for me to take it.
So I did.
In the darkness of the backseat of the Uber, I inched my hand over to hers and wrapped my fingers around hers.
She tensed for about half a second before she relaxed again, turning her hand over so her palm was pressed against mine. For the first time all evening, both of us fell silent.
The tension between us was almost palpable now, electricity zapping in the tiny bit of air between us. It got worse once we were out of the Uber and in my home office.
Heidi sat down in the chair behind my desk and produced a small drive from her handbag. Our fingers brushed as I reached for it, my eyes unwavering on hers.
When hers finally dropped to my mouth, that was it. I couldn’t wait any longer.
I leaned down and brought one hand up to cup her cheek, whispering, “I’m going to kiss you now. Say no if you don’t want me to.”
She didn’t say a word at first and instead brought her arms up to loop around my neck. “I want you to kiss me now, Archer.”
Chapter 14
Heidi
Archer kissed me like he had a degree in the art of seducing a woman with his lips. More than his lips really. At some point, I rose from the seat and found myself enveloped in his strong arms.
It was one of those kisses that was so much more than just the coming together of lips. His nose grazed against mine every time he pulled back ever so slightly. One of his hands had the fingers splayed across my cheeks, caressing my skin.
The other rested on my hip, his thumb tracing the line of the bone while the other four fingers dug into me. There was a bite of pain, but it only added to the pleasure.
I gasped when his teeth nipped my lower nip, moaning when he used the opening to delve into my mouth. His tongue stroked against mine firmly, expertly.
I arched into him, pressing my body as tightly to his hard one as I could. I felt the hard planes of his abdomen against my own much softer one.
My breasts were flattened between our chests, but I still wanted to get closer to him. Winding my fingers into his hair, I tipped my head back to give him full access and kissed him as hard I could.
A low groan sounded in the back of his throat, his hips grinding into mine. My breathing was coming out in laboured pants, my knees weak from the sensation of being kissed like this.
I knew that I hadn’t really known Archer all that long, and in the weeks since I’d met him, our relationship had been fraught with disagreements and even mutual dislike. That had changed for me at some point between our first and our second meals together, though.
There was a side of him I’d come to like. A fun, funny side where his cocky swagger was left at the door and there was no hostility left anywhere in his eyes or his tone.
That was the guy I’d spent the evening with and that was the guy I was borderline desperate for now. I’d been attracted to that guy since I’d seen him for the first time and a part of me couldn’t believe I was finally getting to kiss him. Or getting to kiss him at all.
If I let myself, I was pretty sure it was going to be a lot more than kissing soon too. There was a rock-hard bulge in Archer’s pants where my hi
ps rocked against his and I could feel his heart hammering against mine.
Walking us backward without breaking the kiss, I held on to him and trusted him to guide us. This was his house, after all. It was likely he could get us to some sort of surface where we could—
My upper back smacked into a wall, but he’d taken the majority of the jolt into his arms now wrapped around me. Trapped between the wall and his hard chest, another moan escaped into his mouth.
His hand travelled down between us and cupped me through my clothes. Even that slight bit of warmth and friction made my head fall back against the wall.
Archer smiled, but his eyes were all heat when they landed on mine. But then he buried his head in the crook of my neck and licked and nipped me there while his hand massaged down below. I was already aching for him, my entire body feeling like it was on fire.
“Archer, please,” I groaned, my voice breathy. Holy crap. I’d never even heard myself sound quite that needy before.
Archer let out a low growl against my skin, his teeth sinking into me momentarily. But again, the hint of pain only heightened the pleasurable sensation humming through my body. “Please Archer what? What do want, babe?”
He toyed with the edge of my waistband, pushing his fingers into the tops of my pants. “Do you want these? Or perhaps you want my mouth.” Grinding his hips against mine, I just about hissed at the friction of his cock being dragged across my clit. “Or do you want that?”
His breathing was ragged, his voice strained. I forced my eyes to open and looked right into his. “I just want to come.”
I didn’t know what he’d been expecting me to say, but it sure didn’t look like it had been that answer. Or maybe he hadn’t been expecting any answer at all.
The flash of surprise burned away quickly, replaced with a cool confidence that might have annoyed me if it wasn’t for the promise it held. Somehow, I knew this was a guy who could deliver on those kinds of promises and my body tingled in anticipation of him making good on it.
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