The young hostess led them to a corner booth along the left wall. The high-backed indigo leather booth seats muffled the conversation from surrounding tables and the jewel toned swaths of fabric that hung from the ceiling provided actual privacy to enhance the romantic vibe of the gorgeous restaurant. Shellie was more than impressed that Noel had chosen an exotic cuisine that was more romantic than upscale, but there was no doubt this place was upscale. The fabric she worried between her fingers was almost certainly silk, the thought of which forced her to quickly release her grip. She eyed the well-crafted booth that circled at the center for a more than cozy meal. She gasped as the hostess closed the silk draping and left them to review the seemingly giant, ornately written menus.
Shellie glanced at the menu, wondering if offering to pay for dinner was a wise decision. Who would’ve thought Tikka masala was so pricey? Sighing heavily she figured if she put the meal on her credit card there would be enough remaining in case of an emergency and none of her bills would pay the price for her big fat mouth.
“Dinner is on me, by the way.” It was as though he could sense her financial worries, which no doubt he probably did since it was a problem that constantly loomed, mocking her success with a reward of financial hardship.
She relaxed a little when he covered her small hand with his big strong one. She could see that he wasn’t paying out of pity but out of male pride. Any other time she’d give him hell for his chauvinism, but tonight she was grateful. “You don’t have to, but thanks,” she said sheepishly.
“I know but since I chose the place without consulting you the least I could do is pay.” He flashed her that million dollar smile and she felt her insides turn into a pool of warm honey.
“You chose well Noel. This place looks great.” She spread her hands wide, indicating her surroundings.
The smile he displayed was one of pride. Not of the male variety but genuine pride at having made her happy. “I’m glad you like it. I’ve never been here before but the place is…a work of art,” he said noticing the beautiful gold stitching on each of the brightly colored silks hanging down around them.
Staring at his lips as he spoke of the gorgeous art work on the walls and the artistry of the silk fabric, she fought the desire to lean across the booth and take full advantage of the privacy granted to them and stake her claim on his mouth. The slight hang of bottom lip left her with no doubt that she would be nibbling and tasting it before saying ‘so long’ to this day. Maybe kissing him again now would make dinner less tense, she thought, although honestly kissing him now where nothing could be done about it would cause even more tension. So she decided to tune back in to the conversation.
“If you want to kiss me Shellie you don’t even need to ask.” Licking his lips, he sat back and waited for her to respond.
“I-I, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t want to kiss you.”
“Again,” he corrected her.
“What?”
“Again. You don’t want to kiss me again,” his emphasis on the word only served to annoy her.
“Fine! I don’t want to kiss you again!” I do, oh dear sweet lord I want to kiss you again, starting with that sexy mouth and moving down to that strong neck and well-built chest before settling my lips on each tight abdominal. Oh hell, what is wrong with me?
Noel’s laugh was low and husky under her searing gaze, full of the desire she tried to fight. “Fine,” he held his hands up. “You don’t want to kiss me,” he crossed his arms across his broad chest so the lines of his firm arms were visible. “You’re just eyeing my lips and fantasizing about all the things I’d do to you with them.”
This man was insufferable, she thought. On top of being hotter than, oh hell, hotter than anyone she’d ever set eyes on, he knew the effect he was having on her. “The gentlemanly thing to do would be not noticing how I stare at you. If I were to stare, that is.”
“If I were a gentleman, I wouldn’t tell you how hard I am under the table because of the way you were staring at me.”
She glared at him.
“If you were staring at all, that is.”
“How am I supposed to concentrate on dinner now that I know that?” She folded her arms and did her best to pout so he wouldn’t see her searching for something to drop to the floor and get a peek at his hardened condition.
“Very carefully?” He was now so stiff that his jeans were noticeably tighter and he shifted on his side of the booth. “If I can eat after staring at those,” he indicated her luscious cleavage, “then you can certainly eat with just thoughts of me.”
She scoffed and lifted her menu. She would need a drink. A very strong, very big drink.
Noel tapped lightly on the cover of the menu to get her attention.
“Yes?” She lowered her menu to look as a mischievous grin begin to make its way from one ear to the other.
“When you think about me,” he whispered, indicating his groin with his head, “how big do you fantasize it is?”
She tried to think of a witty answer, one that would shut him up for at least a few minutes but again her body betrayed her. Her only response was one involuntary swipe of her tongue over her lower lip.
“That big, huh?” The grin that lit his face made her face redden with embarrassment.
##
Noel could see that a nice cold cocktail was just what Shellie needed to relax a little and let her guard down. With a drink in her hand, he knew she felt stronger and more capable of dealing with his relentless flirting, and for that he was glad. With her guard down a little she was feisty but fun and more importantly she was even more incapable of hiding her emotions. He watched as she efficiently worked on her third Tamarind martini while he finished off his second pale ale, and smiled as the alcohol-induced blush stained her cheeks.
After struggling for more than a few minutes with how to proceed, he noticed she had finally decided on their next topic of conversation. “So Noel, tell me how you got started in the corporate world.”
He feigned a hurt look. “So no more talk of what you fantasize about me doing to you?”
She took a slow, deliberate sip from her glass, purposefully drawing his attention to her lips this time. “You wanted me to get to know you and that’s what I intend to do.” She smiled at him, resolute. “If I like what I hear, maybe we’ll get back to my fantasies. Later.”
He groaned and shifted yet again in his seat, but nodded his acceptance.
“Good. So?”
He nodded, taking a sip from his ice cold bottle to steal a moment to gather his thoughts. “I don’t know if you know this about me, but I am very likable.”
She nodded neutrally. That was his problem in a nutshell, too damned irresistible.
“In college I was a sales rep at a KitchenMart retail store and I was good. So good they offered me an internship with the President of nationwide sales.” He beamed proudly. Bart was the first man to encourage him and praise him and it had felt good back then to have a father figure give a damn. “I interned with KitchenMart while I got my MBA and they made me a great offer at my graduation.” He spread his arms with an unsure shrug, “I couldn’t pass it up.”
She nodded stoically. She wanted to find fault with his plan, hoping that somewhere along the lines he uttered a “greed is good” line or at least something close enough to allow her to justify her behavior towards him during their brief history. But so far no fault could be found. “How good are we talking?” Her curiosity got the better of her. He oozed charm and the man was walking talking sex so she could just imagine how persuasive he was on a sales floor.
“They paid off my student loans, gave me my own office and a low six-figure starting salary.” He stilled himself for her derision.
“Student loans? But you’re rich!” She quickly covered her mouth when she realized what she’d said. “Sorry.”
“It’s ok. My family is what you might call rich, but my father was a hard man to disobey. He wanted me to
follow in his footsteps and go into the family business. I wanted to be my own man and forge my own path in this world. When I told him as much he felt betrayed and stopped paying tuition after freshman year. So,” he wiped the corners of his mouth with his napkin, slowly brought the amber bottle to his lips and enjoyed a long, cathartic drink. “I did what any normal college kid would do. I racked up an assload of debt.” He smiled proudly at the thought.
A thought occurred to Shellie; she didn’t know much about Noel other than the bits of information she was able to glean on the car ride to the city. “So, what’s this family business you fled? The stock market? Banking?” She grinned playfully hoping they wouldn’t return to their fierce ideological battles.
Noel sighed as though the family business was organized crime or black market weapons sales. His jaws clenched tightly and he spoke barely above a whisper. “Hardware,” he mumbled.
Shellie cupped her hand over her right ear even though they had as much privacy here as they did in their hotel suite. “Come again?”
“You heard me, the family business is hardware. My dad wanted me to run the business and I wanted to do something…else.” He saw recognition begin to dawn on Shellie and he waited.
Her expertly shaped eyebrows arched high on her forehead. “You’re ‘family business’ is Hampton’s Hardwares?” She was incredulous. Hampton’s Hardwares was one of the most preeminent all-American businesses still in existence. She so admired the man behind the business, Harvey Hampton, that she based her MBA thesis project on his business model and told Noel as much. He groaned and shifted uncomfortably in his seat, this time however she was sure it had nothing to do with her. She remembered her own struggles to pay for college but she was used to not getting the things she wanted in life and suddenly she felt sorry for the pain that a young Noel had to endure for choosing to be his own man. Her sympathy for him bubbled over. “That must’ve been so hard, Noel.” She placed her hand over his, knowing he wouldn’t want her sympathy but feeling the need to give it to him all the same.
He shrugged. “It was a little scary, but it’s what most college kids do. At least that’s what I told myself.”
When he again revealed a mouth of teeth bright enough to be in a toothpaste ad, she couldn’t resist the next thought that popped into her brain.
“Go ahead, I know you want to.”
Keeping a serious look on her face, Shellie shrugged and shook her head defensively. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Noel crossed his arms and peered at her over the invisible glasses perched on his Roman nose. “Shellie.”
“Noel,” she raised an eyebrow at him.
“If you don’t do it now then don’t do it.”
She giggled and placed her fork on the napkin beside her plate. With her index fingers in the air, she began the catchy carnival music familiar from the Hampton’s Hardwares commercials. “All-American tools for All-American jobs at Hamptons. Hardwares.” She smiled sheepishly when she was done, fully embarrassed and certain she would never get to see him naked again unless she accidentally walked in while he showered.
Noel unfolded his arms and rewarded her tunes with a small round of applause. “Not bad.”
“Thank you, Thank you,” she pretended to bow to her receptive audience. “You’ve been a great audience,” she waved like a beauty pageant contestant, “my next show is at midnight folks!”
The playful but seductive smile she tossed his way made his insides melts and other parts stiffened to the point of pain. He couldn’t help but enjoy himself in Shellie’s company and sharing about his father didn’t seem like a big compromise after all. “You sing awfully, by the way.”
She crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at him before gracing him with another beautiful smirk. “I know! But I love to sing.”
“Then that’s all that matters.”
Her breath caught at the intensity of his stare, leaving her momentarily speechless. Quickly recovering she used her wit to hide her insecurity. “Yeah, what’s a few bloody eardrums between friends?” She laughed at herself and he joined in before they settled into an uncomfortable, sexually charged silence that neither of them was capable of ending. “So,” she began before they started doing inappropriate things to one another in this fancy restaurant. “How does your All-American dad feel about your China made products?”
He nearly choked on his lamb dopiza. Those inquisitive golden eyes didn’t miss a thing. “Let’s just say that he isn’t thrilled about it. But, it’s not like I have any control whatsoever over that end of the business.”
“Still he must be so proud of you. You’ve accomplished so much.”
“You don’t know my father. When you meet him you’ll see what I mean.”
With wide eyes, Shellie sought comfort in the last remaining sips of her cocktail. Did he just say ‘when’ I meet his father, as in I am definitely going to meet his parents? That had to be a good sign that he was interested, didn’t it? She didn’t know what it meant but her heart sank when she realized that she actually wanted to meet his parents. Thankfully her logical side swooped in and ruined the entire fantasy. Remember he’s a salesman and tells people what they want to hear in order to get them to do what he wants them to do. Right, she thought to herself, warning her heart to stop those damned warm and fuzzy feelings coursing through her veins. Of course it could be the tamarind martinis, she reminded herself as she flagged the waitress down for another. “Your parents are coming to Mustang Prairie?”
He shook his head. His parents would never do anything that might let him know they were in any way proud of him. Becoming a self-made, independently wealthy executive was failure to them, but he wasn’t ready to share that part of his family dynamics with her. Yet. “Probably not, but when you visit New York.” He smiled at her hopefully.
Unsure how to respond to that invitation Shellie chose to ignore it, certain that he would forget about her and their…whatever it is they were doing the moment his flight wandered into Eastern Standard Time. “You mean you won’t have dozens of women waiting at JFK swooning over you?”
“Nope.”
She stared at him, willing him to reveal more than the monosyllabic answer he gave. Usually when she created this strategic uncomfortable silence the other party—usually Alexis—gave in quickly.
Noel stared back, his eyes smoldering.
Damn this man. “So there are no girlfriends, fiancés or wives waiting for you to return to New York?”
“No girlfriends, no fiancés and no wives. At all.”
She sensed he wasn’t telling her everything but how do you ask a man like Noel about his sex life? “But there are…women?”
He nodded, “Of course there were women, but none of them serious or long-term.” He leaned over the table to get closer. “Are you putting in your application?”
Why, oh why did the man have to be so irresistible? She shrugged nonchalantly. “I didn’t’ say that. I’m just getting to know you, remember?” That was cool, right?
“But you’re not saying no, either.”
She conceded the point, but only because this line of questioning wasn’t over. “When was your last serious relationship?”
He thought for a moment then quickly answered. “Zoe Meyer. We dated the last two years of undergrad. She wanted a ring and I wasn’t ready to give her one so, we broke up.”
“And since then you’ve been what, just sleeping around and dating casually?” The butterflies in her stomach went from weightless creatures lending an air of excitement to the evening to cement blocks weighing her down and making it impossible to think clearly. “There’s no one in New York you were serious about?” She figured a girl had to be sure before passing up on a guy like Noel.
“Yes I date casually and ‘sleep around’. No there is no one I was serious about. I dated a woman named Ava for the last year but it was strictly sexual. You act like that’s a bad thing, Shellie.”
She shook her h
ead. “It’s not Noel and I’m not judging you. Just trying to get a clear picture of you, as you are.”
He shook his head and mumbled under his breath, knowing that his efforts to make progress with her were getting him nowhere. That he cared what she thought of him pissed him off further. “Look Shellie you’re right we do travel in different circles. Ava is a former model and she now has a multi-million dollar lingerie company. As working professionals we were both too busy to commit to the uh, requirements of a relationship at least I thought we were. We had dinner and sex once, sometimes twice a month.” He knew he should tell her the truth about their brief engagement but it wouldn’t help his case now. He would tell her though. Later.
“Here we go,” she mumbled quietly as he continued.
“I meet a lot of women who look at me and see one of New York’s wealthiest eligible bachelors. They see the job, the status, the money. They don't see me. So yes, I date casually and I sleep with beautiful women who would use me for what I could do for them.” He neatly folded his napkin over his plate and sat back, waiting for her to respond.
Gnawing on her lower lip the way she always did when her nerves took over, Shellie didn’t know what to say. She hadn’t really thought about women using Noel, but it further proved that everything she thought about their differences were true. It would never work. It couldn’t. “Well I don’t want anything from you Noel, so you can relax.” She crossed her arms defensively.
Conflict of Interest_A Mustang Prairie Romance Page 20