Tempting Nora

by Evanston, A. M.

  "Unfortunately, you put up a shield whenever somebody wants to get close to you," Robert continued, ignoring her snarky comment. "Gideon's doing it too. Don't you see that? He sleeps around so he'll never have to be close to somebody, but now he's only pursuing you. He may say that he wants to jump into bed with you—heck, he probably believes it himself—but he's just using it as an excuse to stick around. He wants you in his life, but he's too scared to admit it."

  For a moment she contemplated his words, but then she shook her head. No, she didn't believe what Robert was saying. This was what happened when one had a romantic best friend. Robert binge watched romantic comedies like no one else she'd ever met. He was confusing television with real life.

  "I'm not an actress in one of those movies you like to watch." She drummed her fingers on the desk. "I'm not even a heroine in a romance novel. I'm an average, ordinary person in an average, ordinary world. The truth is Gideon is after my body, just like he says he is. We won't end up together. He'll give up on me—heck, he may have given up already—and we'll go our separate ways. That's how real life works."

  If she was wrong about that, then she'd poison herself.

  "How about we bet on it?" Robert grinned.

  "You must be joking." She wrinkled her nose.

  "Oh, I'm not," Robert said. "I bet you twenty bucks you and Gideon are going to end up together. I mean, for life. Marriage, babies, the whole deal. You may have your head buried in the sand, but I don't. The two of you have amazing chemistry."

  "We have a deal," she said.

  Robert beamed and held out his hand. She shook it.

  Easiest twenty bucks I'll ever make…

  ****

  At four o'clock, Nora stared at the door sadly before heading into the backroom where the extra tea was kept. After she checked the storage log one last time, she blew out a sigh. Gideon didn't come…The thought made her so disappointed it stunned her. Why on earth was she feeling depressed? She should have been skipping for joy right now, not biting her bottom lip in frustration. She'd gotten what she wanted. Gideon wasn't coming back. And yet…

  And yet she felt a wave of melancholy so strong it had the potential to cripple her.

  "I hate you so much, Gideon!" she yelled.

  "Do you?" Gideon said from outside the backroom.

  She rushed into the main part of the store and saw that Gideon was standing by the wall. The guy must have come into the shop when she was in the backroom. She was ambushed by so many emotions she was breathless. How was it that Gideon knew exactly when to enter the store when she was making a fool of herself? Couldn't he have come, say, five minutes earlier when she wasn't screaming at nothing like a nut?

  "You came." Nora gasped.

  "Did you miss me?" Gideon cocked his head, grinning.

  "Yeah, right." She gave an indignant sniff even as her cheeks betrayed her by turning red.

  "You did," Gideon said triumphantly, noting the color of her cheeks.

  "Lies." She wrinkled her nose. "All lies."

  The man drew closer as she seized her purse, preparing to leave. Where the heck was Maura, anyway? She couldn't leave the store unattended.

  As she squirmed in discomfort, Gideon placed his hand on her arm. She looked up, her cheeks burning, and gazed at him. His eyes were warm today. Still that didn't make her any less uneasy. The conversation from last night was still present in her mind. Probably he was thinking about it too—that and the fact she'd yelled and ran away from him. There had been so many adult ways for her to handle last night's situation. Unfortunately, she'd never mastered adult etiquette. Half the time, she was lucky if she managed to survive a day without succumbing to the urge to push somebody down the stairs. She blew out a sigh.

  "About yesterday…" she said. "I'm sorry I ran away."

  "You're apologizing to me?" Gideon's eyes widened.

  "I'm perfectly capable of apologizing." She sniffed indignantly. "I do it all the time."

  Gideon shot her a disbelieving stare.

  "Okay, I don't apologize all the time." She shrugged. "But I think in this case, it's needed. I shouldn't have run away like that."

  "Well, that's fine, then," Gideon said. "This is a relief, actually. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to say to you when I came in here, so I spent all day thinking. Tact isn't my strong suit."

  "Thank you, Captain Obvious," Nora muttered.

  "Nora." He gave an exasperated sigh.

  "Sorry." She managed to grin. "See, I apologized twice in one day."

  "So about your mom—"

  "Stop. I don't want to talk about her." Nora held up her hand. "Yeah, I had a crappy childhood, but I don't want to dwell on what happened. Everybody has something in their life that scars them. As far as I see it, you have two choices. You either sob your eyes out every day or you move on. I'm moving on."

  Something she said made Gideon's face pale. She'd never seen him speechless, not even when she was hurling insults at him. What's wrong with him? She waved her hand in front of his face, trying to catch his attention.

  "Earth to Gideon." She cocked her head. "You still there?"

  The guy still didn't answer. Something—she wasn't sure what—fell to the floor. It took her a moment to realize it was a single black feather. Frowning, she plucked it from the tile. She scrutinized the ceiling, half expecting to see a crow flitting about. Nope, no crow.

  "Where the heck did this come from?" She cocked her head.

  "Huh?" Gideon blinked.

  "Finally, you're back to reality." She glanced at him. "I found a feather."

  Gideon's stared down at the feather in her hand, lips thin.

  "Weird." She tossed the feather into the garbage can. "Doesn't matter anyway."

  "Yeah," Gideon said slowly.

  "Are you okay?" Nora scrutinized the guy, trying to figure out why he was so quiet all of the sudden. "You aren't acting normal."

  "Hmmm." Gideon's smile reappeared. "Do you like me when I act normal?"

  "Heck no." She shook her head and cringed. "Though I like it better when you're spouting the first thing that comes to mind."

  "You mean you like it when I'm blunt like you?" Gideon raised an eyebrow.

  "Well, yeah. There's nothing wrong with being blunt," she said. "For example, if I think you're an egotistical jerk, I'm going to tell you to your face and not talk behind your back."

  "Do you think I'm an egotistical jerk?"

  "Naturally." She nodded.

  The man grinned.

  "I'm so glad you're still your normal, insulting self." He seized her arm and yanked her against his chest.

  "What are you doing?" she snapped.

  "Hugging you." He forced her arms down to her sides. "What does it look like?"

  "This is harassment." She tried to push him away but failed.

  "Are you going to call the police on me?" Gideon asked.

  "I could, you know," she said.

  "You could, but you won't," Gideon said.

  "I really do hate you." She glared at him.

  "Keep saying it," Gideon said. "Maybe one of these times you'll manage to convince yourself."

  "That does it," she said. "Let me go."

  She squirmed against him, trying to get him to release his hold.

  "Nope." Gideon held on tighter.

  How could anyone be this strong? Grumpy, she glared at his shirt collar. As a few moments went past, some of her frustration was replaced by intrigue. She could smell delicious cologne on Gideon she'd never smelled before. The scent was citrusy, but it wasn't overpowering. She liked it. On top of that, when she was pressed against him like this, she could feel every last inch of his hard, muscular body. She couldn't be one hundred percent sure, but she would bet money that there was a six-pack under his tight black shirt. And his hips! The man's lean, hard hips were pressing against her pelvis, reminding her that he was all man.

  "Are you done yet?" she said. "This is weird for me."

  It's weird
because my heart is beating way too fast.

  "No." Gideon laughed into her hair.

  "Why are you laughing?" She loathed when people laughed at her expense.

  "I'm laughing because the only way I get to touch you is if I pin your arms down to your sides," he said. "This is a first for me."

  "Yeah, well, this is a first for me too," she said. "You do know about personal space, right?"

  "I do believe I've heard about personal space somewhere," he said. "I don't care much for it. I like the idea of being as close to you as possible."

  "Figures." She sighed. "Now, seriously, will you let me go?"

  The door to the shop opened and Maura headed inside. When the older woman spotted them, the color drained out of her face. Good grief, she probably thinks I'm making out with him. Nora shoved Gideon away as hard as he could.

  "Don't do that again." She narrowed her eyes.

  "You seemed to be enjoying it for a moment there." He shrugged.

  Her fingers twitched as the urge to kill him rose.

  "Hey, Nora." Maura walked toward her, wringing her hands. "Um, sorry I was late."

  Before Nora could reply, Gideon spoke first.

  "Don't worry about it too much." Gideon gave a charming grin. "As you can see, I was keeping Nora busy—ouch!"

  She stepped on his foot, trying to do as much damage as possible.

  "One more word, Gideon, and I'm castrating you," she muttered out of the corner of her mouth.

  "Message received," he said.

  After she shot him a warning glare, she forced a smile on her face.

  "Everything should be ready for you, Maura," she said. "Am I good to go?"

  "Yeah." Maura still looked flustered after her encounter with Gideon. "Have fun with your boyfriend."

  Nora started choking on her own spit. All because of Gideon's hugging stunt, Maura thought she was dating the jerk.

  "No…he's…not…my…" Oh no, she couldn't breathe.

  The more she tried to fight her cough, the worse it became.

  "Easy, sweetheart." Gideon rubbed her back, fighting hard to conceal his smirk. "On the way home, do you want me to run by a pharmacy to buy cough drops?"

  She finally recovered enough to straighten up.

  "Do. Not. Call. Me. Sweetheart." She poked him in the chest between each word.

  "How about dumpling?" He grinned impishly.

  "No." She crossed her arms, knowing he was teasing her.

  "Cutie pie?" He was nearing dangerous waters.

  "No." She shook her head wildly.

  "How about love bug?"

  "So help me, Gideon, do you want to die today?" she snapped. "One more nickname—one more—and you're dead meat."

  "Fine." Gideon seized her hand. "Let me drive you home…honey bunny."

  "Gideon!" she yelled as he dragged her through the door.

  She hated him. She really, truly hated him. And nobody was going to convince her otherwise.

  Chapter Seven

  That night, Nora climbed out of her car, carrying groceries. As she headed to the door, she felt as though somebody was running their fingers down her spine. She shivered, remembering the creepy man from a few nights before. She peered through the darkness but saw no one. Probably it isn't good that I stand out here like an idiot, she decided, frowning at herself.

  She entered the building and headed upstairs. Once she reached her apartment, she went inside and dumped her groceries on the counter. Chocolate ice cream? Check. Fudge cake? Check. Chocolate milk? Check. Candy bars? Check. Yep, the basic components of her food pyramid were all there. As she put away her groceries, her phone buzzed in her pocket. When she pulled it out, she saw she was receiving a call from an unknown number.

  Oh Geez. Who was it now? It was late. Well, late for her anyway. She answered the call, her lips puckered.

  "Hello," she said.

  "Hey," said a man. "I know you have tomorrow off. Are you busy?"

  Who the heck was this? Nobody should have known she had tomorrow off. Immediately she thought about how uneasy she'd felt in the parking lot just a few minutes before. Was she being watched?

  "Who is this?" Nora asked.

  "Take a guess, sugar lump," he said.

  Oh, it was Gideon. She should have known. Despite everything, she felt relief. Gideon was better than a murderer. Barely.

  "How did you get this number?" Let me know so I can ring the person's neck.

  "Robert gave it to me." Gideon sounded smug. "He said something about wanting to win a bet. I have no idea what he was talking about, but I don't care. All that matters is that I got your number."

  You've got to be kidding me! Robert? Again? She'd had it with the guy. She wasn't just going to kill him—she was going to make his death slow and painful.

  But first, she had to get rid of the rat…

  "I can't believe this," she said. "I'm hanging up. And don't you dare call me again."

  "Before you hang up, answer my question first," Gideon said.

  Question? She couldn't even remember what he'd asked.

  "What are you talking about?" She raised an eyebrow.

  "Are you busy tomorrow?" he said. "I asked you that."

  Yes, I'm very busy. I'm going to spend the day on the couch eating ice cream.

  "Why?" she asked.

  "Because I plan to follow you around," he said. "My day will be boring if I don't have the opportunity to irritate you."

  Yeah, right. She was going to deadbolt the door.

  "I'm not going anywhere tomorrow," she said. "Don't even think about following me around."

  "So you're not going somewhere?" he asked.

  "No." How many times did she have to say it?

  "Great." He was laughing—not a good sign. "We're going on a date. I'll pick you up at two."

  "Wait a second," Nora sputtered. "I didn't…we didn't…I…"

  "You said you weren't busy," he said cheerfully.

  "You jerk," she said. "You had this planned all along."

  "Nora, Nora, Nora." He gave a happy sigh. "Of course I had this planned. Now that I understand you a little better, we're going to have a lot of fun. I'm going to sweep you off your feet and then…well, you know what happens next."

  "I'm not answering the door tomorrow," she said.

  "Sure you are." He chuckled. "You may be outspoken, but you aren't rude enough to let me stand outside all afternoon. I know you."

  "Don't come," she said.

  "I'll be there at two," he said.

  "I said, don't come." She was so frustrated her face was hot.

  "See you tomorrow." He paused. "Honey."

  Before she could call him something that was a lot worse than honey, he ended the call. She almost threw her phone across the kitchen in irritation. Her nostrils flared as she tried to regain control of her breathing. Losing her temper wouldn't do her much good now. No, she needed to remain calm and…and…

  Oh, who was she kidding? She needed to scream—and that was exactly what she did.

  "Gideon, I hate you." She hit her head against the wall. "Hate you, hate you, hate you."

  After she'd whacked her head enough times to make herself woozy, she took deep breaths. This isn't something to get mad about, she told herself. When Gideon comes, you don't have to answer the door. It's not like he can walk through walls.

  Unfortunately, she knew she'd answer the door. The truth was she wasn't hitting her head against the wall because she was angry at Gideon. No, she was doing it because she was angry at herself. Without Gideon, she would have spent the next day being gluttonous and lonely. Now she had somebody to spend time with. That was why she wasn't going to abandon him on her doorstep when he came to see her. No, she would meet him because she was happy he'd asked her out.

  And she wasn't sure she could handle that.

  ****

  Nora sat across from Gideon in his black truck. The man drove down an abandoned road. She had no idea where they were, but she sti
ll enjoyed the break from the hustle and bustle of the city. As the man hummed under his breath, she stared out the window into the night sky. For once, the horizon wasn't covered by grey smog that the city eagerly provided. Instead the night was crystal clear. Even the moon, full and fat, glistened above them. Tonight was truly perfect.

  As she sighed, she leaned back and glanced at Gideon. The man had a smile on his face as he stared straight ahead. The lack of conversation was startling. Normally, the man yacked so much he annoyed her. He looked gorgeous tonight too. But then again, he always looked gorgeous. She just didn't choose to admit it.

  Her eyes widened in alarm. I'm checking out Gideon. This is bad. I'm not my normal self. She had to distract herself from her own thoughts. What could she do? She shot Gideon a fleeting glance. They needed to have a conversation. Gideon annoyed her so much that she'd forgot how gorgeous he was once they started fighting.

  "Gideon," she said.

  Gideon glanced at her, his eyes glistening. Man, she loved his eyes. She could practically taste caramel when he looked at her.

  "What are we doing?" she asked.

  "We're going on a date like you wanted," he said.

  "Like I wanted?" She snorted.

  The man didn't speak again—so unlike him—and continued to drive. She found herself submerged in silence, but that was exactly what she didn't want. She glared at Gideon, hoping he'd say something. After all, she could feel goosebumps covering her skin because of the sight of his handsome face. He needed to open his mouth and say something to piss her off pronto; otherwise, she'd keep checking him out.

  Yet he didn't talk. Oh great, she thought, sweat forming on her brow. In the uninterrupted silence, she found herself examining how his long fingers curled on the steering wheel and how his arm muscles bulged at the slightest turn of the wheel. On top of that, his torso was perfect. He had a thin waist and hard pecs. She could imagine herself digging her fingers into the flesh on his back and…and…

  "Oh crap," she said. "I'm turning into a raging pervert."

  She pelted her forehead with her fists, trying to knock the not-so-clean thoughts from her mind. What was wrong with her? She needed to scourge her brain with bleach.

  "Having problems?" Gideon looked amused—gorgeously amused.