“You are diabolical.”
Talia shrugged. “It’s one of my finer qualities.”
“I’ll have to check and see if Zane is available for dinner. We hadn’t planned to see each other until tomorrow.”
“Oh, right, for some wild after-haircut sex.”
“Something like that.” Naomi smiled and tossed her empty coffee cup into the recycling can next to their bench.
“You make dirty promises to him if it will get him out to dinner with us tonight.”
Naomi doubted any dirty promises would be necessary. She knew how to get her way with Zane, that was for sure. And she was dying to meet this Ken guy, not so much because he’d been her potential booty call, but because he must be some amazing guy to have Talia shaking in her heels.
“I’ll see what I can do.” Not that it was any huge favor, having to spend another evening with Zane.
But when she imagined the possibilities—and the fact that he might have already skipped the state since learning about her father—she got a queasy feeling that even watching the hottie-filled Ultimate Frisbee game couldn’t cure.
TALIA GLANCED AT HER WATCH as discreetly as possible. It was seven o’clock, time for Naomi and her sex boy to arrive. But they were nowhere in sight. Ken was sitting across from her examining his menu, probably ready to launch into intimate conversation as soon as he’d decided between the prime rib and the shrimp scampi. Men were so predictable, she had him pegged as a prime-rib guy.
She looked around the restaurant, a candlelit place of the sort frequented by lovers and anniversary celebrators, and cursed silently at Naomi for not being on time.
“Is something wrong?” Ken asked. “You keep looking around like you’re afraid someone might see us.”
“Don’t be silly—I was just looking for the waitress. I’m dying for a drink.” Of hard liquor.
Ken set his menu aside and gave her the look—the “let’s get to know each other better” look. It was definitely too late to slip away to the restroom for a nice, long, makeup-freshening session without seeming as though she were trying to avoid him, so Talia smiled and decided to be proactive.
“So,” she said. “Tell me more about yourself—your family, where you’re from, your job, everything.”
This strategy had the distinct advantage of keeping her from having to talk, and what guy didn’t love talking about himself?
His expression turned serious. “We can get to all that later. First, I want to tell you the real reason we’re here tonight.”
Oh God, this whole thing had been an act, an elaborate plot to get her to join some multilevel marketing scheme.
“I have to tell you, I’m really not interested in selling anything.”
“What?” He blinked, clearly confused.
“Never mind.”
“Ever since we slept together six months ago, I’ve been thinking about you. And seeing you again, being with you the past few nights, confirms something important for me.”
Their waitress, who clearly had perfect timing, arrived to take their drink orders, then lingered at the table to give them a detailed overview of the nightly specials. Talia asked questions about the tilapia and the chocolate trifle in her last-ditch effort to hold things up until Naomi arrived, but no such luck.
The waitress left after answering her questions, and Talia flashed Ken a weak smile. “What were you saying?”
“That I think I’m falling in love with you.”
Oh dear God.
See, now these were the disastrous sorts of events that could occur when people were late. If Naomi were here right now, Talia wouldn’t be trying to keep a deer-caught-in-headlights expression off her face.
“Have you experienced any head injuries recently?” she blurted.
Ken laughed. “No. Why would you think that?”
“Because you’re talking like a crazy person?”
“Is it so hard to believe a guy could fall in love with you?”
Talia opened her mouth to make some snarky comment, but nothing would come out. Instead, Ken’s question echoed in her head. Was it hard for her to believe a guy could fall in love with her?
“You barely know me. We’ve slept together—what? Three, four times? I can’t even remember.”
“Four. Three times last year, and then last night.”
“I find it hard to believe you can love anyone you know nothing about.”
His gaze penetrated her, and Talia shifted in her seat, suddenly feeling as if he could see things she couldn’t.
“I know lots about you.”
“Like what?”
“I know you work hard at your job and play hard in your free time. I know you love pink roses, black-and-white photography, suspense novels and expensive towels. I know you’re a coffee connoisseur, and that you care enough about how you look to make most of your indulgences sexual rather than food-oriented.”
Talia listened to his list, both amazed and exposed. She couldn’t think what to say.
But he continued. “I know you’re a passionate woman, and that you have impossibly high standards for yourself and probably everyone around you, which is why you think you could never find one guy that could meet all your needs.”
No one—especially no man—had ever paid such close attention to her in such a short length of time. And she felt wildly, impossibly flattered.
An uncontrollable smile curved her lips. “You’ve been paying attention.”
“I’m a quick study of the things and people I find fascinating.”
For the first time in a long while, Talia found herself looking across the table at a guy and imagining the possibilities.
Imagining…what if?
“I’m flattered,” she said, and she meant it.
And she really, really wished she’d been paying attention, too, that she knew something about Ken besides the myriad amazing ways he knew to pleasure her body.
“Oh my goodness,” Talia heard a familiar female voice exclaim.
She looked up to see Naomi doing her best surprised expression. A gorgeous ruffian stood next to her—none other than the infamous Zane Underwood.
“Naomi! What a surprise!”
“I had no idea you’d be here tonight,” Naomi said, sounding a bit too rehearsed.
This was where Talia was supposed to invite them to join her and Ken for dinner. But she just couldn’t do it now. Instead, she introduced Ken, and Naomi introduced Zane.
And then there were an awkward few seconds where they stared at each other, unsure what to say next. Naomi finally said, “So can we join you?”
“Um, if you don’t mind, we’re sort of having an intimate dinner alone tonight,” Talia surprised herself by saying. “Maybe we can all get together another night.”
Zane gave her a strange look, and Naomi smiled a little too widely. “Could I see you in the restroom, please?” Naomi said.
Talia flashed Ken an apologetic smile and stood up. “I’ll be right back,” she said, then followed Naomi to the restroom.
Once they were alone in front of the mirrors, Talia knew she should have launched right into an explanation of her sudden change of heart, but what could she say? That she wanted to have dinner alone with Ken because he’d taken the time to notice her beloved photography collection? That no guy had ever bothered to look at what hung on her walls before?
“What’s going on?” Naomi asked. “I had to drag Zane out to this side of town, and now you don’t want us here?”
“Sorry. I guess I wasn’t giving Ken a chance, but we talked a little before you got here—late, I might add—and I changed my mind about him.”
Naomi’s face registered utter and complete shock. “You mean, you’re smitten now?”
“Smitten is too strong a word for what I am. I’d say that I’m just…open to possibilities.”
“Wow.”
“I know. It’s probably a mistake, but it’s not like I haven’t made any of those before.”
<
br /> “I’ll just ask for a table on the other side of the restaurant. Is that private enough for you?”
“Thanks. I owe you for this.”
“So…what do you think of Zane? He’s hot, huh?”
“Even hotter in person than on camera! Be careful with him,” Talia was compelled to add. She tried not to sound like anyone’s mother, but something about the vibe between Zane and Naomi felt combustible.
Naomi gave her an odd look. “Okay Mom, don’t worry. I’ll be home before midnight, too.”
“You know what I mean—guys that hot can leave burns.”
“Believe me, I know.”
Talia resisted the urge to nag any further. They went back out into the dining area, where the men were engaged in an animated conversation that suspiciously fell silent as they neared the table. When Naomi and Zane had said their goodbyes and set off in search of the hostess, Talia decided she’d better come clean.
“Sorry about that. I sort of arranged for them to show up and rescue me.”
“Rescue you from me?”
“It was a bitchy thing to do. I’m sorry.”
He smiled. “I forgive you.”
“Now tell me something about you.”
“What’s to tell?”
“Do we have anything in common?”
“My other hobby besides music is photography,” he said.
“Oh. Black-and-white?”
“Used to be, but I shoot all digital now, so I convert some to black-and-white, and some I leave in color.”
“What do you like to photograph?”
“I do a lot of landscapes, cityscapes, a few portraits.”
“What kind of portraits?”
“My family members, their kids.”
Ken had a family? The whole idea seemed ludicrous, though Talia couldn’t quite say why. Had she just assumed he’d been raised by workers on a stud farm?
“I’d love to photograph you some time,” he said.
“You mean like naughty photos? That could be fun.” Her insides warmed at the thought.
“How about tomorrow night at my place. I can set up an impromptu studio in my extra room.”
Talia could think of worse things to do after work than get naked with Ken. “Sounds good.”
“Your friend keeps staring at us through the ficus tree over there,” Ken said, nodding in Naomi’s direction. “Maybe we should ask them to join us now?”
Talia looked over at Naomi, who quickly looked away. She laughed. “In a few minutes. First, tell me what you and Zane were talking about.”
“Wouldn’t you like to know.”
“I can guess. You were making bets on who’s going to get laid first tonight?”
“Is sex all you think about?”
“No, I occasionally think about world peace, too.”
“I’m sure you have some interesting ideas on how to achieve it.”
“Actually, I think it’s impossible, but since you know me so well, you should already know I’m a terribly jaded person.”
“I bet I could spend a lifetime getting to know you, and still not know everything.”
Talia’s hand froze on its way to pick up her drink. She had to will it into motion again, as her thoughts tumbled around the idea that Ken was like no other guy she’d ever met.
“Are you for real?” she blurted.
“I could tell you I am, and you’d probably accuse me of lying. Maybe you should just stick around long enough to find out for yourself how real I am.”
Maybe…“You still haven’t answered my question. What were you and Zane talking about?”
“I’m a big fan of his. I was just asking him some questions about his work, and he was answering.”
“Oh. So you keep up with world events?”
“Yes,” he said, grinning. “Like you, I occasionally think about something besides sex.”
“If that doesn’t make us compatible, then I don’t know what does,” she said dryly.
“Can you be serious for a few minutes?”
“Depends on how serious you mean. I can’t bare my soul, if that’s what you’re hoping.”
“Souls aren’t really things to be bared, are they?” he said, more a statement than a question.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, they’re the kind of thing we need to keep wrapped up, protected, only revealed to people we know we can trust.”
And that was when Talia got her first glimpse of what must have been Ken’s soul. It wasn’t at all what she’d expected. Well, actually, she hadn’t been expecting anything. But now she saw him a little better, and she knew that within him lay something a little bit different, a little bit poetic.
“Why is that?”
“Because it’s easy to get hurt when we reveal too much to the wrong people. I’ll bet that’s happened to you.”
Good bet. Talia had fallen in love exactly once in her life, and she couldn’t have chosen a more wrong person to bare her soul to.
She shrugged and smiled. “It’s happened to everyone, right?”
And true to his poetic self, he didn’t push. “Right.”
Talia sipped her drink, comfortable in the quiet that settled on them. Finding someone like Ken had not been on her agenda, yet here he was. And even a girl as world-weary as Talia knew that when you stumbled upon a diamond in the giant pile of coals, you didn’t toss it aside and continue your search for adequate coal.
12
ZANE PULLED into the parking lot of Naomi’s apartment complex and killed the engine of his BMW. All day, he’d agonized over what to do about Naomi and the Atchison Tyler story. While the first half of the answer was simple enough on the surface—stop sleeping with her—the second half was tougher.
Should he ruin their perfect evening and tell her what he knew? Prepare her before the story broke? Or would he just be creating more trouble that way?
And following through on the stop-sleeping-with-her part was going to be hell. Not only because he didn’t want to stop, but also because she’d take it personally. He hadn’t bargained on her calling him today for a personal date, and she’d been so insistent, he hadn’t been able to say no. And to make matters worse, he’d loved having dinner with her, meeting her friend Talia, getting a glimpse of Naomi’s life from a new angle.
So here they were.
“You want to come up?” she asked.
There was the answer he should have given, and then there was the answer his guy parts were singing in chorus. “Um,” he said, waffling.
“Oh, I keep forgetting to tell you, I snagged you a two o’clock appointment tomorrow at a great salon. I’ll call you in the morning with the address, okay?”
“Great.” Just freaking great.
“I’ve got fresh biscotti upstairs, if you want to have some coffee,” she said.
Zane smiled. “You don’t have to bribe me with sweets to get me into your apartment, you know.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “Apparently, I do.”
“I’m sorry, I just have a lot of work to do. I’m afraid I’ll keep getting further behind if I stay out late again tonight.”
“What’s all this mysterious ‘work’ you’re doing? Following a hot lead?”
“Something like that,” he said as his gut clenched.
“I thought Jack Hiller told me you weren’t allowed to work until your makeover is complete.”
“He’s not assigning me any stories, but that doesn’t mean I can’t find my own.”
“So what are you working on?”
This was where he should tell her the truth. And, he realized then, she deserved to be forewarned.
“It’s a political story, actually.”
“Oh, then spare me the details. I’ve had enough politics to last me a lifetime.”
“But I think we do need to talk about this.” He turned to her, bracing himself for the inevitable.
She flashed a wry grin. “Are you trying to avoid having sex with me now b
ecause of what I told you last night?”
“Absolutely not.”
“You are, aren’t you? That’s what this is about. I knew it—”
“Naomi, that’s not it at all. It’s just that your father—”
“My father has nothing to do with my sex life, and if you disregard me just because of him, I’m going to be extremely pissed off.”
“No, that’s not what I meant.” This was going downhill fast.
“Do you have any idea how hard it is to be Atchison Tyler’s daughter?”
Zane shook his head. “I can guess.”
“It sucks! But finally—finally!—I find a guy who can give me an orgasm, and you’re ready to run from my bed before I even get used to having a great sex life.”
Oh hell. Zane leaned over and kissed her, if for no other reason than to shut her up. Well, there were other reasons—he was kissing her because he wanted to, because he couldn’t stand listening to her sound so miserable, because he wanted her to know exactly how badly he still wanted her.
Naomi clearly was not offended. She slid her hands over his shoulders and pulled him closer, deepened the kiss, tempting him with her tongue until he knew there was no damn way he’d turn down going inside her apartment for biscotti and more.
When they finally came up for air, she was nearly in his lap. Her gaze traveled from his mouth to his eyes, and she gave him a coy look.
“Do you have any idea how adept a girl can get at pleasuring herself when the guys in her life can’t do the job?”
Zane’s budding erection went full-on. “Why don’t you tell me?”
She smiled a slow, sultry smile. “Do you want to watch me touch myself?”
“I wouldn’t want you having to do all the work, but it might be nice to see a little skill demonstration.”
“Then you’ll have to come inside.”
“What are we waiting for?”
Zane knew he’d regret it in the morning, but tonight, he had no time for regrets. They got out of the car, and he followed Naomi up the sidewalk to her door. She let them in, and inside, she switched on a light and led him to the kitchen that opened up on the living room. The two rooms were divided by a breakfast bar, which was furnished by two bar stools.
“Have a seat,” Naomi said, gesturing to one as she went to the counter. She held up a large plastic Ziploc bag. “Biscotti?”
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