Page 12 of Daring to Love

“Fuck, you’re gorgeous,” I croak.

Her cheeks turn a crimson red, and her eyes dart away from mine.

“Um, thanks. Shall we go?”

The brisk tone of her voice pulls me out of my stupor, and I nod.

“Sure. Lead the way.”

I reach out my hand in silent offer to relieve her from her bag, but she edges away, shaking her head in silence. We walk down the three flights of stairs, but once we get outside and I breathe in the fresh evening air, she clears her throat and I look down at her.

“I’m famished. Do you mind if we go to a pub I like? It’s not far.”

My gut tightens when her lips pull up, her eyes glancing shyly up at me from beneath her lashes.

“I could eat.”

She nods once and takes a right turn down a narrow, dimly lit cobblestoned street where people mill about us. A group of girls dressed up pass us, giggling loudly. They’re probably off to spend all night at a party now that the weekend is upon us.

“How did you find me?”

Her question makes me look down at her small frame.

“It wasn’t difficult.” I shrug and slow down, matching my stride to hers. She is so short, but whereas I thought at first there was an air of delicacy to her, I now realise I was wrong. Watching her dance proved my first impression of her wrong – there is power and strength to a person who can make her body move the way she did.

She frowns up me, and my grin widens at the stubborn glint in her eyes.

“Tell me.”

“Before you ran away from me this morning, you said you were going to class. Since I didn’t know which degree you’re aiming for, I had to phone my editor and find out what he knows about you.” I let out an annoyed huff. “That didn’t really get me anywhere, but five minutes after we rang off, I received a very unusual phone call from someone who told me where to find you. It was very strange,” I muse.

“Indeed. Quite the mystery.”

“He introduced himself as Mr. Smith.”

“You’re joking.”

I shake my head. “I can assure you I’m not,” I chuckle. “Anyway, he said he worked for your father…”

She falters, and I reach to steady her, placing my hand on her elbow. “Careful.”

“I’m okay.” She moves away, and I pretend I don’t notice. But I do. I notice everything about her.

“Do you know who the man was?”

I watch her closely as she shakes her head, but the fact she won’t meet my gaze tells me she’s lying, and I have to admit it stings a bit.

“Anyway,” I go on, pretending I believe her, “he ended up telling me where to find you, and even though I didn’t know if he was pulling my leg, I decided to go to the dance studio. And it turns out he was telling the truth, so…well, that’s it.”

“What makes you think I’ll give you what you want?”

I run my teeth over my lower lip. “I usually get my way.”

She stops walking again, and I stop to face her.

“You’re so….so….”

“Confident?” I try, my smile widening. “Tenacious? Charming?”