Page 40 of Captivated

He wouldn’t.

She could.

“I do like effort,” she said.

Joe smirked again. “I bet there’s lots more you’ll like about me if you let me in, Liliana.”

Her grin matched his, and she stepped back from the door. “Kind of hard to say no to that, isn’t it?”

“I’ve not been proved a liar yet.”

SIX

“GOT A SCREW?”

Liliana’s hands froze on the food she was unpacking from the takeout bag, only having heard screw in all he said. “What?”

Across the island, Joe glanced up from the wine bottle in his hands. “A corkscrew, Liliana.”

Her cheeks reddened as she waved at a drawer behind her. “Somewhere in there.”

“Great.” With the kind of confident grace only a predator could have, Joe slid around the island and slipped in next to Liliana. She tried to focus on unpacking the food he had brought along, and not the way her body felt tucked in beside his. “Don’t drink much?”

“What makes you think that?”

“Most wine lovers know exactly where their corkscrew is.”

True.

“I drink a little to celebrate, and on special occasions, but other than that, no.”

“Not a bad thing,” Joe said.

He produced the corkscrew from the drawer with a triumphant grin, and then made quick work freeing the cork from the wine bottle.

“Glasses are on the top shelf in the far cupboard,” she said.

Joe moved around her for that, too, and she got another whiff of whatever woodsy scent he seemed to prefer. A heady, rich scent that gave off an entirely masculine impression, and soaked into her lungs with every single breath she took.

Should she have let him in after he randomly showed up with some half-ass story, and a decent explanation-slash-apology?

That was debatable.

Truth was, Liliana had never been very good at denying herself things she wanted. It seemed there was some crazy part of her that really wanted something from Joe Rossi. She wasn’t entirely sure what it was she wanted, but it was something.

And it would probably be fun.

Joe slid a glass of red wine down the island for Liliana to take, and kept his own sitting in front of him, untouched. “I didn’t know what to grab for food—so I just got a spread.”

Liliana looked over the burgers, fries, onion rings, and more. It was a small buffet, really, but she had little doubt it would be gone by morning. What she probably couldn’t eat, Joe would likely handle.

“Did you put anything on the burgers?” she asked.

Joe shook his head. “Nope.”

“Good—I have my own sauce.”

His gaze darted to hers, and a genuine smile formed. “Your own sauce, huh?”