Page 6 of Nothing to Deny

Stop talking.

She couldn’t, shouldn’t, reveal too much to a man who may have to play Holly’s love interest.

“Holly was embarrassed,” he said. “She was in an established relationship with her life on a certain course. She thought she was secure. And this man, the ex, he took it away from her… Then Kelly shows up with true love, the future Holly was supposed to have… What did Holly do? Make up a boyfriend?” Surprised, she blinked and her mouth fell open. He had to catch her coffee cup when her hand relaxed. “This is what I do, Little Skit… And, believe me, I’ve heard it all.”

She could believe it. Already she was beginning to trust him and they’d only known each other a few minutes. After a date with him, or two, or five, there wouldn’t be much a woman would keep to themselves.

“You do seem to know what you’re talking about. You must have been doing this for a long time… Downstairs, you sized me up in a minute.” He combined a humble shrug with putting her cup back on the table. “How did you know so much about me?”

“You told me you weren’t married,” he said. “The rest was just experience.”

“Experience?” she said, twisting more of herself toward him. “Don’t hold out on me. I’m a nervous client, remember? It’s not personal to tell me how you do your job.”

Ah, that glimmer of the dimple.

“Husbands invite other men into their wives’ beds for a number of reasons. Fiancés do it because they want to. Even if they say it’s for their future wife, it’s usually for them. Either because they want to enjoy the other man too or to see the other man enjoy their wife.”

“That happens?” she asked, restraining a squirm. “Other men ask you to…”

He nodded. “It has.”

“You didn’t ask if I had a boyfriend.”

“Boyfriends don’t hook their girlfriends up with escorts… If they want a threesome, they find a friend… probably wouldn’t occur to them to look for a male hooker.”

Something about his smile betrayed his memory.

“I’m really very sorry I called you that.” Mortified more like, devastated. “I’m not usually so rude. Quite the opposite.”

Though his experience wouldn’t jive with that claim.

“I’m not offended, Freya. You call things like you see them, I respect that. I don’t need someone to…”

This time when he trailed off, she sensed there was something more behind what he’d been about to say.

“What?” she asked, reaching over to curl her fingers around his hand. “What were you going to say?”

“Something else crude,” he said and exhaled a rough breath, driving his fingers into his hair. “Don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m supposed to get the prep sheet before I cross lines like that with a client.”

Squeezing his hand, she pulled it just an inch down his thigh toward her. “Have you never worked without a prep sheet?”

His gaze grew heavier. “Sounds like you’re asking if I’ve ever seduced a woman.”

“No, just wondering if you would.”

“With a client? I wouldn’t. With a woman…”

On a smile, she lowered her chin. “Except I’m not a woman…” she said. His eyelid twitched in curiosity. “Not one you’re interested in pursuing…” Saying it aloud shifted her perspective. “Maybe this is a good idea… I’ve had so much trouble with men over the years… Maybe it’s time to face the reality that I can’t make relationships work. I’ve been with men, amazing men, some more amazing than others… It always ends the same, no matter how great or terrible they are…”

Shh, stop talking. Damming her streaming thoughts, she closed her mouth.

“There’s nothing you can’t get from Squires,” he said. “Anything at all that you want, you can get it here… You don’t have to worry about typical relationship issues. You’ll have a boyfriend trained to fulfill your needs and have none of his own.”

How unappealing. For a real relationship, which this wasn’t. Damnit, Freya. Why was it so difficult for her to remember that? Probably because she’d never interacted with a man in this kind of situation before.

“You never fight with clients?” she asked.

“I fight with clients.”

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