Page 41 of The Hookup
Ordinarily, she would have given in. She would have easily succumbed to a man whose need for her was so great that it intoxicated her.
Ordinarily.
But she had heeded Savannah’s advice well. The playing-hard-to-get part, if not the man-free diet advice, and it had worked. She was determined to do more of it.
Walking away from Luke that day had been tough, because his need for her had been unexpected. She had no idea how she had managed to walk away and go home.
She had somehow also managed to go through the next few weeks without calling him. But he hadn’t called her either.
Luckily for her, work kept her busy. She didn’t have time to think about Luke. So when Erin suggested going to The Oasis one evening after work, with a group of friends from the Legal department, she tagged along, even though she didn’t know Erin’s friends that well.
The Oasis was quickly becoming a Friday night go-to place for after work drinks.
She had been at the office since 6.30am, and had managed to complete a milestone in the Pembroke deal. Remington—he’d been in the office from the start of the day—told her to go home and enjoy the weekend.
So she did.
Returning to the familiar bar made her slightly anxious again. She caught sight of Luke a few tables away, talking to a table full of flirting women. Seeing him all dressed in his familiar black, looking too-damn handsome for words, made her insides flutter like falling autumn leaves.
She observed him unknowingly. He had a gorgeous side profile, and big, beautiful inked biceps. He walked over to the same old table in the far corner and sat down, then looked through his folder, occasionally checking his cell phone from time to time.
He must have sensed her staring because he looked up and smiled at her. She couldn’t help but return the smile.
There was a danger that tonight, if he so willed it, she wouldn’t be able to walk away. He had wanted her that day near the elevator, and he would want her now. All she had to do was agree. Any guilt she had about not following any of Savannah’s advice, immediately disintegrated as she knew it would. She had never intended to follow it through, for she had needs, as a woman, and this man, even with his rules and stipulations, ignited a fire in her that nobody had ever been able to. Not even Dean, and he was someone she had fallen in love with.
She got up and walked over to him, not caring what Erin and her friends made of it.
“Hello, stranger,” she said, smoothing her hand down her pencil skirt. “Mind if I sit down?”
“Go ahead.” He closed his folder, eyeing her with an amused expression. “Long time no see, no hear.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“I gathered. Is that a business meeting?” he asked, nodding at the table she had vacated.
“Does it look like it?” Erin and the girls had a table littered with cocktails. It was happy hour, and there wasn’t a business folder or pen in sight.
“You’ve been avoiding this place,” he asserted.
“Maybe.”
“You left me hanging, that last time.”
The twinkle in his eyes made her heart stop for a second. Was there a hint of flirtation in that sentence? “Maybe.”
“And now you’re here again, turning up when I least expect it.”
She smiled sweetly.
“I can’t figure you out,” he said, tapping his fingers on the table a few times.
“I could say the same for you.”
“We’re not so different, after all,” he said. “Sit down,” he motioned to the seat next to him. “I don’t bite.”
She did as he asked, but left a good-sized gap between them.
He lifted his eyebrow at the gap. “I promise you, I don’t bite. Not unless you want me to.” He patted the empty area, and with a roll of her eyes, she moved closer, but still left a few inches between them.
