Page 22 of Hot in the City
She sneakily looked at him side-on while he chatted away in that oh-so-charming accent. He was too good to be true. She took a sip from her water bottle, biding her time while her mind performed triple backflip gymnastics.
He was from another country. He'd be leaving soon. Anyway, he probably didn't even fancy her. He was only being polite. She couldn't go falling for him...
Declan handed her the little parcel, and murmured, right near her ear, "Here, Miss Yuki. A little something to stuff in your stocking."
She laughed, and choked. Water exploded from her lips. The horror! She ducked her head, but Declan moved closer, touching her lips with his fingertip. She tipped her head up to meet his eyes, and there was A Moment. His thumb brushed her lower lip, wiping off drops of water, and she could have sworn her heart stopped.
"There now." Declan cleared his throat and stepped away from her. "Right. Right! Should we get something to eat?"
Oh no. Had she scared him off with her sheer silliness?
Oh, give me strength. Declan raised his eyes to invisible higher powers and wished for the billionth time he was as smooth as Cary Grant in an old movie. Then again, Cary did do a few bumbling comedy scenes, and women still liked him, so maybe all hope wasn't lost. And his real name was Archibald, a million times worse than Declan.
They walked through the crowd of shoppers, Yuki to his right. She'd gone quiet. He didn't know what to make of it. It was not his usual style to hit on women he'd only just met. Not at all.
When he'd met Kendra, his ex, his first thought was, nice woman, capable, she probably wouldn't pressure him to be romantic. They worked together, and they got along fine. They didn't go on a real date for at least a month. Now that he thought about it, that wasn't a good sign.
Looking back, their relationship was probably doomed. There was never a real spark.
Looking at Yuki, there were sparks enough to set off a spectacular New Year's Eve fireworks show.
"What about a taco?" Yuki had stopped walking and was staring at the chalkboard menu outside a food truck. The whole space was decorated with fairy lights and strings of silver stars, fully pimped-out for the holiday season.
"Sure, sounds good." Declan ordered a taco with interesting local ingredients – Barramundi fish and lemon myrtle mayo, who knew that was a thing? – with an Aussie beer on the side. He carried his and Yuki's drinks and found them a table on the tiny lawn by the riverside.
When she sat beside him, instead of opposite, he couldn't think for a few seconds. This was a date now, right? He was almost sure. He undid the first two buttons of his shirt and rolled up his sleeves. He was hotly aware of Yuki's eyes on him as he moved.
She breathed out, then quickly said, "This is the best date I've been on in ages." She paused, then laughed lightly. "Was that a weird thing to say?"
His laugh came out of nowhere, right from his gut. "Ha! I don't think so, but I'm hardly an arbiter of normal-ness. I am a tech nerd. I rarely leave my cave."
Yuki tipped her head to one side, studying his face. "I don't think that's true. You own a company, right? I'm sure you get out and about. Women are probably falling all over you, looking like..." She waved her hand vaguely in front of him, gesturing from his head to toes.
He tried not to scrunch up his face into a frown, but probably failed. "Looking like what exactly? An Irish hipster doofus?"
Her laugh caught him off guard, like a peal of silver bells. "No, you dag. I meant, all handsome and gorgeous. Full of Irish charm too."
His face nearly split in half from the stupid grin no doubt taking over his face. She thought he was handsome and gorgeous. And charming? Well, his luck was changing. "Coming from a stunningly gorgeous girl, such as yourself, I'll take that as a huge compliment."
Now Yuki ducked and hid her face from him, looking out across the river at the city view. But he spotted the corner of her smile, the little dimple in her cheek. "But do you have women falling all over you? I've been burned before by men who pretended to be single. Especially when they're on holidays."
He nodded. Men could be arseholes, it was undoubtedly true. "Ah, I'm definitely single. I was engaged, but it ended over six months ago. Kendra and I didn't gel as a couple. Unfortunately, I have to see her tomorrow. She works at our Melbourne office now."
When Yuki turned back to meet his eyes, she looked worried. An adorable little line had formed in the spot between her eyebrows. "You broke off your engagement? What happened?"
His so-called friend had happened. Matthias was never blackening his doorstep again, after his part in ending Declan's relationship and leading their business down the wrong path.
He shrugged. That part of his life was over, so no harm talking about it. "Kendra wasn't quite as committed to the idea of monogamy as I was. Plus, my former friend and business partner was apparently better for her than I was, since I'm so old fashioned and stuck in my ways, insisting on complete honesty."
"Wow."
"Yeah. It is what it is. But I could have done without seeing my friend shagging my fiancée in my bed, two days before my wedding."
Yuki gritted her teeth, then plonked her beer down hard on the table. "What complete arseholes. I'd say you're better off without either of them."
"My thoughts exactly." Declan took a long swig of his beer. He never talked about that whole disaster, let alone to someone he'd only just met. But it felt good to get it out there, with Yuki.
A waitress arrived with their tacos, and as they ate they made small talk, no more heavy stuff. Decan’s mind ticked over. He had to decide what to do.
