Page 29 of Golden Touch
“I…” A shadow passes over her face. “I can’t. Sorry.”
Hell. Shot down again.“It could be just a friendly meal.” We have to work together. I can’t let this be awkward. “Or I could even get us some takeout.”
She perks up. “I could do takeout.”
“Huh. Okay. What’s good around here besides pizza.”
“The burrito place in Colebury. Or the Skinny Pancake in Montpelier.”
I can’t understand why she’s willing to eat takeout with me at a tiny kitchen table, but she won’t go to a restaurant.
“Why the long face?” she demands. “You can pick something else if you want.”
I shake my head. “It’s not that. I’m just trying to figure you out, is all. You want my body, but you won’t admit it. And you won’t be seen with me in a restaurant…”
“That is not true!” she sputters. “I just…don’t like going out. It’s too people-y. I’m an introvert.”
“You keep sayin’ that. But you didn’t seem so introverted that night at the bar,” I point out.
Her face falls, and I want to kick myself for bringing it up.
That night still bothers me, though. It’s not the sexual frustration,exactly. The missed opportunity feels bigger than that. She had a certain…presence. Aglow. Not sure what to call it, but I could sense it all the way across the room. Whenever she laughed, she threw her head back. I wanted to hear that laugh up close. I wanted to know her, if only for a night.
She’s watching me a little warily. “That night was...” She lapses into silence “It was almost special. But I couldn’t take the risk.”
“The risk,” I repeat slowly. “Why?”
She gulps.
LIVIA
“I understand that a woman has to be careful,” Nash says, his tone patient. “But you didn’t evenmeetme. Didn’t give me a real shot, did you?”
He’s right. I didn’t. Nash doesn’t seem like an abuser, but Razor didn’t either. Not at first. And once you make that mistake, you shouldn’t ever make it again. “Look, I didn’t think you were going to murder me. But a woman can never let her guard down.”
He spreads his hands in a conciliatory manner. “If you’d asked me my name, you would have known that I have deep roots in this community. Just saying. Would’ve been nice.”
He’s got me there. But that’s not the point. “I realize you knew half the people in the room, which helps. But in my case, it just didn’t matter. I’d recently gotten out of a bad relationship. Really bad, okay?”
He has the good manners to wince.
“I’ve made so many bad decisions that I might not ever get out from under them,” I explain. “And guess where I met my ex? In a bar. So even though you were cute and most likely harmless, and I was lonely as all hell, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t go home withyou. It felt too much like starting the whole cycle over again. I’ve made new rules for myself. They’re very strict.”
Oh God. I’ve said way too much. Empathy fills his big brown eyes. “That sounds rough, girlie. I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Don’t be.” I step back behind my desk and gather up my things. “It’s fine. I’m fine. It was just bad timing. We couldn’t have our thing, and I didn’t mean to disappoint you.”
He chuckles softly. “I’m a big boy. I’ll get over it. But I’ll admit I was curious. Thought maybe one of the songs I chose was wrong. Or maybe you were intimidated by my obvious sexual prowess. Not everybody can handle my very big…” He clears his throat suggestively. “…personality.”
I snicker in spite of myself.
“But I think you’ve got what it takes, Livia. You’re a girl who likes a challenge. Good thing we’re getting a second chance, yeah?”
“No,” I say, grabbing my bag and my keys. “We’re having takeout food together. We’re not getting naked afterwards.”
“Is that one of your rules?”
“Yup.”
