Page 19 of Not Part of the Plan
“Do your ‘dates’ know that?” Emma prompted. She was leaning in, and he liked it. Her cheeks had that rosy glow again, and her eyes sparkled. He liked seeing Emma enjoy herself, even if it was at his expense.
“Let’s stop with the air quotes before one of us sprains a finger,” he suggested, grabbing her hands out of the air. Her fingers stilled in his.
“I’ve never lied to get a woman into bed. Everyone I’ve taken there understands that I’m not looking for anything serious.”
“And why aren’t you looking for something serious?” Emma slid her fingers out of his grip and popped an olive between her plush lips.What was it about her that drew him in?he wondered.
“I told you. I don’t have time for a relationship—”
“Cop out!” Emma fake coughed into her hand.
He glared at her, but she didn’t back down. “Fine. I don’t make time,” he admitted.
“Better. Still-not-the-whole-truth.” Emma’s coughing fit was beginning to draw eyes.
“Tenacious,” he accused.
“Friends don’t lie to friends.”
He looped a finger around the neck of his beer bottle, staring at the condensation rings it left on the bar top. “I don’t know why,” he said with a shrug. “I guess I haven’t found what I think my parents had. I don’t think you can work towards or ‘date’ your way to that kind of love. And until I meet the woman who makes me look at her the way my dad looked at my mom, I might as well enjoy casual and fun.”
He glanced her way. Emma’s eyes narrowed as she weighed his words.
“Your bronchitis clearing up?” he teased.
“I never would have pegged you, ‘the wolf,’ as a romantic,” she confessed.
“I thought I was a player?”
“A romantic player,” she amended with a smile that warmed him from the inside out. “You remind me of my sister Eva, ever hopeful that a sweep-you-off-your-feet love is right around the corner.”
“Does that change your mind about going out with me?”
She shot him a bland look. “That makes dating you even less appealing.”
“How is that even possible, Emma? How could wanting to settle down with the right girl beworsethan serial one-night stands?”
“Not only are you sowing your wild oats now, but you’re expecting this perfect woman to come along and make you want to give all that up so you can live happily ever after.” She poked him in the chest. “That’s unrealistic and setting yourself up for failure.”
Fascinated, Niko shifted on the stool. His knee pressed against hers. “And what’s your plan for success?”
“I’m going to choose a man with life goals that parallel mine.” She said it as if it were the most obvious solution in the world.
“That’s so…” He couldn’t quite come up with a word describing how depressing that was.
“Pragmatic? Realistic? Intelligent?” she offered, her expression cocky.
“Boring.”
“I can understand how Nikolai ‘A Different Model Every Night’ Vulkov would think so,” she sniffed.
“Is that judgment I detect?” he teased, taking a long pull from his beer.
“Not between friends,” Emma said, fluttering her thick lashes at him.
“Smart ass. So, while you’re waiting for Mr. Life Goals, why don’t you want to have some fun?”
She shook her head, sipped. “Uh-uh. I don’t need any distractions. I’ve got enough on my plate.”
