Page 19 of Rooke
Frustration bubbles inside me. “I’m not an appropriate target for you to set your sights on, I promise you.”
Defiance sparks in his eyes. “Because you’re ten years older than me?”
“Because of a lot of different reasons. Too many reasons to even list. I have to go, Rooke. I’m already late. I—”
“You’re scared.”
“What?”
“You won’t agree to go on a date with me because you’re scared.”
“I’mnotscared. I’m—”
“Terrified? You must be if you’re railing this hard against a free dinner with an attractive guy.”
“My god. How do you fit your ego through the doorway each morning?”
“Don’t change the subject. Go to dinner with me, Sasha. Tomorrow. I’ll behave.”
I can’t believe what’s going on right now. How he thinks he can goad me into a date with him is sheer madness. But then, a part of me admires his determination. Most guys would give up. Most guys would walk away. Rooke appears to be cut from a different cloth.
“Tomorrow,” he repeats. “Come.”
A red hot flush slams into me, prickling all over my body. Why was the way he said that so sexual? I open my mouth to say no, I definitely will not go out with him, but I catch the challenge in his eyes. He’s daring me. Actuallydaringme to be brave enough, the smug bastard. “Okay. Fine. I’ll go to dinner with you. But after that, this stops, okay? No more turning up to book club. No more coming to the museum. Now if that’s all, I really have to go. I’m going to be la—”
He holds up a hand, cutting me off. “Go.”
I spin on the balls of my feet and I bolt out of the door before either one of us can utter another word. The cold slaps me in the face as I step out onto the windswept street, but I barely feel the sting. My cheeks are already on fire, anyway.
ELEVEN
Walk. A. Way.
Rooke
“Can I just say, I think that wentremarkablywell?”
“Shut up, Duke.” I watch Sasha disappear from view, her long, chocolate-colored hair swaying from side to side as she marches off down the street, and I clench my jaw.Oh you were right, baby girl. The idea of you isveryinteresting to me.
“Are you even going to tell me who that delicious young woman was, or are you going to leave me rudely hanging?” Duke asks, taking a sip out of his coffee cup. His eyebrows are so high on his forehead that they’re almost hitting his hairline.
“Her name is Sasha Connor.” I refuse to give him any more information without a fight.
“Mmm. She seemed very cross,” he remarks. “What on earth did you do to her?”
“I returned a book she lost. And I brought her a bottle of wine.”
“Terrible.Terriblemanners,” Duke purrs. “Howcouldyou be so uncouth?”
“My thoughts exactly.”
“Come on, boy. Sit yourself down. Burning a hole in the door isn’t going to help anything now, is it? She’s already gone, and my legs are tired. Why don’t we take a load off while you explain this interesting turn of events to me in a little more detail?”
“There are no more details. I returned the book. I took her the wine. I ate some of her cheese. She shouted at me and told me to leave. That’s all there was to it.”
Duke pulls a knowing face. “The cheese. You shouldn’t have touched the cheese.”
“A grave error on my part, clearly.”
