A Night of Misbehaving by Carmen Falcone

Friday we could take the girls to the park together.” His hand stalled, and he studied her expression.
    Without uttering a single word, she walked up to him, each step cursing her latest bad decision.
    “Too soon?” He shrugged and returned his attention to the cutting board. “No pressure, just a playdate.”
    She folded her arms and stared at him. Why? “Someone just left you a message, Brent.”
    “I heard the phone ring, but I went out back to grab the tomatoes.”
    “A guy who asked you if you nailed the uptight lady and that you owe him one.”
    The easy smile disappeared from his lips, and he loosened the hold on the knife and placed it on the granite countertop.
    Her heart pounded in her ears. “I assume he was talking about me?” She pushed past the pain lumped in her throat.
    “Fuck. You weren’t supposed to find out this way. I’m not sure where to begin.” With hands on his waist, he paced in an invisible circle, ducked his head, and stared at the floor. She was about to ask again, her nerves unsettled, when he lifted his head, jaw clenched and eyes searching hers. “It wasn’t me you were supposed to go out with last night. It was Carl.”
    She took a couple of steps back and rubbed her forehead. Carl?
    “My business partner. He was bragging about meeting you last night, and when I saw your picture…I asked to go instead.”
    “Why?”
    He leaned against the countertop and folded his arms. “He’s a sleazeball. Trust me on this; he doesn’t belong anywhere near you.” He cleared his throat. “I also knew where you worked. A.W. is one of the companies on my list to pitch a corporate wellness program I’ve drafted. I think it will really help people. Carl was against it, and if he knew you worked there, he’d only have made things worse. He can’t keep his mouth shut.”
    The pieces of the puzzle formed in her head. The slight discrepancy of his description. Light brown hair versus dark-blond hair. The realization slammed into her with the intensity of a jackhammer.
    He jammed both hands in his pockets and shrugged. “The main thing is that Carl’s a man-whore. Believe me, taking his place was—”
    “A favor? I’m charity to you?” Bitterness latched on her every syllable.
    He shook his head, letting out a long sigh. “The right thing to do.”
    “Really? The right thing so I’d have you on my good side and recommend you to the board?”
    He stepped toward her, but she jerked away. A bob made its way down his throat, and the pulse on his neck possibly had its own zip code and Facebook account. “That was part of the initial plan. Sleeping with you wasn’t premeditated.”
    She produced a nervous laugh. “Ha! You expect me to believe that?”
    He scratched the back of his neck. “Based on the awesome night we had, I hope you do. I’m very sorry I misled you, Georgia.”
    She bit her lower lip until it hurt, her heart contracting. Damn it, she should not have slept with him. “What was your plan, exactly? Hang around until I agree to your business proposal?”
    A defiance he wasn’t entitled to flickered in his eyes. Did he really challenge her to believe him?
    “No. After spending time with you, I can’t explain it…but I decided not to pitch to A.W. anymore. I wouldn’t want to put you in that position.”
    “How convenient you tell me now, after I found out.” She picked up her bag from the console and clenched it in her hand, wishing it was his neck. A wound opened in the depths of her soul, one she knew was different than the other times she’d been let down. Never had she trusted a man so quickly. Brent had made her believe it could be different this time around. She swallowed the acid in the back of her throat.
    “When I walked into that restaurant, my goal wasn’t to deceive you. I wanted to buy you a drink and build some rapport to be able to tell you about the wellness program in person. Some innocent networking, nothing more. Then I saw you…and