Accidentally Hooked (The Naked Truth Series Book 1) by Carmen Falcone Page B
Authors: Carmen Falcone
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Although…she couldn’t, wouldn’t care for an addict again. Not after what happened to Freddy.
She touched her face, a slight brush from the ear down her jaw line. Who cared if he was alcoholic? She wasn’t going steady with him for crying out loud. Just sex. For money, a bitter part of her warned. “So. How did you start your business?”
One corner of his mouth turned up, and a gleam of interest hit his eyes. She peered at his hands. The lightest blonde hair dusted the long, tanned fingers. A shot of adrenaline bolted through her, and the touch of his rough palm on her sex flashed in her memory.
“In the beginning, it was just me, a friend, and a realtor. Now I have a larger team.”
“You talk about it so casually, but I’m sure your so called team is much larger than you say.” His Breitling watch and imposing penthouse left no room for mistake, did it? The man was loaded.
He chuckled. “I thought you knew how large it was.” He winked at her, and the playful gestured poured a warm tingly sensation over her.
Down girl. This wasn’t a date. The man needed some company so he wouldn’t eat alone. Yup . Why did her heart insist on racing like a teenager on her first date? “How do you weed out the potential good investments from bad ones?”
“Experience. Real estate trends. I have a good eye for this sort of thing.” He lifted his drink to his mouth, staring at her with the intensity of Fourth of July fireworks. His gaze trailed over her, starting at her eyes then dropping to her mouth and neck. On cue, the main vein on her neck throbbed. He upped an eyebrow, and tilted his head to the side. He had a good eye…for everything.
“Nice.” She injected a dose of enthusiasm in her voice on purpose, to burst the bubble of awareness between them. “It’s a real gift to turn something run down into a livable place.” She produced a neutral smile, masking the awkwardness thickening her throat after she realized what she said. Turn something mediocre into a better place? Why did that stir her inside?
Because I couldn’t do it. She lifted her fingers to her ear and toyed with her earrings, not looking anywhere in particular. He chattered on about his business with enthusiasm, and she nodded, worried about reacting to his pride and joy like she had earlier. A reaction she had no right to have. None.
“Nice earrings.” He reached across the table and gently touched her dangling golden hoops.
“My creation.” She tossed her hair to the side. “I like making jewelry; it calms me down.” Also served as a distraction. Wasn’t it great not thinking about the dark memories of her past? About her mother’s quiet sobs before bed time, or the painful void that she had to deal with after Freddy’s death? As if she had not only lost him, but a tangible body part.
The waiter returned, and they ordered. While he told him how he’d want his steak cooked, she skimmed through the menu and settled for lobster ravioli.
He took the glass of sparkly lemonade to his mouth and had a sip. “It’s nice to have a passion.”
She leaned forward. “How do you know it’s a passion?”
His lips quirked up. “Your eyes lit up. You blushed, like you were talking about something very intimate.”
That’s because you just touched me . She let her hand press against her stomach, wishing there was a way to stop the acidy sensation knotting inside. God. “It is. I don’t share that with a lot of people. I’m trying to get my things straight and show it to some department stores.”
“Why did you wait so long?”
“How do you know? Maybe I just started crafting a month ago,” she said, and hated how defensive she sounded. The knots from her insides began to untie. Shoulders sagging a notch, she sighed. Why couldn’t she just talk? The man seemed interested, and he would be thousands of miles away, soon. There was no way they would get romantically involved, ever. If things were different… Nope. She crossed
She touched her face, a slight brush from the ear down her jaw line. Who cared if he was alcoholic? She wasn’t going steady with him for crying out loud. Just sex. For money, a bitter part of her warned. “So. How did you start your business?”
One corner of his mouth turned up, and a gleam of interest hit his eyes. She peered at his hands. The lightest blonde hair dusted the long, tanned fingers. A shot of adrenaline bolted through her, and the touch of his rough palm on her sex flashed in her memory.
“In the beginning, it was just me, a friend, and a realtor. Now I have a larger team.”
“You talk about it so casually, but I’m sure your so called team is much larger than you say.” His Breitling watch and imposing penthouse left no room for mistake, did it? The man was loaded.
He chuckled. “I thought you knew how large it was.” He winked at her, and the playful gestured poured a warm tingly sensation over her.
Down girl. This wasn’t a date. The man needed some company so he wouldn’t eat alone. Yup . Why did her heart insist on racing like a teenager on her first date? “How do you weed out the potential good investments from bad ones?”
“Experience. Real estate trends. I have a good eye for this sort of thing.” He lifted his drink to his mouth, staring at her with the intensity of Fourth of July fireworks. His gaze trailed over her, starting at her eyes then dropping to her mouth and neck. On cue, the main vein on her neck throbbed. He upped an eyebrow, and tilted his head to the side. He had a good eye…for everything.
“Nice.” She injected a dose of enthusiasm in her voice on purpose, to burst the bubble of awareness between them. “It’s a real gift to turn something run down into a livable place.” She produced a neutral smile, masking the awkwardness thickening her throat after she realized what she said. Turn something mediocre into a better place? Why did that stir her inside?
Because I couldn’t do it. She lifted her fingers to her ear and toyed with her earrings, not looking anywhere in particular. He chattered on about his business with enthusiasm, and she nodded, worried about reacting to his pride and joy like she had earlier. A reaction she had no right to have. None.
“Nice earrings.” He reached across the table and gently touched her dangling golden hoops.
“My creation.” She tossed her hair to the side. “I like making jewelry; it calms me down.” Also served as a distraction. Wasn’t it great not thinking about the dark memories of her past? About her mother’s quiet sobs before bed time, or the painful void that she had to deal with after Freddy’s death? As if she had not only lost him, but a tangible body part.
The waiter returned, and they ordered. While he told him how he’d want his steak cooked, she skimmed through the menu and settled for lobster ravioli.
He took the glass of sparkly lemonade to his mouth and had a sip. “It’s nice to have a passion.”
She leaned forward. “How do you know it’s a passion?”
His lips quirked up. “Your eyes lit up. You blushed, like you were talking about something very intimate.”
That’s because you just touched me . She let her hand press against her stomach, wishing there was a way to stop the acidy sensation knotting inside. God. “It is. I don’t share that with a lot of people. I’m trying to get my things straight and show it to some department stores.”
“Why did you wait so long?”
“How do you know? Maybe I just started crafting a month ago,” she said, and hated how defensive she sounded. The knots from her insides began to untie. Shoulders sagging a notch, she sighed. Why couldn’t she just talk? The man seemed interested, and he would be thousands of miles away, soon. There was no way they would get romantically involved, ever. If things were different… Nope. She crossed
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