Page 22 of The Charmer

Ariel’s facetiousness made Cooper chuckle as he held open the door to Hide, the funkiest café he could find in Brunswick Street.“Hey, you were the one who said I needed to check out what this precinct has to offer, so here we are.”

“Wise guy,” she said, her smile warming him better than the sun’s rays had for the last hour while he sat on Brighton Beach, more relaxed than he’d been in a long while, as she’d studied his face, her fingers flying over her sketchpad to capture his likeness.

He’d loved the ocean once, had made a weekly trek to some of Victoria’s best surf beaches all within a few hours drive from the CBD. However, since starting work at Vance Corp he’d been too busy proving himself, putting in the hard yards, to chill out. He wanted to be the best and it came at a price: limited downtime and alienating the one guy who should’ve been cheering him on rather than hating him for it.

“We don’t have to do the brunch thing if you don’t want to,” Ariel said, a tiny frown puckering her forehead as she searched his face for reassurance. “I’ve got what I needed to finish the portrait so you’re obligation-free now.”

“Let’s eat.”

It wasn’t her fault his mood had soured courtesy of thoughts of his father’s hang ups. Besides, he wanted to make sure this final session ended on a happy note considering the next time they met he’d be pitching his plans for the gallery.

“As long as it’s not my head you’re biting off,” she said, her knowing glance implying she hadn’t bought his abrupt brush-off for a second.

“I promise to be nice.”

He led the way to the closest table, which happened to be purple and kidney-shaped, boasting lemon vinyl chairs and a cartoon-like backdrop. Like everything else in this street, the Hide café was bright, out there, and eclectic.

Ariel fit right in with her denim shorts, indigo silk camisole, and rope espadrilles, whereas he stuck out like a beacon in his conservative navy cargo pants and white T-shirt. Then again, he’d never fit in around here. Orange leather chaps weren’t his thing.

“See anything you fancy?”

To his amazement, Ariel blushed and toyed with a long, blonde curl that persistently bounced in the vicinity of her right ear.

“I’ll have the mushroom omelette.”

“And let me guess. A skinny decaf soy turmeric latte chaser?”

She tilted her nose in the air and sent him an imperious look. “You don’t know me at all. I’ll have a wheatgrass, orange, and ginger juice please.”

The thought of all those ingredients blended together made him want to forego the big fry-up he’d been about to order. “Anyone ever tell you you’re a health freak?”

Rather than bristling as he expected, she leaned back against the vinyl booth and chuckled. “I’d rather be a health freak than any other kind of freak.”

“You are one interesting woman, Ariel Wallace,” he said, locking eyes with her over his menu, wondering if she noticed the growing attraction sizzling between them or it had just been too damn long since he’d dated.

He’d been so busy lately trying to escape his obligations at Vance Corp that he’d neglected his social life. Once this deal went through, he’d make sure he remedied that. Though somehow, he had a feeling he’d need quite a few dates with women the antithesis of Ariel to make him forget her.

“Oh yeah, that’s me, and I know exactly what you find so interesting about me.”

She quirked an eyebrow, full of sass and challenge, and he wondered if he was slipping? Surely his interest in her beauty, her feisty nature, her sharp wit, and her stunning body wasn’t that transparent?

He settled for a safe, “What’s that?” rather than make a complete fool of himself.

More than he had already, that is.

She snapped her fingers. “You find me interesting because of my gallery. We both know there’s no other reason why a guy like you is hanging around a girl like me.”

She spoke calmly, without rancour, as if stating an obvious fact. The intriguing part was even though he agreed with her, it rankled.

“You’re really into the whole stereotyping thing, aren’t you?”

She shrugged. “I’m being honest. No use pretending when we’re both grown ups and we know what this is about.”

Her hand waved between them, a smooth, flowing, graceful movement demonstrating her artistic side. He loved watching her hands, so full of life and energy and creativity.

“You and I have a business arrangement, Cooper. You’ve fulfilled your part of the bargain and I’ll follow through with mine. So let’s just call it what it is and you can save the sweet talk. I’m going to stick to my end of the bargain whether you find me interesting or not.”

“You don’t get compliments very often, do you?”

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