Page 8 of Duke It Out
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” But something flickers behind his smile, and for a moment it feels like I touched a nerve.
I laugh and take a sip of my drink. “Okay. No espionage, no wives. What’s left for us to talk about?”
His eyes travel from my glass up to my face, his chin lifting slightly as if he’s sizing me up. “What’s your worst habit?”
“I buy books faster than I read them. And I talk too much when I’m nervous.”
“That explains a lot.”
He’s finished his drink already, while I take a sip of mine. “Rude.”
“Merely an observation.”
“Fine,” I say. “Your turn. What’s yours?”
“Letting people think they’re in control when they’re not.”
My heart starts thumping.
“That’s a terrible habit.”
“You have no idea.” He gazes at me for a long moment. I’m vaguely aware of the hum of chatter and the clink of glasses going on somewhere around me, but it feels like it’s a world away. I don’t know what’s happening here and suddenly I feel completely out of my depth, my heart banging against my rib cage while I play this weird game without knowing the rules.
My eyes are bright and sparkling, and there’s a hectic flush to my cheeks when I go to the bathroom. I’ve never had much of a game face… in fact, Anna always says that whatever I’m thinking is pretty much written in capital letters for anyone to see. Right now, I’m half surprised not to see the words FUCK ME on my forehead.
When I get back, I have to squeeze by him to get into my chair. He’s standing up and I feel the heat of his skin through the still crisp white of his shirt.
“Sorry.”I’m not remotely sorry.
A half-smile lifts his mouth and his eyes darken as they meet mine. “I’m not complaining.”
“Tell me what you love about New York?”
He pushes his hands through his hair and frowns. “It’s not home, but it feels like it. I can be invisible here.”
“That makes sense. I like London for the same reason. Back home in Edinburgh, everyone knows everyone.”
He glances out of the window, the words almost casual. “And here we can do what we like.”
It’s a simple statement, but the meaning behind the words is clear. I nod, unable to stop smiling. “We can do anything we want.”
Rory glancesat my glass a couple of hours later. Somehow the place has emptied out while we’ve been talking, and now the lights are dim and the music’s low. “Another?”
I look up at the clock on the wall. “I should probably?—”
“No, you shouldn’t.”
My breath hitches. “You don’t know what I was going to say.”
He reaches over and cups my face. A wave of desire passes through me like an electric current and I bite down on my lower lip, my eyes meeting his.
“You were about to make an excuse, Edie, pretend you’re not thinking about this as much as I am, and then leave.”
He’s right. But not tonight. This is the one night of my life when I can pretend to be someone else, the sort of girl who says yes to everything everyday Edie wouldn’t dream of. “My hotel is around the corner,” I say instead.
He takes my hand and draws me up from the table.
“Then let’s go.”
