Page 14 of Courting Gossip (Courting)
He put the photograph back, but continued to stare at it. ‘I thought you said you liked to keep your business and personal lives separate.’
‘Salvatore is my friend. We get along great.’
‘He was also one of your clients.’
Her breath caught. ‘You don’t know that.’
Nina was super-stealthy. Genieve didn’t even know who some of the other Luxxor escorts had as exclusive clients.
He turned and simply lifted an eyebrow.
Damn it. ‘How do you know that?’ she demanded.
His expression turned even more dour. ‘You just told me.’
He started up the stairs to help her when he saw the bag.
Genieve hated it, but her feelings were hurt. ‘So you’re saying I couldn’t get a man like Salvatore if I wasn’t an escort?’
‘You could get any man you want.’
Their fingers brushed as he took the suitcase from her, and she felt a spark that made electricity dance along her skin.
‘Why not him?’ she asked breathlessly.
Standing on the step below her, he was right at eye level with her.
‘You don’t fit,’ he said.
‘We fit great.’
His eyes flared, and Genieve felt colour explode in her face. She hadn’t meant sexually. She couldn’t hold his look. Apparently, she’d saved an entire year’s worth of embarrassment for just one night.
‘For short term, maybe,’ he said quietly, ‘but he’s a jock. I’ve heard him interviewed. Eventually, he’d bore you.’
It was true. She and the tennis player had fun together, but Salvatore was a playboy. He didn’t get half of her jokes, and he wasn’t long-term material.
Not that she’d ever thought about that.
‘Who would I fit with?’ As soon as the words were out, Genieve wanted them back. She and Salvatore got along famously, but she’d never let him into her personal world. Yet here was Brody Haynes, spin doctor to the politicians. They had no history, they didn’t get along, and he was in her home, her private turf, in the middle of the night.
Genieve closed her mouth tight, but he remained where he was, watching her. He made her uncomfortable when he did that. It was like he was trying to read the thoughts that always seemed to be running through her head. She pushed her hair over her shoulder, but slowed when he followed the movement.
Awareness suddenly sparked in the air.
He was close. So close.
‘You need someone who challenges you, someone who makes you use that smart mouth for more than just kissing.’
Their breaths seemed to sync, and his eyelids got heavy. It made her realise how long his eyelashes were. Right there on the staircase, Genieve’s body melted. The unanswered ache in her core returned. She lifted her hand to catch the railing when she felt herself leaning towards him. All she wanted to do was curl up against that hard body and let him make her forget about everything that had happened tonight.
And about all the reasons why he didn’t like her.
The pang in her chest was sharp. ‘So where are you taking me?’ she asked quietly.
His gaze drifted up from her mouth to her eyes. There was flintiness in it, but something brighter in the depths. ‘For tonight, at least, you’re coming home with me.’
