Page 42 of Crossing the Line
Nipping at My Heels
Paisley Grove
Weaving through the tables, I glance over my left shoulder. Treasure was right—Hercules is following me. She said he would, and he is.
“He’s staring at you like you’re his lost puppy and Mommy says he can’t have you back,” Treasure said. We discussed this scenario beforehand, and Treasure gave me instructions. “Get up and go to the private bathrooms. He’ll follow you, and when you get him alone, tell him to knock it off because people are starting to notice.” She then passed me a keycard to the VIP lounge and bathroom and pointed me in the direction I should go.
I enter a dimly lit hallway with blue lights. Hercules catches the door before it closes.
“Paisley,” he calls.
My heart is stomping beats as his voice sends a giddy thrill through me. Maybe being alone with him in such a sexy atmosphere wasn’t a good idea. Plus, there’s more nagging at me than Hercules being here with Lauren. My cousin is not the sort who throws empty insults to win a spat. When she referred to me as dull, she meant it.
But then Lake said Hercules was exciting. I never knew that about him. I’ve known him for the longest amount of time, but she has had more quality time with him since her fiancé is his best friend.
His footfalls speed up. I slow down to let him catch up to me. When he’s close enough, I turn around, and we’re standing face-to-face.
“Hey,” he whispers and then swallows audibly.
“You didn’t tell me you were going to dinner with your fiancée this morning.” My tone is harsher than I want it to be. Maybe a dull person cares about hurting other people’s feelings even when they deserve it.
“The date wasn’t my call. I’m just doing my duty, PG. You know that. We talked about it.”
My face collapses into a severe frown. “When did we talk about you going on a double date with your fiancée, your brother, and…?” I recall what Treasure said about Orion’s date. She accused her of being a high-class prostitute. “Is Orion’s date a call girl?”
Staring into Hercules’s confused eyes, I’m wondering why I asked that. Maybe I need Treasure to be wrong. If she’s wrong about Orion’s date, then she might be wrong about me being dull too.
“Yes,” Hercules bluntly replies.
Damn it.His answer hits me like a wall of wind. His brother’s out with a prostitute, and he’s with his fake fiancée. There’s something grossly wrong about that.
I shake my head. “You know what? I don’t want to be your friend. Just leave me alone.”
His strong hands clamp down on my waist before I’m able to walk away. “Paisley, come on—we talked about this. I told you my family is making me marry her for the money. But I’m trying to figure a way out of it.”
“Well, it doesn’t look like it to me,” I say, unable to get the two of them out of my head. Hercules and Lauren are aesthetically the perfect couple. Now that I think about it, they resemble each other, and that could be because they’re related.Gross.
Hercules’s eyes chase mine until I’m looking at him again. I want to turn away from him, but I can’t. His hands hold me tighter, and he tips back as he draws me closer, never losing sight of my face.
“I don’t want you to stop being my friend, PG. We’re supposed to get to know each other better, remember? Don’t you want more doughnuts?” He cracks a tiny smile. “I’ll get you more doughnuts.”
Oh God, I want to kiss him so badly. But all I can think about is him and Lauren. “Am I dull?” The words just sort of fall out of my mouth on their own.
He’s frowning sympathetically. “No. Why did you ask me that?”
Closing my eyes, I shake my head. I don’t want to repeat what Treasure said about me. Maybe he’ll believe it. After all, she knows me better than he does.
“Paisley.” There's need in the way he whispers my name.
My inhalations are deep, and exhalations spread wide across his face. I feel as if I’m falling apart.Who could have guessed my day would start with that arbitration hearing and end with Hercules and me alone in a hallway of the restaurant that my cousin has revealed she owns?One thing is for sure—unlike me, Treasure is full of surprises.
“Open your eyes,” Hercules says.
I can feel his mouth nearer to mine. I think maybe I should start being full of surprises too. Maybe I’ll start with a forbidden kiss.
A soft but piercing beep reverberates through the hallway. Hercules and I take a quick step away from each other. The door opens, and a woman in a revealing black dress that fits her body like a glove glances at me before keeping her eyes posted on Hercules. Her walk has turned slinkier, more seductive. I’m not surprised. He’s just the sort of man who inspires that kind of response from the opposite sex.
Hercules is frowning at her as if he is put off that she’s disturbed our privacy. I take advantage of the moment to break out of his hold and rush to the door.
The last thing I hear him say is “PG.”
But I don’t turn around to look at him again. I’ve freed myself from the sexual magnetism that exists between us, at least for now.
