Page 4 of Make Me Sin (Bad Habit 2)
“A.J.,” Nico warns, but I hold up a hand.
Without looking away from A.J., I say to Nico and Kat, “Could you guys excuse us for a second?”
There’s a long, uncomfortable silence. I refuse to break eye contact with A.J. From beneath the collar of his black T-shirt, a flush creeps up his neck.
Fine. Be angry. I’ve had enough.
“We’ll be in your office.” Kat takes Nico’s hand, and then A.J. and I are alone.
He pulls himself up to his full height, folds his arms across his chest, and looks down his nose at me. Which means I have to look up—at five foot ten, this is an unusual experience for me. And today I’m in low heels, so my height is easily over six feet . . . and I’m still looking up. Way up.
I can never wear heels around Eric. I banish that thought as quickly as it arrives.
I demand, “What’s your problem with me?”
I’ll give him this: the guy has an amazing poker face. There’s not a single telling change in his expression. He doesn’t even blink.
He also doesn’t answer.
I scowl at him. “Fine. I suppose it doesn’t really matter. But Kat and Nico matter. And their wedding matters. And whatever the reason is that you hate me so much—not that I think I’ve done anything to deserve it, but whatever—I won’t let you ruin what’s supposed to be the happiest time in their lives by being so . . . so . . .”
“Mean?” he supplies with a smirk, seeming almost satisfied.
“Selfish,” I correct with quiet vehemence.
Now he blinks. Then his brows lower. A crackle of something passes between us, bright as danger.
“Selfish,” he repeats. His gaze, electrifying, flicks over me. He takes a step forward, staring into my eyes. This close I can see the flecks of brown and green in his gold irises. His lashes are impossibly long, golden brown and thick. He leans in and softly says, “Princess, you have no fucking idea what you’re talking about.”
My heart pounds wildly. He’s big, and probably dangerous—did I read somewhere he’d spent time in prison for assault?—but I’m not afraid of him. What I’m feeling isn’t as clear-cut as fear. I have to take a slow, steadying breath before I speak. “The wedding is only a few months away. After that, we never have to see each other again. Let’s just try to ignore each other until then. For Kat and Nico’s sake. Okay?”
There’s another long, uncomfortable silence. A.J.’s gaze on me is burning. I catch a whiff of him, a warm, masculine scent of skin and musk and maybe cigarette smoke. I notice details about him I’ve never noticed before, like the way his hair is every shade of blond, from darkest copper to palest wheat. It needs to be cut. Stubble glints gold along his jaw. There’s a small white scar above his left eyebrow. On his neck, there’s a tattoo that disappears into his collar. I can just make out the shape of a cross.
His gaze drops to my mouth. When he looks into my eyes again, his voice is husky. “You were wrong, before.”
Confused, I frown. “About what?”
His jaw works. For the first time, there’s a flash of emotion in his eyes, something other than contempt. “About not doing anything to make me hate you. You’ve done plenty.”
He turns on his heel and stalks away, out of my shop. I stand frozen, watching him go, watching as a white convertible Audi pulls up to the curb and a woman waves from it.
The brunette.
A.J. swings his bulk into the passenger seat, slams shut the door, shoots me a smirk, and they’re gone. I release the breath I didn’t know I’d been holding. So much for trying to strike a peace accord with the fire-breathing dragon.
I won’t make the same mistake again.
And Kat owes me ten bucks.
By the time I get home from work, it’s dark, there’s no parking available on the street, and the migraine that had been threatening me earlier has descended in full force. My head feels as if it will explode.
I wish it would. Then at least I wouldn’t have to deal with the play-by-play, slow motion reruns my brain is torturing me with of the meeting with the Jerk today. At least Kat and Nico were happy with the way the meeting went. I fibbed and told them A.J. and I made a truce so they wouldn’t worry my feelings had been hurt. They have more important things to think about. Then I told the truth and said he’d left to spend some time with his new special friend he’d met in the candle aisle. Kat snorted. Nico rolled his eyes, trying to hide a smile, and said, “Figures.”
It “figures” that he runs off with a woman he just met to have sex. Probably amazing, animalistic sex. In her convertible.
In my next life, I want to come back as a rock star.
I circle the block four times, crawling through traffic, until finally someone pulls out from the curb just in front of me and I whip into his spot before it’s stolen by all the other apartment dwellers circling behind.
