Page 29 of Abduction
IFOLLOWED HIM OUTof the sushi place, a nagging voice at the back of my mind telling me to get out of there before I did something I couldn’t take back.
But I didn’t want this to be over. This night was the most fun I’d had in weeks, the closest I had come to actually getting Aaron and his weirdness out of my head in way too long, and I didn’t want it to end so soon. I loved being with Josh. The way he talked to me, the way he looked at me, it was as though he couldn’t get enough of my presence. It had been a long, long time since someone had made me feel that way, and I didn’t want to give it up.
He steered me, his hand on the small of my back, through the streets. I hadn’t really spent much time in this part of the city before, but he seemed to know it well. He fit in, with the people walking by us, dressed well, striding with confidence as though they owned the place. I was still trying to get my bag to sit right over my shoulder, and Josh glanced around and held out his hand.
“What?” I asked, confused.
“Let me take that,” he told me, and he didn’t wait for an answer before he lifted it off my shoulder and draped it over his. He was a real gentleman, I had to admit that, but I knew he was putting on this front to make sure I saw the best side of him. I didn’t know what kind of person he might have been in the real world, day after day. I couldn’t let myself get caught up in this version of him. I didn’t even know if it was real yet.
“Thanks,” I mumbled. Honestly, it feltsogood to have someone actually look out for me like this, someone who seemed intent on doing everything they could to make my life easier. Things had been so stressful in the last few weeks; there was a huge relief in just being able to let go and let someone else take the lead.
Aaron would have flipped if he knew I was out with another man, but it wasn’t like anything had happened between us. Not yet, anyway. I had caught Josh’s gaze on my lips a few times during dinner, and I had done my best to pretend like I didn’t see it, even though it was the only thing I could think about.
We had come so close to kissing in the aquarium, and God, I was already craving more, more, more. I wanted to kiss him. I wanted him to kiss me. I wanted to forget I was engaged and pretend I was nothing more than a single girl out with a guy who seemed intent on spoiling her, even if it wasn’t true. I didn’t know how much longer I could keep up the pretense, but I didn’t want it to end yet.
“Where are we going?” I asked him. Was he taking me back to his place? I should have put up more of a fight, but I was totally intrigued now. How could I not be? This guy seemed to have the run of the city—he certainly believed he did, anyway—and I knew his place must have been gorgeous.
Or maybe I was just trying to find a good excuse to go back there because I wanted nothing more than to be alone with him right now. Even if I was certain it would be more than a little dangerous to allow myself that much time up close and personal with him.
“You’ll see,” he replied simply, flashing me a grin over his shoulder. God, he had the most gorgeous smile. I felt the now-familiar flutter in my chest, telling me I was in serious trouble here, and I didn’t want it to stop.
Eventually, we came to a halt outside an old-fashioned jewelry store—rings, diamonds, earrings, and more glittered on soft silk in the window, and he pushed the door open and strolled inside.
“Aren’t they shut already?” I asked him, confused.
“They’ll stay open for me,” he replied. He had total confidence in himself, but maybe it was well-earned. Whatever he did for a living, he clearly had this city in the palm of his hand. My mind was starting to race, wondering if I had seen him before. The cogs were starting to turn in my brain as I tried to work out what he might have done or be doing to earn this kind of reputation.
Maybe I didn’t want to know.
He strolled up to the counter, and I followed behind him. I had no idea what we were doing here—maybe he was going to try to get me to return my ring, or something. No way would I have gone through with that, but hey, perhaps it would do me good to at least consider it...
“Let me see that one,” he told the woman behind the counter, pointing to a beautiful, white-gold tennis bracelet placed delicately on the puffy white velvet beneath the glass of the counter. The woman nodded at once, whisking it out and placing it on the desk in front of us.
“Wonderful choice, sir,” she murmured, and he took my hand and rested it on the counter. Slowly, he lifted the bracelet from the setting and clipped it around my wrist. I was so stunned I couldn’t say anything for a moment. I had never seen anything this fancy or expensive on me before, and there was no way in hell he could be offering to buy it for me. Could there?
“Looks perfect on you,” he told me, and I stared at him.
“Josh, what are you trying to do here?”
“I’ll take it,” Josh told the woman behind the desk, turning back to her. She smiled and nodded and dipped out to pull together everything she would need for such a payment.
“Josh, please tell me you’re just testing this on me and you’re getting it for someone else,” I asked him.
“It’s for you,” he replied, calmly, as though it should have been obvious. “Look at it on your wrist. You can’t tell me it doesn’t look perfect.”
I twisted my arm around, watching as the immaculate bracelet caught the light. He was right. It really did look good on me. But that didn’t mean I was going to accept such a ridiculously extravagant gift from a man I hardly knew.
“I can’t accept this,” I told him. “Look at how much it costs. There’s no way—”
“It’s not an issue,” he replied, cutting me off. He clearly wasn’t going to take no for an answer. I didn’t know how to convince him to see it from my point of view. As soon as he had clipped this thing on to my wrist, he had made his choice, and I wasn’t going to be able to argue with him.
“I wouldn’t feel right, taking it,” I told him.
“Think of it as a gift,” he replied. “To remind you of how much you’re worth.”
I knew there was going to be no arguing with him. I didn’t know how I was going to explain this thing on my arm, but I didn’t want to take it off. It was the sweetest gift anyone had ever gotten me, and he wasn’t acting like he expected anything in return for it. The woman appeared at the counter once more, and he paid for the bracelet before I could say another word.
“It’s yours now,” he remarked, smiling as I admired my new piece. It was on the same hand as my engagement ring. I would have to change that. There was something strange about seeing them so close together—one man who wanted me to realize my worth, and the other who seemed all too willing to brush it off as though it had never mattered in the first place.
