Con’s eyes lit with something I couldn’t identify. But I was pretty sure it wasn’t defeat. It looked a lot more like… victory.
“So the flip side of your statement means that you wouldn’t have a problem dating someone like me under the radar.”
When had a shot with me moved to dating? Was that really what he wanted? Con didn’t even like me. None of this made sense.
“Why would you even want that? I mean, if I were you, I wouldn’t bother with someone who wasn’t willing to stand beside me in public.” I knew I was damning my own cause with that statement, but it had to be said.
He leaned back against the paneled wall and watched me. With the licks of ink escaping from beneath the crisp, white collar and cuffs of his shirt, his unruly hair, and relaxed stance, he looked like he should be posing for the Toss Me Your Panties calendar. Stop thinking about him like that, dammit.
“I’m not a regular guy, Van. I’ve spent years in the shadows, and I have no problem with staying there.”
“And what exactly does that mean?” I asked.
“You don’t need to know. Suffice it to say, whatever happens between us, for now, I don’t want it to be any more public than you do.”
My mouth fell open into a little O, and a small, vain part of me burned to know why Con Leahy wouldn’t want the world to know he was dating me.
Con pushed off the wall and strode toward me. Three steps and he was once again too close for comfort.
“So what do ya say, princess? Ready to make a deal?”
A deal. I could make a deal. Holy crap, am I really considering this? Yes. Yes, I was.
“Give me your terms, then.”
Con grinned. “You agree to be where I say, when I say, for the next… let’s say… six weeks.”
“Six weeks?” My voice pitched higher with surprise.
“You think I can melt the ice queen faster than that?”
I glared at his use of my least favorite nickname. “I can’t do six weeks. I need the deed before the demolition.”
“One month,” he offered.
“Three weeks,” I countered.
“Done.” The word was a decree, but I wasn’t satisfied yet.
“What if you don’t feel like you got your ‘fair shot’ with me? Would you back out and leave me hanging?”
“Guess you’ll just have to trust me. And actually give me that shot.”
I arched a brow. “Trust you? You want me to put my entire career on the line, and your only reassurance is ‘trust me’?”
“It’s called a leap of faith, princess. Besides, you got any better alternatives?”
I didn’t—and he knew it.
I inhaled a shallow breath and asked, “What about sex? Because if you think that’s a given, you’ve got another thing coming.”
His lazy grin was pure sin. “Sweetheart, if I can’t get you in my bed in three weeks, I don’t deserve to call myself a man. And when I get you there, it won’t have jack shit to do with that deed.”
Heat streaked up my body, licking at my chest and neck. I was getting in way over my head. He was too confident. But what other choice did I really have?
I held out my hand, pleased to see it wasn’t shaking. “It’s a deal.”
Con came toward me slowly, and took my hand but didn’t shake it like I’d anticipated. Instead, he backed me into the corner one more time.
“This ain’t the kind of deal you seal with a handshake.”
Shock prevented my protest from forming, because the only thing I could focus on was Con’s mouth descending on mine. His big hands cradled my jaw and angled my head. His lips were hot as they took mine, his tongue delving inside. It wasn’t a polite kiss. It was a show of dominance. Memories of that night rushed back, and goose bumps prickled along my skin. By the time Con lifted his head, we’d sealed the deal so well I was going to need to change my panties.
I made my way back to the table, legs shaking and mind racing with what I’d just done. With what I’d just agreed to do. I was dating Con Leahy in secret… Sweet baby Jesus.
Before I’d left the coatroom, hopefully a discreet few minutes before he did, Con had programmed his number into my phone and texted himself. Given that our schedules were both relatively flexible, he’d said he would text me the time and location of our first rendezvous.
Oh God. Our rendezvous. The forbidden thrill that shot through me almost had me stumbling on the carpet in front of five hundred people.
When I reached the table, I’d completely missed the first course and was arriving just in time for the main course. Waving off the server with his plate of chicken and keeping the salad that had been laid at my place, I offered up some lame excuse about getting stuck on a call and apologizing for my tardiness. I purposefully did not look for Con, but a fanciful part of me thought I could feel his eyes on me.
I went to pull out my chair, but Lucas beat me to it.
“Let me.” I smiled up at him as he pushed it in while I sat. He had pretty manners; even though I had a feeling he didn’t grow up in circumstances where they would have been emphasized.
I reached for my napkin and jumped when the woman to my left asked me to pass the salt and pepper.
“Is everything okay, Ms. Frost?” Lucas’s voice was smooth and concerned.
“Yes, just fine. A little distracted from my… phone call. A million things to worry about with this… building project.”
“Yes, I often have… calls… that are distracting. And you’re very diligent if you’re continuing to work well into the evening while you’re here representing your family as well as the foundation.”