“I’m still a goner.” His voice lowered to a dangerously sexy level. “You’ve always had that effect on me, Will. Hard to think when I’m around you.”
“If you think all this talk about our past and how hot we were for each other is paving the way for the two of us to end up in bed together tonight, you’ve got another thing coming,” she warned, refusing to fall for his charm.
Fine. She had the same issue as he did when she was with him. They spent a few minutes in each other’s company and next thing she knew, she was contemplating kissing him. Touching him. Allowing all the old hurt and long-held resentment to fade away until it was just the two of them. Alone. Together. Again.
Bad enough he tempted her, sitting there so close to her in an intimate booth, their thighs pressed together. All his hard, tantalizing heat searing her from the inside out, firing off all those sirens within her body, saying no, no, no.
More, more, more…
“So I hear from Sheridan your business has really taken off,” he said, as if he was just making idle conversation.
She knew he was probably digging, but for once, she didn’t care. They’d never really talked about her business before. Usually for Nick, when he saw her in his vicinity, it became all about the chase. “It has. That’s part of the reason I was looking for a new location. I need more space to make everything.”
“Cotton candy, huh?” He grinned, and the sight of it made her feel young. Free. Made her think of the
good times she shared with this man. “Now, I definitely think you’re sweet, but this is the last type of business I ever expected to see you doing.”
She stiffened her spine, going on the defensive. “More like you saw me as a spoiled little rich girl who lives on her daddy’s money?” Because that’s how everyone else saw her.
“No.” He drawled the word, his gaze locked on her face. “You were always filled with determination, Will. I figured you’d become a cutthroat lawyer like your daddy.”
Why his remark pleased her she wasn’t sure, but she didn’t have time to analyze it. “I thought about it at one point,” she admitted.
“I don’t doubt that whatsoever. Cavanaugh and Cavanaugh sounds downright frightening.” He smiled. “So come on, tell me about your business.”
Wariness settled over her. Why did he care? “I know, it’s totally crazy. But it’s also a lot of fun. And different. Not that many people have cotton candy at their parties, or baby showers or bachelorette parties, you know? And everyone loves cotton candy, right?”
“Absolutely. I’ve always been a fan of sweets.” His gaze heated as it roamed over her, and she had the distinct feeling he wasn’t talking about food.
“The flavors I come up with, I try and make them unique. And they’re all organic, made with no dyes or preservatives.” Excitement bubbled up within her. She enjoyed talking about her business. She was proud of it, of what she’d come up with. “People with allergies can eat my cotton candy. And my cotton candy cocktails have become a real hit, too. It’s crazy, how I’ve been so busy.”
“You’re smart, Will. I always had faith that you’d go far no matter what you did.” His smile faded, though his eyes still sparkled. She could drown in them if she let herself. “You should be proud.”
“I don’t have anything to be proud of yet,” she said quickly. Because really, she wasn’t a complete success. A business took a long time to build, as her father not-so-kindly told her over and over again. When he wasn’t trying to force money on her to “invest.” She didn’t know how many times she’d have to refuse him before he got the hint.
“Don’t downplay your skills, darlin’.” Reaching out, he drifted his fingers across her cheek, his feather light touch making her insides quiver. “You used to do that when we were together. You’d downplay everything. Even that pretty face of yours.”
And that’s all he cared about, right? Her pretty face? Ouch. She so didn’t need that reminder. “Let’s just leave the past in the past. These dates we’re going on mean nothing, you know,” she said defensively, inwardly wincing. God, she sounded like such a bitch, and she didn’t mean to. But all the remembering was making her uncomfortable.
His hand dropped from her face, his good mood gone thanks to her. “Of course they mean nothing,” he mumbled. “Not to you especially.”
She slid down the bench, immediately missing him, which was so stupid. He was blackmailing her into this entire situation. So why did they both seem to keep forgetting that very important fact? “I’m doing this to get my new building and to somehow amuse you. That’s it. Don’t read anything into it.”
His gaze darkened as he stared at her hard. “Tell me you didn’t just feel something between us.”
She pressed her lips together for fear she’d say something stupid like, take me now.
“Tell me I mean nothing to you. That every time I kiss you—hell, look at you—you don’t want me.” His eyes smoldered as he moved toward her.
“You’re such an arrogant ass,” she whispered, wishing she could escape. But he had her effectively trapped in the booth.
And he knew it, too.
“Hey, aren’t you Nick Hamilton?”
They both turned to find two boys standing by their table, their eyes round as saucers. One of them wore a Hawks team jersey.
With Nick’s number emblazoned on the front.