“Oh, I think you’ve heard more than enough of my rambling tale of woe.” I tried to joke, but it came out a little too sharp. I didn’t do embarrassed well.
“Not talking about that story.” He made a dismissive gesture before taking a drink of his coffee. “I mean, it sucks, and I feel bad you got a raw deal like that. Bastard could have told you about the wedding at the very least. But you need a positive change in subject.”
“I do.” On that, we were agreed. And I did appreciate his empathy and the obvious care he’d shown by feeding me and helping me last night. I probably needed to settle down.
“Good. Then tell me all about you being kinky.”
Or not.
Four
Quinn
“Excuse me, what?” If this were a cartoon, my jaw would have slammed into the table. Forget settling down. Shock gave way to jittery nerves that made my hand shake on my coffee cup. What had I done?
“Boy, you really don’t remember much of last night, do you?” Adam shook his head, all fake sadness and scolding. He seemed to be having great fun with this. “And I guess some of that is on me.”
“You did mix the drinks.” And I did the ordering and the drinking, but right then, I needed something, anything, else to blame.
“I did.” Adam shrugged, completely unperturbed by my attitude. “I didn’t expect you to get blackout drunk, but I clearly underestimated how much of a lightweight you are.”
“I’m not—” I took a breath and considered where I was and why. “Okay, maybe I am.”
“And that’s not all I underestimated.” He regarded me pointedly, eyes half-lidded, expression full of sexy intent.
My stomach fluttered. I’d like that look of his so much more if I wasn’t also swamped with dread.
“What did I say?” Sweat gathered on the small of my back. “Or…do?”
Small snippets came floating back. Flirting. Thank you, Daddy. Oh. Hell. I really had let it all hang out, hadn’t I? Kinky, he’d called it, like it was another conversation topic instead of something I reserved for incognito browser searches, late-night fantasies that no one else was supposed to know about.
And damn all the alcohol. If I’d actually gotten to act on those fantasies and couldn’t remember a darn thing, that was just cruel. An involuntary agonized noise escaped my throat.
“We didn’t do anything. I promise you that.” Adam turned surprisingly serious as he quickly patted my hand again.
“I believe you.” And damn, I was lucky because plenty of guys wouldn’t have an issue with a drunken hookup. But Adam had taken care of me. Even as I’d said ridiculous things.
“Trust me, if we hook up, you’re going to remember it.” The sexy leer was back.
If. The word hung between us. He was teasing, right? Not only did the guy look like he could star in all that porn I pretended not to know about, but he’d seen me at my drunken worst. No way did he want to hook up with me. But on the off chance he was serious, I needed to rejoin the land of responsible decisions, stat.
But being naughty would feel so much better.
“We’re not hooking up.”
“We could.” Shrugging, he polished off the last of his eggs. “But even if we’re not, I’m still curious.”
I bit my lip. I felt unreasonably irked, and I wasn’t sure if it was because of his curiosity about my personal life or the way he’d presented the option of hooking up as casually as he’d recite the beer-on-tap options to a bar customer. “You are rather inquisitive, aren’t you?”
“My sister says I get my nosiness from my mom. It’s what makes me good at what I do. I get people chatting, and I don’t mind listening.”
“And then you take them home? That’s part of the job too?”
“Not usually.” His raised eyebrow reminded me I wasn’t being fair. It was more than evident that Adam was a good guy and not a player. “But last night, you wouldn’t tell me where you live, and I was tired.”
“Sorry. That was rude.”
“It’s okay. Honestly, drunk as you were, it’s probably good you weren’t alone. You needed someone to make you hydrate.” He pointed at my water again, and I obediently took a sip. His answering pleased nod made my belly all warm and reminded me again how foolish it would be to indulge all the yearning he induced.
“Thank you. I feel bad that saving me from the results of drunken idiocy fell to you.” I got along well with my coworkers but didn’t have many non-work friends in town. I’d been in hibernation mode for so long that I’d forgotten what a social life felt like. Adam’s kindness last night was proof that friends were necessary.
“Bad enough to tell me more of your secrets?” He waggled his eyebrows at me.