His shit-eating grin tells me he indeed listened to the conversation. “You could have been firmer. Now he’ll keep pestering you.”
“Maybe I’ll change my mind,” I tease.
His grin fades a tad. “So you’ll go out with him?”
I give a noncommittal shrug, curious to see where he’s going with this.
“What do you see in him?”
“He’s a nice guy!”
“He’s a wimp.”
“You don’t even know him.”
“What else?”
“What else what?”
“What else do you like in him?”
“His British accent.”
Nate snorts, shaking his head. “I’ll never understand women’s fascination with the British accent. Anyone can fake it. ‘I’ll have a bloody gin tonic, please.’”
I dismiss his impression of an accent with a wave of my hand. “Fake accents are like fake orgasms. All noise, no substance.”
Nate’s irises instantly darken and he rises from the table, stalking in my direction.
“If you had to fake orgasms, you’ve been dating the wrong men, love.”
Damn. He says that typical British endearment word without any accent, but I’m tempted to double-check if my underwear is still in place or if it spontaneously vanished into thin air. I’m in such trouble. Shrugging one shoulder, I try not to let on how much his proximity affects me. I’m not sure I’m succeeding.
“That’s why I’m still looking.”
“A word of advice? Colin won’t cut it.”
“Because he’s nice? Nice guys don’t hurt women.”
“Getting bored to death is also a form of pain. Should be officially considered an affliction.”
“You know what’s a pain? You!” I point my forefinger at him, following every word with a sharp tap on his chest. “You’re a pain in my ass.”
“Why, because I’m telling you the truth?”
“Yes,” I admit, dropping my hand to the side, recognizing defeat. “I was just messing with you. I have no intentions of going out with Colin. Turned him down a couple of times, but he’s persistent.”
“Be firmer.”
“I will next time. He weaseled out before I could today.” Out of the corner of my eye, a movement at the entrance of the restaurant catches my eye. “Damn, he’s coming back.”
“You want him to stop asking you out?”
“Yes.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.”