Matched to Her Rival
He had to chuckle. “Well played.”
Now that he’d defined it, the image of that woman wouldn’t dissolve. She didn’t have a face or a body type, but the blurred shape was there in his mind and he couldn’t shake it.
What was he supposed to do with that?
With a nod at his concession, Elise sipped her wine and contemplated him. “What do you do with your free time?”
Dax grinned and opted to bite back the inappropriate comment about his after-hours activities. “Should I pick something that makes it sound like I have an interesting hobby?”
“No, you should say what you like.”
“I like to people-watch,” he said.
“Tell me more about that. What’s great about people-watching?”
“Spoken in true therapist fashion.” He meant it as a joke and she took it as one. He liked amusing her, and it was easy to do so. “People-watching is the best way to figure out what motivates the masses. And it never gets old.”
She was really, really good at this, especially when he wasn’t trying to weasel his way out of having his psyche split open. Actually, she had a knack for yanking things out of his brain even when he was looking for a way to avoid answering her questions.
So there was no point in being anything less than honest. Plus, this environment, this bubble with only the two of them, created a sort of haven, where it didn’t seem so terrible to say whatever he felt.
“Go on,” she encouraged with a small wave. “Why do you have to figure out what motivates people?”
“Wakefield Media isn’t just a top-grossing media company. It’s a top-grossing company, period. That’s not an accident. I got a degree in psychology instead of business because it’s crucial to have a keen understanding of what brings people back for more, especially in the entertainment space.”
Wine and pizza totally forgotten, she listened with rapt attention as if he’d been outlining the secrets of the universe, which she couldn’t get enough of. “And people-watching helps?”
For a woman who’d moaned so appreciatively over the pizza, she had amazing willpower. She’d only eaten one piece. She was so interested in what he said, food took a backseat. It was a little heady to be worthy of so much focus.
“People can be notoriously loyal to certain shows, and conversely, very fickle. You’d be shocked at how much you can pick up about why when you just sit and observe how people interact.”
Her soft smile punched him in the gut. “Your insights must be something else.”
“I bet yours would be as good. Do it with me some time.”
Now why had he gone and said that? Hadn’t he gotten a big enough clue that she didn’t want to hang out with him? Look how hard it had been to get her to agree to pizza and a movie.
The wine must be messing with his head.
“I’d like that. It’s a date,” she said without a trace of sarcasm and he did a double take.
The wine was messing with her head too, obviously.
“A date that’s not a date because we’re not dating?” She’d been undeniably clear about that last night. Otherwise, he’d never have agreed to keep his hands off of her.
And look what that promise had netted him—this was bar none the most enjoyable evening he’d had in ages, including the ones that did involve sex.
“Right. We’re not dating. We’re...friends?” she offered hesitantly.
A denial sprang to his lips and then died. Friends. Is that what was happening here? Did that explain why he felt as though he could tell Elise anything?
“I don’t know. I’ve never been friends with a woman. Aren’t there rules?”
She made a face. “Like we’re not supposed to cancel our plans with each other when someone we are dating calls?”
“Like I’m not supposed to fantasize about kissing you again.” The answering heat in her expression told him volumes about her own fantasies. “Because if that’s against the rules, I can’t be friends with you.”
She looked down, that gorgeous blush staining her cheeks. “You’re not supposed to be doing that anyway. Regardless.”
He tipped up her chin and forced her to meet his eyes again because that heat in hers liquefied him. And he craved that feeling only she could produce. “I can’t stop.”
As he’d just broken his promise not to touch her, he tore his hand away from her creamy skin with reluctance and shoved it under his thigh.