What would she look like at his beach house … wearing nothing but something decadent from Victoria’s Secret and standing in front of the wide windows on just such a gorgeous night?
“You’re more beautiful than the ocean at sunset.”
Her eyes shot to his.
Oh, shit … so he had said that out loud. He shrugged. No use pretending that wasn’t exactly how he felt.
The brief flash of a smile tugged at her mouth.
“So, my professional take on this place up till now is neutral.”
Edward relaxed, relieved she was going to let his blurted comment slide. This out-in-public thing was hard on both of them. Being on middle ground, where his alter ego was the main player, was probably not the time to express his desires.
“First, it was obvious you aren’t a regular here by the behavior of the parking attendant and front end staff. Having Gideon Shaw in their midst was unexpected.”
Hmph. She was good. “How could you tell?”
She was blushing. Good lord! Paige Turner was blushing. Tugging the hem of her dress down, unnecessarily in his opinion, she made a cute moue with her mouth and snorted. “The hostess all but whipped off her panties and stuffed ‘em in your suit pocket.”
Had she? He hadn’t noticed. Not when the lady by his side was earning the appreciative gaze of every man in her vicinity. Shit, to be honest, that hostess could have stripped naked, jumped up on the bar, and sang “It’s Raining Men,” and he wouldn’t have blinked.
“Then, the waiter had to ask for your drink order. If you were in any way a regular, he’d have known your preferences and been prepared with some waitery-shtick. He also wouldn’t have had to explain the chef’s special in such specific detail.”
She sat back and looked at him with comic triumph. “Plus, you gave poor Chase a heart attack when you turned green while he gushed about the squid pasta.” She chuckled, reaching for her drink, and smiled mischievously. “I think he was worried you were going to hurl on his shoes.”
Edward shared her laughter, murmuring, “I’m sorry, but the words ‘squid’ and ‘pasta’ should never be used in the same sentence.”
“It’s not what you think,” she teased. “Your reaction was hilarious, but I get what you’re saying.” Her mocking smile made it hard not to kiss the smirk off her pretty face.
A soft, warm ocean breeze swept across the patio. The occasional gusts made more and more tendrils of her hair escape confinement. As if he’d been doing it for a thousand years, he reached for the wayward curls and feathered them softly behind her ear. The act felt so natural and easy. He liked this new aspect of being with Paige. The touching. Yep. He liked it very much.
“I see why it’s such a trendy restaurant. They’ve covered all the bases starting with a fantastic menu.” She wiggled on the loveseat and turned toward the ocean. “And seriously …” Her voice lowered with a conspiratorial inflection. “This view. I mean … come on. When nature is the lead designer, well …” Her swift shrug was so damn cute.
He remembered her saying something similar when they were viewing the Wyoming property for his folks. Somehow, the gods saw it fit to bless him with an outdoor girl who took stopping to smell the roses to an eleven. Or maybe even a twelve.
When she turned back, Paige leaned close and ducked her head briefly then met his gaze with a bashful, hesitant grin. “Thanks for bringing me here. I know how much you love sushi …”
Goddamn, she was charming as shit. Keeping things light and humorous was working well, so he cut off her little speech with a provocative comeback.
“Yeah, well,” he wagged his eyebrows and growled, “I figured watching you eat slimy raw fish was a surefire way to douse the flames. Make sure you get safely home without being defiled along the way.”
He shuddered with mock dramatic emphasis and ground out a gag-worthy, “Blech.”
Paige’s gurgling laugh was music to his ears so when her hand shot out and smacked him hard on the chest, he was startled and raised his hands to ward off her attack.
“Asshole.” She snickered, smacking him again as he tried in vain to fend her off.
“Don’t make me haul you over my knee, young lady,” he barked.
Before he knew it, they were playing handsies on the beach patio of Nobu where everyone could see their antics. She’d try to whack him, and he’d smack her hands away and laugh. They were putting on quite a show.
“Hey, wait a minute.” In the blink of an eye, she went from playful to Nancy Drew. “What’ve you got stashed in your coat pocket?”
Leaping on him, she had the advantage of surprise until he realized what was happening. Stopping her questing fingers from slipping inside his coat until she zeroed in on the pocket, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her close.
Thinking they were still kidding around, she struggled against the restraint and nudged him with her body. If he were to lean back any further, she’d be lying on top of him. This was getting out of hand. Moving the wrist he held behind her back, he grabbed the hand still roaming his chest and pressed her fingers till they stilled.
“Enough,” he growled. “This isn’t the place … or the time.”
She immediately stopped moving. Hell. She might even have stopped breathing. He wasn’t sure. They stared at each other in silence for a long time. Sweat broke out at his hairline as he watched her face. She was biting and wetting her lips, her eyes glittering. Just as he began to speak, she interrupted.
“I was serious about the water torture. Cut it out, Ed … er, uh, Gideon. There’s no time like the present, so either put up or shut up.”
What the hell was he up to? Not having a clear picture of the situation was worrisome and threw her off. She’d just been kidding about whatever he had stashed in his pocket, but his swift reaction stunned her into silence.
Was he wired? The assumption, though ridiculous, matched his unusual response and showed her how far her imagination was willing to go. Did not help any that he was restraining her or that people were watching. And snickering.
Shit.
“I have to visit the ladies’ room,” she announced out of the blue. It was the only thing she could think of that would quickly get them both sitting up again.
Edward reacted as any guy would, practically jumping up as he glanced around looking for the restrooms. Nodding to the back corner, he muttered, “I think it’s over there.”
Embarrassed, although not sure why, Paige pulled it together and finally stood up, pushing the short black dress into some sort of order.
He wasn’t looking at her, and she didn’t miss the way his hand slid to the inner pocket she’d been trying to investigate.
The silence was awkward—just what they didn’t need.
“Look, I’m sorry if I was overstepping.” She was babbling and couldn’t help the terse head shake and eye roll that followed her lame apology. The put up or shut up comment might have been a road too far. “I’ll behave.”
She didn’t know why she said that—it was so unlike her. But aware of the many curious eyes observing them, she was reminded that they were there for a reason and that they were playing parts.
Edward surprised her by wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her against his warm body.
“Like hell you will, Paige Turner. I don’t want you to behave, and you weren’t overstepping, babe. Just caught me by surprise, that’s all.”
Her eyes darted around the patio. The way he was holding her left little to the imagination as far as the nature of their relationship was concerned.
“And we’re not putting on a show.” He said it like the notion was an insult.
She sighed and patted his chest. When he put a finger under her chin and lifted her face, it was a struggle not to get lost in his startling blue-eyed gaze.