Seduced (Surrender #3)(30)
Author: Melody Anne

If she had only two nights left, then this was the way to end things.

“Do I inspire you?” she asked, knowing she shouldn’t fish for compliments, but unable to help herself.

“Oh, yes. You have greatly inspired me, Rachel. I fear letting you go won’t be such an easy endeavor.”

The serious look in his eyes had her heart racing.

No. She had to change the subject. They must keep their affair light and brief. It was the only way. Looking around, she saw that no one else was in the room with them yet, making her bold.

“Well, then, you’d better hold on tight while we still have time,” she said as she rose from the table, and slowly walked to him, sitting down on his lap.

“I will learn your secrets, Rachel. I have decided I want to know them.”

Rachel leaned in and kissed him, needing to distract them both before she made a fool of herself.

Chapter Eighteen

Ari

“…Then my wife took all the furniture and I walked into the house to find nothing but dust balls all over the place. It wasn’t bad enough that she had to clear me out, but she was a slob on top of it. I can’t stand filth. A woman should care enough about her home to want to keep it clean.”

Ari had to fight to keep from chewing out Dr. Lynn Sherman, the world’s most boring podiatrist, who just happened to be sitting across from her at the nice Italian restaurant. She was thankful for the decent wine, because if she hadn’t had it, she might not have been able to hold her tongue. Not that she should have had to.

She was also ready to kill her friend Amber, who had set her up on the date. Paybacks were definitely in order!

“I’m sorry to hear that,” she finally replied when she was sure she could say it with as little sarcasm as possible.

“Do you cook, Ari?”

“Um, well, I guess I cook. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I cook well, but I know the basics,” she said with a chuckle.

His mouth didn’t turn up even the slightest.

“Don’t worry too much about it. There are classes you can take. Any woman can learn to cook well with enough training,” he said as he reached over and patted her hand.

Did he seriously just say and do that? She was ready to punch this man in the face.

“I wasn’t worried,” she said through gritted teeth.

“I know. I know. You can learn. So, you said you are teaching a class at a community college. That must be a nice pastime. Of course, when you have children, you will want to focus on them, right?”

“Pastime?” Ari said, her eyes rounding in anger. So far she’d put in six years of college, maintaining a perfect GPA, working hard, and achieving her dreams. She still had a doctorate to complete, and was working her tail end off on it. For him to call that a pastime completely infuriated her.

“Well, yes. I think it’s cute that you want to teach, but it’s not a real job. For women, work isn’t necessary, though. Your husband will take care of you.”

Dr. Lynn returned his attention to his plate, cutting a piece of salmon and taking a bite. She wanted to shove the fish down his throat — too bad there were no bones in it — then push him to the floor while she impaled him with her three-inch heels.

“Look —”

She was about to lay into him when his pager went off. Who the hell did this guy think he was? At first he’d just been boring; now he was downright insulting.

“Sorry. I need to return this call. You are never off work when you’re a doctor,” he said, his satisfied laugh slaughtering an already sad attempt at self-depreciation.

She wanted to yell at his back that he was a flipping foot doctor. The world wasn’t going to end if he took a night off. How she held her tongue, she would never know.

Several moments passed and Ari sat there toying with her food. She was seriously considering sneaking away from the restaurant.

“I apologize, but I have an emergency at the hospital. I need to cut our date short,” he said as he returned.

“What possible emergency is there with feet?” Ari clamped her mouth shut too late. In her defense, he’d been rude first.

“Feet are very important, Ari,” he scolded her as he stood there looking indignant.

“Yes, of course,” she responded, trying really hard not to laugh. She wasn’t in the least apologetic, but she was afraid that if she didn’t seem at least a little repentant, he might feel the need to lecture her. She would lose it completely then, and end up screaming at the man, making a spectacle of herself and getting hauled from the restaurant.

“You enjoy the rest of your meal. I will call you tomorrow. The evening went exceedingly well, and I look forward to doing it again,” he said. To her surprise and horror, he leaned down and kissed her before she was able to stop him.

As he turned and walked away, Ari lifted her arm and attacked her mouth with her napkin, wanting to get any trace of his flavor off her lips. Picking up her wine, she took a big gulp, then licked her lips, seeking out and destroying any remnants of the taste of that pathetic man.

It took her a few moments before she realized that he’d left her with the bill — after ordering a two-hundred-dollar bottle of wine.

Crap! That was a bummer, to use language that she’d left behind in her teens. It would seriously hurt her budget. She couldn’t bring herself to care too much, though. It was worth it to be rid of his company. She might as well drink up, finish her meal and then order a decadent dessert to drown out her woes.

“Good evening, Ari.”

Her heart sped up at the sound of Rafe’s deep voice behind her. This couldn’t have been a coincidence.

“Rafe.”

She hoped he hadn’t heard the excitement in her voice. She didn’t want to be happy to see him, but she was anticipating her first glance. She didn’t turn — she’d wait for him to come around her. It didn’t take long, and her breath became erratic as she gazed at him in his dark Armani suit and the bright blue-and-purple tie, which matched his eyes to perfection.

“It looks as if you could use some company,” he said as he sat down, lifting his hand to summon a waiter, who rushed over and cleared away the poor doctor’s setting before placing new dishes in front of Rafe.

Ari wondered what the other patrons of the restaurant were thinking. Maybe they thought she was on a speed date, going through as many men as possible in a two-hour block. At least this one was a vast improvement over the last, even if she would never admit that to Rafe.