“Well, thank you on both counts.” Ellie steepled her fingers and put them under her chin, contemplating what to do with the mess of a kitchen.
“So, uh,” James began, taking in the destruction with wide eyes. “This place is a disaster. I don’t feel quite so bad about letting you inside my house now, if this is how you keep your shop.”
“It shouldn’t look like this, but it seems like I’m down a cook as of...” Ellie looked at her wrist as if checking a watch. “...about a half an hour or so ago.”
James looked baffled as Ellie explained. “You mean this guy got all shitty and walked out because you had a date?” he asked when she was done.
“That about sums it up.”
“Were you two messing around?”
Ellie snorted. “With Ben? No. Not that he wasn’t interested. Apparently, he’s very interested. But no. I made it abundantly clear that I was his boss. Nothing more.”
James scanned the messy kitchen. “I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess that you want this clean before we leave?”
He didn’t look at all interested in waiting around while she scooped mayonnaise off the floor, and the truth of it was that she wasn’t at all interested in actually having to scoop mayonnaise off the floor. Like, not at all. She’d been waiting days to get her ass to the Shrimp Fest and apparently, felt like her responsibility quota had already been met for the day.
“Nope.” Ellie shrugged. “I’ll pay for it tonight when it stinks and I still have to deal with it, but I am so ready to get out of here.”
“Atta girl.” James offered his elbow. “Let’s get going.”
“Just one thing before we go.” Ellie bent and picked up the flowers. She smoothed out the petals and broken stems as best as she could. “They’re lovely. Thank you. This was very thoughtful.”
“I didn’t know if you would have any customers or not. I thought it’d look extra good if I showed up with presents.”
Oh. That’s right. None of this is real.
She brought the flowers to her nose to cover the reaction she couldn’t hide. She’d gotten so swept up in the compliments about her shirt, the heat in his gaze as it traveled over her body, his hands wrapped around her when she fell. She forgot it was all for show. Nothing he said or did meant anything.
Except that kiss the other day meant something.
It meant something, all right. It meant that James was a man and men lived and died by their penises. What was the statistic? They thought about sex every other second or something? The kiss that had dominated her every thought since it happened meant nothing to James. Ellie would be a fool to let herself think otherwise.
Using a pitcher as a vase, Ellie put the flowers in water and set them on the counter near the cash register while James waited at a table near the window at the front of the café. He leaned back in the booth, his long legs clad in tight jeans stretched out in front of him. Sunlight splattered on the table in a burst of light and shadow, fractured by the lettering on the window. James looked outside, his chin lifted, his strong jaw set in a straight line.
What could he be thinking? Was he lost in the past? Contemplating his future? Or just bored as hell waiting on her to hurry up?
She slid the makeshift vase across the counter and sighed. “There. All set.”
James turned and smiled. Stood and grabbed his helmet off the seat beside him. “Good to go?”
Her brow furrowed as she took in the helmet. “I guess I thought we’d go together.” Another surge of disappointment rose bitterly in her throat. The whole thing was a bad idea. She couldn’t seem to get it in her head that he wasn’t actually interested in her.
“Of course we’ll go together, silly.” James bent down to pick something else off the seat and Ellie got an eyeful of low-riding jeans and a tight torso before he straightened, holding a second helmet. “Ever ridden on the back of a motorcycle before?”
Chapter Fourteen
Ellie
Ellie threw up her hands and backed away. “Nuh-uh,” she said, shaking her head. “I can’t…”
“Ellie Charles!” James lifted an incredulous brow. “Are you trying to tell me you're afraid?” A wide smile broke across his face.
“You bet your sweet ass I’m afraid.” She put her hands on her hips and sat back on her heel. “Those things are dangerous.”
“Yes…” James drew out the word and gave her a wicked look. “But that’s why they’re so fun.”
“You and I have very different definitions of fun.”
“I seriously doubt that. It seems like you and I are pretty much in sync so far.”
Images of the kiss assaulted her thoughts again. His fingers clamped around her wrist. His hand pulling back on her hair. His tongue roving her mouth, setting her body on fire. Yeah, she’d say they were pretty damn in sync.
James held the helmet out toward her. “Come on, trust me. I’m a really good rider. And I’ll start out slow, I promise.”
She stared at the helmet in his hand, a heavy black thing with a tinted visor and chin straps dangling, the little metal bits clinking together in the otherwise quiet café. Ellie looked from it to James. “Have you had anything to drink today?”
He sighed and dropped his arm, letting the helmet bounce off his thigh. “Not one drop.”
She stared at him for a long time, watching frustration etch away at the good humor on his face. “It’s not that I don’t trust you,” she said, feeling bad for putting up such a fight. “It’s just…”
“I get it. Motorcycles are dangerous.” He rolled his eyes. “But you know something? It seems to me like you make all your decisions
