“Thanks, I’ve had it all my life.” He smiled at her joke, and drank from his glass, but said nothing. “Do you have a name there, hun?”
He seemed to hesitate, but then change his mind. “Reid.”
“What can I do for you, Reid?”
“I was just at my table, but then I saw you sitting here. And I’m curious why a gorgeous woman like yourself is sitting here all by herself,” he told her.
She bristled at his comment. “What’s wrong with me sitting alone? We’re well into the twenty-first century.” Reid opened his mouth to speak, but Lila didn’t give him a chance. “Maybe I just like my own company. Maybe I choose to be here alone. Isn’t that a good enough reason?”
He blinked quickly, probably not used to having women speak to him like that. “Do you want me to leave? If you’re enjoying your own company, I don’t want to intrude.”
Lila thought of telling him to leave, thought of leaving herself. Lila didn’t normally like to invite male attention, especially when she was on assignment, because it was hard enough for women traveling alone, without bringing men into the mix. But there was something about Reid—and she couldn’t back away. “No,” she said, putting her fingers on his wrist. “You can stay.”
“Good.”
She wasn’t sure why she’d touched him, but it had proven to be a mistake, as Reid took her hand in his, turned it over, and brought it to his mouth. He placed his lips to the inside of her wrist. His warm, dry lips on her almost caused her to stop breathing. Who was this man—this stranger she’d found in a small South Beach restaurant—lighting a trail of desire from her pulse point all the way to her own South Beach?
It was stupid, risky. This guy was a complete stranger. He could be anyone. But when the tip of his tongue flicked against her skin, she realized that it didn’t matter who he was.
Reid’s lips closed over her skin again and his dark eyes connected with hers. Lila was transfixed by him, as the rest of the small restaurant fell away. Just the two of them existed in that moment—and she didn’t even know his last name. Maybe privacy and anonymity were for the better. She had built up her blog and her reputation to where they were, and she knew that one public misstep could ruin her, especially with everything she had coming up. She had to be on her best behavior. Any rumor or scandal could end her. But none of that seemed to matter when Reid looked at her.
But thankfully, her sanity won out. “Wait,” she said, her words more sighed than spoken.
He backed away immediately, releasing her from his touch. “What is it?”
She took a deep breath and gulped down the rest of her drink. “I don’t even know who you are. Who are you? What’s your last name?” He didn’t say anything. “No last name, Reid? Or do you just go by your first—like Sting or Bono?”
“Oh, I have a last name—I’m just not keen on sharing it.”
Lila shook her head, and then laughed at the seriousness of his voice. The fact that the man wouldn’t give her his last name was a real red flag for her. “You sound so fucking dramatic. What, are you in the mob or witness protection, or a serial killer, or something?”
“That did sound dramatic, didn’t it?” he asked with a lopsided smile. She nodded. “I’m just a private person. I promise, I’m not in the mob or witness protection, or a serial killer.”
“You know, if you were any of those things, wouldn’t you insist that you weren’t?”
“That’s a good point. I guess you’ll have to trust me.” He looked around and waved to the bartender. “Amanda, can you come here for a second?”
She stopped wiping down the counter and joined them.
“Amanda, you can vouch for me, right? I’m a good guy?”
The bartender smiled. “He’s a preferred regular customer, close friends with the boss, and a good tipper.”
“Thanks Amanda.”
“No problem, Mr. Rexford,” she said and went back to her task behind the bar.”
Lila and Reid both shared a laugh at his name having been revealed. “So, I guess you have a name, after all.”
“I guess I do.”
“I always consider service staff to be the best judges of character.” She leaned in closer to him. “And I have to say hearing a guy is a good tipper is a major turn-on for me.”
“That’s the first time a woman has ever told me that.”
“You should date more socially conscious women, I guess.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” he said with a smile.
Amanda came back and nodded at their now-empty glasses. “Another round?”
Reid looked at her. She wasn’t sure what to say. Another round would keep them talking at the bar. But refusing another drink would free up the rest of their evening, whatever they hoped to do with it. Reid took her hand again. “Tell me, beautiful, do you want another drink?” he asked, his thumb tracing light but red-hot circles over the inside of her wrist. There was no way he could miss her thundering pulse beneath her skin. “What do you want?”
Lila tried to find her voice, but it was nearly impossible. What do I want? “I want you to keep touching me.”
“Do you want to get out of here?”
Lila’s mind raced through the lusty fog he’d created in her brain. She felt a connection with the man sitting next to her, but she wasn’t sure if she was ready to go somewhere with a complete stranger—no matter how good of a time she knew they would have together. Never in her life had she had a one-night stand with a strange man. She may have possessed a sense of adventure, but she wasn’t reckless. With as much as she traveled, Lila knew the world could be a dangerous place. As a woman, and a solo traveler, she had to look after herself—another reason she was glad to have
