Nathan’s Adam’s apple twitches.
Shoot! He must be hung up on my dubious “growing interest.” Why did I admit that I’m getting more and more fascinated by him? Quick, I need to distract him. He mustn’t contemplate about my silly revelation too much. “Shall we go back and check on those cappuccinos? What do you think?”
A sudden breeze sweeps over our boat, saturating the air with a thick perfume of orchids. It also catches in my hair, releasing a strand from my half-updo. The naughty black lock bounces in front of my eye.
Nathan bends close and brushes it behind my ear. “Well, uhm…I think it’s a great idea.” But he doesn’t move. Instead, he stares at me with a penetrating gaze and adds, “So does that mean if I’m honest with you, you may give me a chance, despite the fact that I’m rich?”
My fingers move to the spot where Nathan just touched my cheek. “Yes, I guess that’s what I’m saying.” I stop and bite my lower lip.
I’ve said no pretend, but I’ll have to break my own rule now. Because no matter how good it feels to turn off my radar with Nathan, I still don’t dare to let him know that my barrier toward him is weakening.
I lift my gaze and meet his grey eyes. “I’m ready to give us a chance to get to know each other and…become friends.”
“Friends?” Nathan’s eyes widen, and his tone tells me this isn’t what he hoped I’d say. But he recovers quickly and gives me a smirk. “That’s…that sounds just…fine.” Then he withdraws his gaze from my face and starts to pull on the oars. “It’s best if we go back, as you said. I’ll feel safer if you are on solid ground once more.”
I resist the temptation to shout, “Aye aye Cap’n,” just to pretend that I’m feeling jolly instead of sunken in chaos. “Yes, that would be nice.”
We sit in silence as Nathan rows us back to the jetty.
I observe his tight jaw, and a sensation of guilt forms in my belly.
I know that Nathan isn’t after my friendship. That was clear to me from the first moment we met. But since I don’t know precisely what his intentions are, I’m not brave enough to offer him anything else. He might be acting differently than I expected after our first encounter. I’m conscious of the efforts he makes to put me at ease. And, yes, his behavior is changing something in me.
However, I’m still too scared that I’m just enticing to him, because I’m playing hard to get…because I’m an unattainable goal. The bolder part of me tells me I’m too paranoid, but my cautious self disagrees. I’m more comfortable trusting this latter voice. It has saved me from several dangers in the past. And judging by the hammering in my chest, I’ve never been in a situation more risky than I’m in now with this handsome billionaire.
Chapter 16
(Nathan)
Friends? Oh man, this is the worst tag ever.
I’m still chewing on Eva’s words as we sit back at our table on the Swan Lake’s terrace.
The waitress has already served our cappuccinos and Eva is mindlessly turning the spoon in her cup, her gaze lost on the horizon.
Could she really have meant what she said? Was it a mistake to declare myself good with her squeezing me into this darned friend box? Perhaps I should’ve told her straight up that it isn’t her friendship I want.
No, that would’ve only caused her to raise her guard. I’m sure of it. But agreeing to be just pals didn’t get me further with my goal of making her my girlfriend either.
I contemplate the possibility that Eva is only interested in my friendship, but something feels off. I’m submersed in sparks each time we even slightly touch. She must feel those, too. I’ve seen how flustered she gets when our gazes lock for longer than necessary.
But then why is she still so stubbornly opposed to me? Is it still my social status that stands in my way? I decide to explore further. “Eva, why is it that you—?”
“Why is what?” she asks, alarmed, her eyes darting to mine.
“Why do you have such negative feelings about rich men? I’m not asking about me in particular. But guys with money in general.”
Eva presses her lips together, and I think she won’t answer. Then she does. “I’ve told you that I never knew my biological father.”
“Yes, you did.”
“What I didn’t say is that he left my mother as soon as he learned she was pregnant.
What a jerk! I almost spill my cup as I slam my rolled fist on the table. “Sorry,” I murmur. What the heck is wrong with me? Why is my blood suddenly on fire? Eva must be wondering the same thing, because she eyes me with her brows raised. I suck in a breath and say, “It’s just that hearing how your father treated you, how you were abandoned…I…it made me angry. If I ever had a daughter, even if I didn’t want to be with her mother, I would never refuse to acknowledge my child.”
Eva swallows. “Even if the baby’s mother was poor?”
I’m starting to see what might have happened to make Eva hate wealthy men for life. “No, never. I think money, or the lack thereof, shouldn’t decide how you feel for someone. Especially when the person is your own blood.”
“Well, then you are different from my father.” Eva gives me a weak smile.
“He must be a big coward.”
“Yes, probably. He was, or maybe still is, a very wealthy man. My mother met him when she worked as a receptionist in a five-star-hotel in Phoenix. The guy promised the stars and moon to her. But of course the only thing he wanted was…” She shrugs. “You know.” An expression of disgust makes her lips curl down.
“I see. That must have made your mother wary about our kind.”
“She
