Blush for Me by Kristen Proby
“Then together we should rock it.” He shrugs.
“We aren’t doing anything,” I remind him, and slap his cheek playfully as I walk past him. “I’m leaving for the day.”
“Flowers.” He follows me into the reception area.
“What?”
“Women like flowers.”
This woman will like something else.
“You should start taking your own advice and find a nice girl to date,” I tell him, locking my office behind me.
“I think I’ll sit back and watch how you do,” he replies. “There’s no need for us both to be humiliated at the same time.”
“I’m not going to be humiliated.”
“You hope.”
I flip him off and walk out of the office and down to the busy Portland street below. It’s a Friday, at the end of the workday, so traffic is insane as businessmen and women fight their way through traffic to get to their suburban homes.
Living in the suburbs has never appealed to me. I like the chaos of the city. The sounds. Even the smells.
And the people. Walking through town every day makes me feel alive. There’s a heartbeat to the city that I never want to leave.
My condo is less than a mile away from my office in the Pearl District. This part of the city used to be full of factories and warehouses, but in the past fifteen years it’s changed. The buildings were converted into condos and apartments, boutiques and restaurants moved in, and it’s now a trendy part of town.
My condo is an open loft, with exposed pipes and beams, brick and mortar. The finishings and decor are modern, suiting my style perfectly.
I love that I have an open space tucked into the city. There are few walls in my loft; only the bathrooms are private. Even my bedroom is open to the rest of the space, which is fine because it’s only me, and at some point, the occasional guest, here.
But my favorite part? The floor-to-ceiling windows and my view of the Pearl District and the green West Hills. I’ve only been living here for a few weeks, but I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of this view. I still have a few boxes to unpack, but the new furniture I bought for the place has all been delivered, and it’s finally feeling like home.
I grab a bottle of water as I walk past my fridge and sip it as I stare out at Portland, thinking of a certain gorgeous redhead.
When she first saw me this afternoon, I could see that she was surprised. Her brown eyes widened and her mouth dropped for about a half second, then she pulled herself together and won over my group. She was funny and so damn smart in her conversation with them, making them feel welcome and at ease.
Even Lucy and Robert, the first-date couple, loosened up and enjoyed themselves.
Kat smiled at me, and I thought, for that brief time, that she was pleased to see me and I was home free. That she’d immediately agree to see me again.
But she keeps surprising me.
And maybe it’s as simple as that. It’s rare for anyone to surprise me, and she keeps doing it, over and over again. It’s alluring.
Damn, it’s addicting.
Chase isn’t wrong. If I’m going to have a shot at getting to know her better, I’m going to have to raise my game. I need to put some effort into it, and honestly, she deserves no less than that.
Romance just isn’t on my radar because it’s not something I do.
But I’m about to.
I stalk toward the bedroom, toss the empty bottle into the recycling, and pull on running clothes. Before I go back to Seduction later this evening, I need a long, hard run and then I need to make some calls to get this ball rolling.
I’m not a patient man. I want Kat.
Seduction is a riot of activity tonight. The restaurant is packed, and the wait time for a table is well over an hour. People are lined up outside, chatting happily while they wait patiently for a table. I walk in, prepared to put my name in and wait with the others, but the young hostess smiles as I approach.
“How many?”
“Just one.”
“Oh,” she says with a smile. “If you’d like, there are a couple of open seats at the bar. You’ll get in much faster that way, and we serve the full menu in there.”
“Perfect.”
“Oh, but we don’t allow drinks from outside,” she says, pointing to the bottle of wine in my hand. “You’ll have to take that back out to your car.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to open it. It’s a gift.”
“Good,” she says with a nod, and turns her attention to the next guests.
I smile and walk past her, soaking in the atmosphere. Kat was right: it’s damn sexy in here. There are tables, of course, but along the edges of the room are booths with heavy curtains draped around the ends, giving each one the illusion of privacy. The lighting is subtle, but not dark. The linens are rich, even opulent.
And I’m surprised to see that Jake Knox is onstage, with his guitar, singing.
I’ll be interested to hear how they managed to hire a rock star to play at their restaurant.
The bar is also packed, each table taken, and all but one of the seats at the bar occupied. Lucky for me, the empty seat is front and center.
I sidle up to the bar and watch Kat and her coworker bustle behind the bar. Kat has changed clothes since this afternoon. Rather than her casual denim dress from earlier, she’s in short red shorts and a black short-sleeved blouse, tied at the waist and unbuttoned to show off her red bra. Her tattoos are bright, flexing around her toned arms. Her red hair is twisted up and pinned on top of her head, with pieces hanging down around her gorgeous face.
Her lips are painted red, as always, and her brown eyes are done up to pop.
I’ve never been more captivated by a woman in my life.
“Grace, can you please take a bottle of the Barking Dog Pinot to the couple in the corner?” Kat points to the corner of the room. “It’s their favorite.”
“How do you know?” Grace asks as she uncorks the wine in question.
“Because I do,” Kat replies with a grin. “Trust me.”
“You’re the boss.” Grace walks away and Kat turns to me.
“What can I get you?” When she sees that it’s me, she stops short and sighs. But she bites her lip, and I know that means she’s not upset, she’s nervous.
I don’t ever want her to be nervous around me.
“I come bearing gifts,” I say with a grin, and pass the wine to her. She reads the label and smiles softly.
“I liked this one,” she says, then turns those big brown eyes to me.
“I know,” I reply. I like it too, but I just watch her, waiting to see what she does next. Finally, her shoulders relax and she sets the bottle behind the bar and turns back to me.
“Can I pour you a glass of something?” she asks.
“I’d like a glass of your favorite Cabernet,” I reply. “And a menu.”
“You’re eating?”
“I’m starving,” I reply.
“I’m really busy—”
“Then you’d better get back to work.” I smile. “I’m fine, Kat.”
She nods, passes me a menu, and returns to pouring drinks.
“Is that Jake Knox?” I ask when she comes back with my wine.
“Yes, he’s the Jake I told you about that married Addie.”
“Ah,” I reply with a nod. “Which came first? Him playing here, or them getting married?”
“He started working here around the time they started dating,” she says, then smiles at someone over my shoulder. “And here’s Addie now. Mac, this is Addie. Addie, Mac.”
I stand and turn to find an exceptionally tall, very beautiful blonde smiling at me.
“Pleasure,” I say, holding my hand out, but she wraps her arms around me and hugs me, her round belly between us.
“I’m so excited to meet you,” she says with a smile. “And I’ve discovered that I’m more emotional since I’ve become pregnant, so everyone is getting hugs. Sorry.”
“That’s sweet,” she says, and climbs into the recently vacated seat next to mine, leaning her elbows on the bar. “You know, I’ve lived my life in heels for the better part of fifteen years without an issue. And now that I’m carrying this munchkin, my feet are killing me all the time. And you don’t even want to know about the swelling.”
“Gee, that’s sexy,” Mia says as she joins us from the other side of the bar. Kat and Grace are still hustling about, filling orders. “Are you going to eat?”
“Absolutely. I’m starved. What’s good?”
“Everything.” Mia shrugs. She’s recently changed into a clean chef jacket. Her dark hair is up, under a white hat. She’s a curvier woman, with amazing lips and eyes. “Are you a meat eater?”
I nod.
“Do you like mushrooms?”
I nod again.
“Leave it to me. I’ll bring you something that’ll make you beg to marry me.”
I laugh and push my menu aside. “Challenge accepted.”
And with that, she returns to the kitchen, determination in every stride.
“I like her,” I say, and sip my wine.
“Me too,” Addie says with a smile. “But what I really want to know is how you feel about Kat.”
“I like her too.”
“As in ‘I like her because she can pour a nice glass of wine’? Or ‘I like her because she makes my dick hard’?”
“You get to the point.”
“I don’t have time to beat around the bush, so to speak,” she says, and turns to me, rubbing her belly. “If you’re going to be an ass, just say so now so I can kick your ass and boot you out of here.”
“You’re all a little scary, aren’t you?”
“That’s what Jake said when he met all of us,” Addie replies with a grin. “And yes, we are.”
“Well, I don’t plan to be an ass, but I’m a man, and sometimes we’re asses without meaning to be.”
“Goes without saying,” she says with a nod, making me laugh.
“I respect her,” I say, looking over at Kat and watching her laugh with a customer. “The chemistry is crazy, I won’t lie about that, but there’s more there too, and I want to find out what it is.”
“I can deal with that,” Addie says with a nod. “Books.”
“Excuse me?”
“She loves books,” she says, and leans in, as if she’s telling me secrets. “Don’t get me wrong, she loves wine too, but books are her guilty pleasure.”
“Makes sense.” I nod, still watching Kat. “She’s the smartest woman I’ve ever met.”
“She’s a member of Mensa,” Addie says. “She wouldn’t have joined, but both of her parents are members, and it was expected. She did a lot of things that were expected for a long time. She doesn’t do that so much anymore.”
“Good for her.”
“Exactly.” Addie grins just as a man’s arm wraps around her shoulders. “Hey babe.”
“I’m not sure I’m comfortable with you flirting with other men in your condition,” Jake says with a smile, making her laugh.
“Jake, this is Mac. He was Kat’s sexcation buddy a couple weeks ago.”
“Nice,” Jake says, and holds his hand out to shake mine. “Couldn’t stay away?”
“It seems not.”
“I get it.” Jake kisses Addie’s cheek. “These women are hard to resist. Of course, it goes without saying that if you hurt her, the rest of us will kill you and make it look like an accident.”
“Of course.”
“Okay, then.” Jake nods and rubs his hand over Addie’s belly. “She’s kicking.”
“She always does when you play,” Addie replies. “She likes listening to you.”
“She doesn’t really have a choice,” he says. “It’s kind of loud.”
“Here you go, Mac,” Mia says, placing a plate in front of me. “Rib-eye steak with sautéed mushrooms, asparagus, and coleslaw.”
“It looks fancy,” I reply, my mouth watering.
“Of course it does. This is a fancy place, Mac.” Mia winks and walks back to the kitchen. I cut into my steak, take a bite, and begin making plans for the proposal.
“Jesus Christ, this is good.”
“Gonna ask her to marry you?” Addie asks.
“The next time I see her,” I reply with a nod. “Damn, she’s good.”
“Of course she is. We don’t pack the place just because he can sing.”
“Yes, you do,” Jake says, and kisses Addie’s temple. “Speaking of which, my break is over.”
He walks away and Addie stands as well. “I’d better go check on things too.”
Kat returns after they’re gone. “Everything they said was a lie.”
I grin. “So noted.”
“Is it good?”
“I’m going to ask Mia to run away with me.”
Kat laughs and my gut clenches. Her face sobers when she looks at me. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. You’re just incredible.”
She ducks her head and wipes the bar with the white rag in her hands. “Thanks for the wine. It was nice.”
“You’re welcome. Will you please do me a favor?”
Her eyes narrow and her lips purse. “Maybe.”
“Will you let me take you somewhere tonight?”
“For the whole night?” she asks with a squeak.
“No, just for a little while.” I reach over the bar and tuck a piece of her hair behind her ear. “I’d like to show you something.”
“I’ve seen it,” she says, raising a brow, humor shining in her eyes.
“Something else.”
She cocks her head to the side. “Okay. But I am closing tonight.”
“I’ll wait.”
“It’s your time,” she says with a shrug, but she’s smiling as she walks away to fill more orders.
I eat the rest of my meal, feeling full, both physically and emotionally, for the first time in a long time.
“What is this place?” Kat asks several hours later as I lead her down the street from the restaurant, through some trees, to a little park that’s hidden away. I had Chase come and string some lights, and lay a quilt on the ground, with an ice bucket full of wine.
“A friend of mine owns these buildings,” I reply, holding her hand firmly in mine. “This courtyard tucked back here has a great view of the city. I just wanted to show it to you.”
“And the lights, blanket, and wine just magically showed up?”
“I might have thought ahead,” I reply, gesturing for her to sit. “I just wanted to be here, with you, in our city tonight.”
“It’s a nice night,” she replies with a sigh, and leans back on her elbows. “Not a bad way to unwind.”
“Would you like a glass of wine?”
“In a minute.” She rotates her head, stretching her neck out, so I slide behind her and begin rubbing her shoulders and neck, down her shoulder blades. “God, that’s good. You’re still good with your hands.”
“They’re the same hands,” I reply, resisting the urge to lean forward and lick up her neck.
One thing at a time.
“I was surprised to see you today,” she murmurs.
“I know.”
“I’m not really big on surprises.”
“I think I’ve figured that out,” I say, and tug her back against my chest. I hug her to me and sit here in the quiet of the city, watching the lights around us.
She doesn’t say anything for a long time, but leans against me, enjoying the quiet. Finally, just when I think she’s fallen asleep on me, she says, “Thank you for this.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I want to ask you a lot of questions, but I’m too tired.”
I kiss the crown of her head. “When can I see you again?”
“You k
“Let’s focus on it being technically a question.”
“How do you know I want to see you again?”
She tips her head back so she can see my face.
“Because I’m adorable.”
“You’re something.”
I kiss her forehead. “When?”
“I’ll make you dinner Sunday night. It’s my night off.”
“You don’t have to make me dinner. I can take you to dinner.”
“I’ll make you dinner,” she repeats, and leans her head back on my shoulder. “You’re very argumentative.”
“I’m just used to calling the shots.”
“And that’s fine. Sometimes. But I have an opinion too, and I’m not afraid to voice it.”
“I like that about you very much.”
“Good. Because it’s not going to change, Mac.”
“Understood.”
She sighs and leans more heavily against me. “I could fall asleep out here.”
“Then I’d better get you home.”
“In a minute,” she says, hugging my arms more tightly around her. “Just one more minute.”
Chapter Seven
~Kat~
Am I seriously sitting in Mac’s arms in the middle of the night in Portland? What alternate universe is this?
And how can he possibly be as comfortable as I remember him being? I thought for sure I was blowing it up in my mind, remembering how great his arms felt, how smooth his skin is, how his hands tighten on me in the most soothing way.
But nope. It’s all exactly as I remembered it.
“I’ll take you back to your car,” he murmurs, his mouth pressed to the crown of my head.
“I walk to work,” I reply with a sigh, already hating the idea of walking to my condo. Not that it’s far, but I’m tired and it’s late.
“Excuse me?”
“I walk,” I repeat, and tip my head back so I can look him in the eyes. He’s frowning. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t think I love the idea of you walking home in the middle of the night in the city.”
I smirk. “Well, I’m a grown-up. I don’t live far.”