Tempting Nora (15 page)

"Having a bad day?"
He stared pointedly at her purse.

"Nope." She gave an indignant sniff.

As Gideon headed over, her thoughts did war.
I'm glad he showed up. Now I can talk to him and stop feeling like such a coward,
said one side of herself.
He shouldn't have made me wait for so long. Who cares about our talk? I should leave him standing in the store,
said the other.

"
Are you okay?" Gideon raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?"
His words drew her back to reality.

"You were pretty
deep in thought." Gideon snorted. "Your eyes glazed over."

"Did they?" She
ran her fingers over her eyebrow.

"Yeah." Gideon paused. "
What were you thinking about?"

She would
cut off her own thumb before telling Gideon she'd been thinking about him.

"Nothing." She shook her head. "By the way, what took you so long
to get here?"

"W
ere you waiting for me?" His grin was as cocky as ever.

"Yes," she
said.

"I think you were—wait, what?" Gideon blinked owlishly.

"What do you mean, what?" She raised an eyebrow. "You asked me if I was waiting for you and I said yes."

"That's not how this conversation
is supposed to go," he said. "You're supposed to say no when I ask if you were waiting for me."

The man looked so unnerved she couldn't help but laugh.

"Why are you so shocked?" It wasn't like she'd burst into song or something weird like that.

"I'm just used to you saying no when you really mean yes," Gideon said.

"I don't do that." The hair on the back of her neck stood on end.

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't."

With an amused smirk, Gideon stared her down.
She felt like she was a succulent piece of steak that he was contemplating devouring.

"
It's the truth and you know it," Gideon said. "I can even tell a fake no from a real one."

"How, pray tell, can you
do that?" This she had to hear…

Gideon poked her between her eyebrows.

"Every time you say no but mean yes, a little V appears between your eyebrows." A mischievous grin crossed his face.

"I don't believe you." Her eyes narrowed. "I think you're trying to make fun of me."

"I'm not." Gideon feigned innocence, but it didn't work.

"Hmph." She shook her head in disbelief.

"Fine." He placed his hands on the desk. "What if I make you believe me?"

"How?" She raised an eyebrow.

"With a game," he said.

"What kind of game?" If he suggested something dirty, she was going to surgically remove his spleen with a butter knife.

"I ask you yes or no questions," he said. "You answer them. If I see the V, then I'll tell you."

It didn't sound like a bad
game, but this was Gideon. She could tell by his smirk that he had something planned. Unfortunately for her, his plans never worked out in her favor.

"No." She shook her head. "I don't trust you."

"Fine." He shrugged. "I win by default."

"Says who?" No way was that fair.

"Says me." Gideon shrugged. "The fact that you're too afraid to play proves that I'm right. If you weren't worried, then you would have no problem humoring me."

This man was incorrigible.

"Fine," she muttered. "I'll play your dumb game.

When she saw Gideon's triumphant
smile, she knew she'd walked right into his trap again.
Dang it!
she howled in her mind, frustrated by how easily Gideon could manipulate her.

"Here are the rules." Gideon leaned across the
desk. "I'm going to ask you as many questions as possible. You say yes or no. It's that simple. You get it, right?"

"
Of course." It was ridiculous how nervous she was because of this stupid game. "But don't ask anything risqué or you'll be sorry."

"Your mind is
firmly lodged in the gutter again, I see." Gideon's eyes twinkled with mirth.

"One of these days, you're going to push me too far." Her hand twitched as she imagined wrapping her fingers around his neck and strangling him.

"Okay, gutter queen, here's your first question." Once again, Gideon ignored the venomous stare she shot him. "Do you like sardines?"

"
What?" Who cared about sardines?

"Yes or no, Nora." Gideon sighed as if he was dealing with somebody mentally incompetent.

"No," she said, even as she wrinkled her nose at him.

"Do you like bubble gum ice crea
m?" Gideon watched her reaction with a smile.

"Yes." But she preferred chocolate.

"Are baseball games fun?" Gideon asked.

"
Yes."

"
Do you watch reality TV?" He twiddled his thumbs, looking almost bored.

"No." She paused. "Gideon, what kind
s of questions are these?"

"
No interruptions," he said smugly.

"Fine." She huffed.

"Do you think Robert is a good friend?" Gideon asked.

"Yes," she said without hesitation.

The interrogation continued with zealous. Soon Gideon flung questions at her so fast she barely had time to think before responding.

"
Are you good at sports?"

"No."

"Did you go to prom?"

"No."

"Do you like the color orange?"

"Yes."

"Did you
want to kiss me last night?"

"Ye—
NO
!" She gasped, horrified.

She'd given half a yes
and she was certain he'd heard her.

"
There's the V." Gideon pointed dramatically at the spot between her eyebrows.

"There isn't a V." She clapped her hand to
her brow and discovered, to her horror, there was a V after all.

Gideon was right.

But that wasn't important now. She should have known not to play his stupid game. It had all been a massive scheme to get her to admit that she'd wanted to kiss him.

"You tricked me," she cried in frustration
, narrowing her eyes.

"I wouldn't say tricked exactly." Gideon
shrugged, once again pretending to be Mr. Innocent. "I just wanted to know how you felt."

"I bet
you spent all afternoon inventing this stupid game and that's why you were late." She was so mad she was surprised she didn't breathe fire.

"Maybe."
His eyes gleamed triumphantly.

Judging by the look on his face, s
he was right. Unfortunately for Gideon, she was also furious. What right did Gideon have to play mind games with her?

"That's it." She
raced toward him. "It's murder time."

Even as she
charged like an enraged grizzly bear, Gideon continued to laugh. She managed to smack his shoulder a few times, but he seized her wrists and pushed her against the desk before she could do any real damage. As she struggled, the man smoldered at her. She had a feeling that this, like everything else, had been a part of Gideon's plan.

Still it was near impossible not to melt when his face was an inch away. She could smell his sweet breath and could see how
his caramel eyes darkened with desire as he drew closer to her. Even the way his chest brushed hers was enough to make her heart pound. Suddenly, it became even more imperative that she escape this situation. She struggled, glaring at Gideon, but his grip was strong.

"Let me go," she said.

"Not until you promise you'll stop hitting me," he said.

"Oh, come on, I wasn't even really trying to hurt you." No matter how much s
he threatened bodily harm, she never meant it.

"Maybe you're
hurting my heart," Gideon said theatrically.

"Maybe you're full of
it." She glared at him.

"This woman…" He rolled his eyes.

She tried to pull back again, but it was impossible. In that moment, she was aware of his hard, lean hips digging into her own, starting a bonfire in her belly. His chest was rock hard, perfect to be pressed against. It was too easy to imagine him without a shirt, his golden skin glistening with sweat. She could even envision his body melding against her own, every last inch of hard muscle pressing against her soft, womanly curves. After she let out a whimper, she examined Gideon's perfect body with renewed vigor.

Then she realized something.

"Oh no, I am the gutter queen!" she wailed, trying to shake the naughty thoughts from her head.

She froze, horrified. The words had slipped out before she could stop them.
For the first time ever, she wished she'd been born a mute.

"What's that?" Gideon's caramel eyes glowed
with hilarity.

"N
othing." She let out a nervous, high-pitched laugh.

I
'm never going to live this down.

"Who's
the gutter queen?" he asked.

"Not me." She shook her head.

"You just said you are." He leaned in so close she could see each individual eyelash.

"
You misheard me." She bit her bottom lip.

"I don't believe you."
His voice was strangely breathy.

Just when she was practically sprawled out on the
desk—Gideon kept leaning closer and she pulled back as much as she could—she heard a small, startled squeak. She looked over Gideon's shoulder and saw Maura. The woman's face was pale and her mouth was wide open. This was a heck of a lot worse than last time when the woman had walked in when Gideon was hugging her.

"I want to die," she moaned.

Gideon stepped back, composed despite the compromising position they'd just been caught in. Then again, she shouldn't have been surprised. The guy was probably seen in compromising positions all the time. Heck, he likely took some sick, twisted pleasure in being spotted during his shenanigans.

"This
wasn't what it looked like," Nora said.

"Don't say that." Gideon wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "It was exactly what it looked like."

She stomped on his foot and he released her.

"Maura
, I'm not…ugh…that wasn't…"
My head is going to explode!

"No need to explain." Maura finally found her voice, but
it sounded more high-pitched than normal. "My husband and I used to be all over each other too. Of course, my husband never looked anything like, well,
him
."

Maura stared at Gideon
, appreciating his masculine physique.

"I think that's my
cue to leave," Gideon said. "Want to go to dinner with me, my queen?"

It took Nora a moment to realize he meant queen as in gutter queen.

She untied the apron she'd been wearing and balled it in her fist. As Gideon continued to smirk at her, she threw the apron at him. It hit his head with a resounding thwack.

"Yeah, I'll go to dinner with you," she said sweetly as Gideon yelped in surprise.

She marched out the door, feeling empowered. Gideon had to scramble to keep up—which was just how she preferred it.

Chapter Eleven

Nora and Gideon sat in a pizza parlor. Like usual, the man was catching a lot of female attention. Every woman in the room stared, including a beautiful blonde sitting in the corner.
I swear I've seen that blonde somewhere before,
she thought, scratching her neck. Frowning, Nora pushed the thought aside. Probably it was just her imagination.

"I'm s
hocked you accepted my dinner invitation," Gideon said. "I thought I'd have to drag you here by force."

"
Well, I would have told you no, but I have something to say to you." She stirred her soda with her straw.

"
Oh." The man froze. "This isn't going to be a go-away-and-never-return kind of conversation, is it?"

"No, it's about my
mom." Even the words made her stiff. "And I've been telling you to go away since I met you. You just never listen."

"You don't mean it
when you tell me to go away." Gideon spun a packet of salt on the table.

"I do too." She sniffed.

"Nope." He shook his head. "I'm good at reading people and I can tell you want me to stay."

"You
're so conceited." She glowered.

"I'm not conceited," he said.
"I'm honest about my strong points."

"Conceited." She drew out the syllables of the word.

"Nope." He shook his head.

"Yep." She
nodded vigorously.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. The mood between them changed from light to dark.

"About your mom…" He frowned at his hands.

"
I don't want to have that conversation here." Too many women were staring. "Let's talk about this someplace quiet."

"Okay." Gideon nodded. "There's a park
nearby. After dinner, we can go there and have some privacy."

"You want to
go to a park at night?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Nobody will hurt you as long as I'm around." His eyes burned with
ferocity.

Several black feathers fell from out of nowhere and covered the table. She raised an eyebrow and looked up. Where the heck were all of the feathers coming from?
She'd found one in the tea store too. Was Chicago having a crow invasion that she hadn't heard about? As she studied the ceiling, she saw nothing, not even cobwebs.

For the first time
she realized every single time she'd found a feather, Gideon had been present. She glanced at him.

"Do you have birds?" she asked.

"Huh?" He stared at her, eyebrow raised.

"
I only see these bizarre black feathers when you're around." She inspected him, half expecting feathers to come pouring out of his pockets. "I thought maybe you had birds or something."

"No, I don't have a
ny birds." His grin was mocking.

She didn't like the way he
looked at her. She'd rather have the teasing Gideon back. After all, Gideon's stare was full of condescension. If there was something that Nora hated, it was being looked down upon.

Luckily, she didn't have to endure his strangeness for long. The waiter w
alked over with a steaming deep-dish pizza on a tray. Mozzarella bubbled on a sea of marinara sauce. Glistening pepperonis covered the gooey cheese. The smell of garlic made Nora inhale, enjoying the aroma. She loved this restaurant. In her opinion, pizza should always be unhealthy enough that the grease trickled down her elbow.

"Be careful, it's hot," the waiter said.

"Sure." She nodded at him.

After the waiter disappeared
, she smacked her lips and looked at Gideon. To her relief, the strange expression he'd worn before was gone.
Thank heavens,
she thought, then returned her attention to her dinner.

As her stomach grumbled, she s
erved herself a massive slice of pizza. Since she was a sloppy cutter, she had marina sauce on her fingers and was forced to lick them clean. When she looked up again, she noticed that Gideon was watching her with the same desirous glint in his caramel eyes.

Geez, does this guy ever not smolder? He really needs to learn how to turn off his mojo.

As she gnashed her teeth, Gideon gazed at the pizza on her plate.

"You must really like pizza," he said.

"Well, it's no chocolate cake, but it'll do," she said.

Gideon ga
ve a deep, booming laugh that made several surrounding females sigh. Even she had to admit she was dazed by his gorgeousness before she snapped out of it. She wanted to eat her pizza, not become hypnotized by a guy who had pheromones oozing from every pour.

Frowning
, she picked up her slice and took a bite. It was so hot her taste buds screamed.

"Yikes," she yelped, dropping the slice of pizza on her plate with a splat.

"I told you it's hot," the waiter called from the other side of the room.

Several people smirked at her.
She had the urge to hurl her food at the waiter's face but stopped herself just in time.

As she stared down at her now mangled slice of pizza, Gideon slid
along the seat of the booth until their thighs touched. The sudden intimacy was startling. He needed to warn her before he scooted so close. He was hotter than the slice of pizza on her plate. Heck, she was surprised her skin didn't melt off due to his fiery gaze.

"Are you okay?" Gideon asked.

"I'm fine." She winced. "It was my own fault I was burned."

"Yeah, it was." Gideon nodded.

She elbowed him in the kidney, making him suck in air.

"Eat some pizza, you oaf," she said.

"Ouch. So much ridicule." Gideon clutched his chest. "One of these days, you're going to break my heart."

"Oh, come on." She rolled her eyes. "You and I both know I don't have the power to do that."

As Gideon served himself a slice of pizza, he glanced at her curiously.

"What makes you think you don't have the power to break my heart?" Gideon asked.

"Very funny." She scowled at him.

He was way out of her league, even if he was a
cad.

"No, I'm serious." He
nibbled on a pepperoni.

"Really?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah."

"Have you looked
at yourself in the mirror today?" she asked.

"
What does that have to do with anything?" he asked.

What, did she have to spoon-feed this
information to him?

"Gideon, you're gorgeous, rich, smart, and charming." She
couldn't help herself. She sighed. "I'm not pretty, I'm averagely intelligent, and I'm about as charming as a piece of rotting cheese. You and I are on completely different levels. Right now, you're intrigued by me because I have a strong moral compass, but that's pretty much it. A person like me doesn't have the power to break the heart of somebody like you."

Another black feather fell to the table.

"You don't see yourself clearly, do you?" Gideon's eyes were dark, but no longer because of his desire. Instead the man looked sad.

"Huh?" She didn't understand
Gideon's expression.

"
You're ten times the person I'll ever be," he said. 

"No, I'm not." She shook her head.

Gideon seized her hands.

"You are," Gideon said. "You're the most beautiful woman I
've ever met. And you say you aren't charming? If you aren't, then why do I keep coming back to the tea store day after day? If you were some normal woman, then I would have backed off ages ago."

"Oh," she murmured, unable to say anything better than that
.

"I know your moth
er made you feel worthless, but you aren't," he said. "That woman should feel ashamed of herself for not seeing the amazing person she created."

She'd
longed to hear those words for the past twenty years. How had Gideon known that she needed to hear them? Tears pricked her eyes, but she forced them down. Weeping in the middle of a crowded pizza parlor would be an all-time low.

"I don't want you to ever look down on yourself again." Gideon seized her face and ran his thumb
along her cheek. "Promise me that you won't."

She swallowed
her tears and finally managed to talk.

"I don't know." She
shook her head.

"Just promise me." He searched her eyes.
"I care about you too much to hear you talk bad about yourself."

Nobody, not even Robert,
had touched her soul like this. When she stared into Gideon's eyes, she could actually feel her heart healing, something she'd never thought was possible. At that moment, she realized she didn't care what other people said about Gideon. Yes, the man spent many years chasing women, but no one who was cruel could ever make her heart soar the way he did.

"I
promise," she said.

"Good." Gideon
finally smiled again.

The man reached for a slice of pizza, but she
didn't want the moment end. She longed to touch him, to feel him. Despite how much she fought her feelings, she placed her hand on top of his. Gideon gazed at her, startled. Suddenly, she felt like an idiot and let go.

"No, don't let go of me," Gideon said.

He grabbed her hand and held on tight.

In that moment, something changed between them. She wasn't sure what, but she knew from that moment on her life would never, ever be the same.

****

After Nora was finished
eating dinner, she let out a sigh. She was full to the bursting, but that was to be expected after having three slices of pizza. But her stomach wasn't the only thing that was full. She discovered her heart was full too, something she'd never experienced before. Heck, the sensation was so new that she wasn't sure what it meant.

Because of her newfound feelings, she
found herself staring at Gideon, wondering what was going on in his mind. Unfortunately, his face didn't reveal much. His gaze was speculative but nothing more. She sighed.

"You ready to go?" Gideon asked when he saw her staring.

"Sure." She nodded. 

She climbed out of the booth and noticed that the waiter was
staring.
Why does he keep looking at me like that? Gideon paid the bill and gave him a tip.
She turned away, wondering whether she had food on her face. After all, she'd never been the most graceful eater.

When Gideon
jumped to his feet, he too noted the waiter's gaze. A possessive scowl crossed his face as he wrapped an arm around her. She considered pushing him away, but her heart still felt warm because of the words Gideon had said to her. That was why, even though nerves made her stomach flop, she couldn't bring herself to wriggle out of Gideon's grip.

After they walked to the exit, he opened the door for her
. She tried hard to ignore the disbelieving stares and the jealous scowls of the female diners as she headed outside. Once they were on the sidewalk, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders again and his warmth seeped through her sweater all the way to her skin.

"Are you cold?" Gideon asked.

Even though a chilly Chicago wind blew through the trees, she wasn't the slightest bit cold. She shook her head.

"Nah." She
grinned and walked down the sidewalk at his side. "For once, I'm good."

The fact she was
content was surprising. Normally, she never stopped shivering.

"Let me know
if you're uncomfortable," he said. "I'll give you my coat."

She stared at him. She couldn't help herself.

"What?" Gideon raised an eyebrow.

"Why is it that you never stop surprising me?" she asked. "I
can't figure you out."

"Do you want to figure me out?" His eyes twinkled playfully.

"Of course I do. You're like a puzzle," she said. "It drives me crazy that I can't put all of the pieces together."

"Maybe you
shouldn't put all of the pieces together." Some of the mirth disappeared from his eyes. "Maybe if you do, you'll realize that I'm not who you think I am."

"Not wh
o I think you are?" She frowned at him.

"I'm a bad guy, Nora," he said quietly.

The words struck her as odd.

"What makes you say that?" she asked.

He didn't say anything.

"Is it because of all the women you've
been with?" She didn't think he was the type to feel guilty.

"No, it's not because of that," he said. "
Enough about me. Didn't you have something you wanted to talk about?"