“Ignore it,” Alex said, his voice raspy. He laid a warm hand on her thigh, exerted a gentle pressure toward him.
Tempting, tempting, but if she gave in, Louise would demand to know why Natalie hadn’t answered her call on a day as important as today. She was throwing Brian a birthday party, Natalie was going, and there would be no way to avoid facing her there. “I can’t.” Natalie put the phone to her ear. “Hello, Louise.”
“Can you come early?” she said without preamble. “I need some help with the food.”
“I thought you were going to cater.”
Alex looked up at her, his eyes dark. She glanced away, tucked her hair behind an ear, and drew her legs up, hugging them with her free arm. It felt like he could hear everything from Louise’s end.
“Well, I’m not going to cater everything. What would people think?”
“That you’re too busy to do everything?”
“Never too busy to help your father.”
Natalie’s hand tightened around her cell phone. “I wish you’d called me earlier. I can’t go right now.”
“I see.” Louise’s voice turned icy. “So you’ll be here to eat the food I’ve prepared, flaunt your boyfriend, and pretend you care when you can’t be bothered to do your share.”
Natalie’s head began to throb. “I told you Charlie isn’t my boyfriend.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she felt a slight tension from Alex. She scrunched her eyes shut; why did she have to argue with Louise about Charlie, especially in front of Alex? She took a deep breath and did her best to modulate her tone. “Look, I’m sorry I can’t help. I didn’t think you’d need it. It’s not like you’ve asked me for any before.”
There was a pause. “Yes. Well, normally I wouldn’t, but Belle’s handling some of the other arrangements and simply can’t spare the time.”
Naturally. “I hope she’s not too busy, since today is important. I’ll see—”
Click.
Natalie dropped the phone into her purse and sighed. She looked at her watch. It was already almost two, and she needed time to get ready before the party. She didn’t want to give Louise any more excuses to berate her.
“Who was that?” Alex said. He sounded neutral, with just a hint of curiosity.
“My…mother.” She drained her glass. The wine was too warm now, but she didn’t care. She’d give anything for time to just…stop.
But it wasn’t going to be. Natalie started to pack the baskets. “If it’s all right with you, I’d like to get going.”
Alex took her wrists gently. “What’s wrong?”
She tried to free herself, but his grip firmed. “Nothing,” she said more sharply than she’d intended.
Something irrational and crazy tempted her to confide in him. But she didn’t know where to begin or how to tell him her adoptive mother hated her, and that whenever they talked, she felt as though her ribs were being tightened in a vise. It wasn’t something she’d ever told anyone. Natalie preferred to pretend that everything was fine in front of other people, and of course her family had never objected to the pretense.
Alex was frowning now, and he dropped her wrists. “What the hell’s the matter with you? One minute you’re hot, and the next you’re cold. Is this some kind of game?”
“Isn’t it a game for you?” she shot back. “You want to know how long it’s going to take to seduce your new senior lead financial analyst, right? Isn’t that why you promoted me the second you came in and made that ridiculous bet?”
His face lost all expression, and his eyes went the color of slate, as dangerous and unpredictable as a rockslide. “Let’s pack.” The unexpectedly soft tone to his voice intensified her guilt and unease. “I’ll drop you off at your place.”
Shame heated her cheeks. She wasn’t being fair to him. He hadn’t done anything wrong.
“Alex…” What could she say to salvage the situation? “I—”
He dumped everything into the baskets and took them to his car. Tension hummed in sync with the engine on the drive back. He didn’t say a word. It was as if he’d erected an impenetrable wall around him. And for some reason, she wanted the barrier gone.
“Alex, about what I said—”
His hand tightened over the shift, and the car swerved dangerously, cutting her off, making her gasp. The Lamborghini screeched to a stop in front of her condo. He reached over and opened the door.
“Here you are,” he said, his voice cold.