Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 51131 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 256(@200wpm)___ 205(@250wpm)___ 170(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51131 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 256(@200wpm)___ 205(@250wpm)___ 170(@300wpm)
I don’t know if I’m supposed to follow or stay in the car. I feel so awkward I could die either way.
I arrive on the porch just in time to see Hayden ring the doorbell. It’s too late to turn back now, but interactions like these are literally the stuff my nightmares are made of.
Lisa comes to the door. At first, she looks pleasantly surprised to see a handsome man on her doorstep, but her expression changes swiftly when she sees me just behind him.
“How can I help you?” she asks uncertainly.
“I’m here to see Brent,” Hayden informs her. “Is he home?”
She realizes he must be here on my behalf, so her attitude resurfaces. “No, I’m afraid he’s out.”
“Ah.” Hayden nods. “Well, in that case, could you do me a favor? Tell your husband that the next time he corners my girlfriend on her property and puts his hands on her, the assault charges she’s going to file against him will be the least of his problems. And I’ve installed extra cameras to ensure her safety, so next time, she’ll also have video evidence.”
Lisa’s jaw falls open.
Hayden turns around without another word and heads back to his car.
Her gaze hits mine, her eyes wide with rage.
Without a word, I also turn around and scamper after my date.
“Hey,” Lisa calls belligerently, but neither of us even pauses.
We get right back in the Maserati, then Hayden backs out of the driveway, and it’s over.
Well, for us.
I can’t bite back a little smile. “He’s probably going to have a bad night.”
Hayden looks over at me and smirks. “I hope so.”
“I hope that doesn’t make things worse,” I murmur since there obviously are no cameras and Hayden isn’t actually my boyfriend. The implication that I have a protector now was nice, but since I don’t, it could backfire. He could come at me even harder now.
“It could go either way. If he’s picking on you because he perceives you to be weaker and unable to defend yourself against him, knowing you have someone proactive in your corner should be enough to shake him. The old adage of ‘once you stand up to a bully, the bullying stops’ coming into play. Of course, that wouldn’t work with an asshole like me. I’m the sort to see it through, but I also don’t go after easy targets. Only cowards do that.”
“I’m not weak,” I murmur, looking down at my purse on my lap.
I feel Hayden’s gaze shift to me. “I didn’t mean to imply that you’re weak, Gemma. Only that a certain kind of asshole might think that because you have a gentle nature. Have you ever heard the concept of Maslow’s hammer? That when the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail? Some people don’t know any other way, so they assume theirs—in this case, being an asshole—is the one right way, and everyone else is wrong. They lack the empathy or intelligence to understand things outside of their own experience, so they ridicule it instead. I’m far from gentle, but I know it takes guts and determination to remain that way in the world we live in, so I certainly don’t agree with that small-minded opinion.”
I bite down on my bottom lip, trying to suppress my smile so it doesn’t get too big. “Wow, two minutes into this date, and you’ve already defended my honor twice and quoted psychological philosophy at me. Are you trying to win an award or something?”
“Or something,” he murmurs playfully, his eyes glinting with mischief.
I’m pretty sure his implication is purely playful, but it still makes my face warm.
I don’t have sex on first dates. I’m extremely slow to warm up. Henry Cavill could don Superman’s cape mid-date and save a kitten from a tree, and I still wouldn’t give him more than a hug and a lingering kiss.
Unless someone makes it past casual dating to being my actual boyfriend, there’s little chance I’m sleeping with him.
But if I did sleep with men on first—and only—dates? I think I’d probably sleep with Hayden Atwater.
Chapter Five
Gemma
He takes me to a bar I’ve never been to before—a place called Underworld located right on the beach.
From the looks of it, it’s a hotel bar with a little walkway connecting the hotel lobby and the bar area down by the beach. The bar has its own separate parking lot, though, and is clearly an independent destination.
The salty beach air fills my senses as I step out of the car and walk around to join Hayden. I take his hand, but I’m not sure why. I like affection with boyfriends, of course, but I’m not terribly bold, and I would never just grab the hand of a man I barely know on a first date.
I do, though. He looks down at our joined hands but doesn’t seem to mind.