The Girl With Diamonds (Midtown Brotherhood Book 2) (7 page)

She smiled through her clenched teeth. Cressida was totally getting bailed on next time. “It’s apparently empty.”

Austin took off his jacket and sat down, examining the paints and easel in front of him as if he showed up to actually participate instead of torture her. He ran his fingers down the canvas, and across the brushes. She sat there and watched. Mesmerized. His hand was so steady. It wasn’t fair that he showed no sign of unease when her heart threatened to beat out of her chest. She took a slow breath and cleared her throat to test her voice. “So…you paint?”

She still sounded nervous, but Austin didn’t seem to notice. He casually accepted a glass of wine from the waitress who passed by, and tasted it. “No, but I do drink. I figure if I drink enough, I’ll at least think I can paint.”

Magnolia scowled at him.

He set another glass of wine down on the table at her easel. The one in her hand was empty. She must have downed it without thinking.

“I’m not here to ruin your night, Magnolia.”

“I’m not here for your entertainment, Austin.” She didn’t take her eyes off him. She had to make him understand. He couldn’t smile at her like that. His non-flirting smile as if he had any other kind of smile. One he saved just for her.

He eyed her for a long moment before finally nodding. “Point taken. I was about to apologize to you for that Saturday when—”

“Ferocia saw us together, and decided to turn your practical joke into a reality soap opera for her website?”

Austin clicked his tongue. “You saw the site.”

It wasn’t a question. He was merely disappointed.

She held her wine glass up in fake excitement. “One million hits and counting.”

He growled at the notion, and it eased her annoyance. That website bothered him too. Good. Her future depended on their ability to put this behind them and move on.

His finger rubbed the bottom on the glass in his hand, his voice low. “She must have noticed us at the game, and then saw the video. We have to be more careful.”

Magnolia almost laughed. “We? There isn’t a ‘we’ in this scenario.”

“Of course there is a ‘we.’ You’re part of the Rangers family now. I told you we’re friends with all the reporters.”

She scoffed, and he turned around in his seat to face her. “What?”

She moved in closer, challenging him. “Look me in the eye, Austin Blakely, and tell me you had my friendship on your mind when you eyed me up and down like a new play toy that night.”

Austin bit his lip, that same spark flashing in his eyes that she had seen in him just before the interview. “You’re making this worse.”

“Answer me.”

He released a sigh as if giving in to her demand was difficult. “I made a mistake in judgment that night.”

She held firm, her nose, her lips, all of it mere inches from him. “That isn’t what I asked you.”

Austin jerked her seat around, pulling the stool between his legs, blocking her in. “What do you want? Do you want me to admit I’m attracted to you? That I saw you that night in the bathroom in the staff hallway before the game?”

Magnolia’s mouth fell open. “What?”

His gaze dropped down to her lips. “That I watched you fuss over your make-up and give yourself a pep talk.”

She jerked back an inch. “What the hell were you doing in the women’s restroom?”

He ignored her. The tips of his fingers brushed the side of her thighs. “Do you want me to tell you I can’t stop thinking about you? Your legs in that skirt. Those glasses. Because I do. I think about it a lot.”

She pursed her lips and pushed away from him. She deliberately moved her seat back into position a safe distance away.

“I’m a guy, Magnolia. I know I appear cocky and overly confident to you, but that’s because if I didn’t tell myself I am those things, I’d never get the nerve to open my mouth in front of a girl like you. I saw you that night in the bathroom. I thought you were cute, and when you showed up at the interview all wide eyed and feisty…well, I went a little overboard. I’m sorry.”

She was engulfed in him. Even feet away, he was all she could see. The chatter faded around them. A stale backdrop compared to the blazing green eyes staring at her now. She set her chin. “I need this to stop.”

“This? Why? This is fun.”

Her lips pressed together. “You’re doing it all over again. You’re toying with me.”

Austin laughed. “What you don’t realize is that it’s mutual. Right now. That night before the interview. You conned me out of my shirt, for Christ’s sake.”

Magnolia gritted her teeth. Damn it, he was right. She started it, and now she needed to finish it. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. It wasn’t intentional.”

“Don’t.”

“What?”

“Don’t apologize for that. I won’t accept it.”

He was so damn frustrating. Irresistible and insufferable combined in one giant pristine wrapper of perfection. “And why not?”

“Because I liked it. I liked it then, and like it now.”

She took in a breath and held it for a moment. “This isn’t a game.”

“But it is.”

“Ferocia.” She stuttered now, or rambled. It was difficult to make sense when his lips curved up like that. “Do you remember her? You’re the one who freaked out about her seeing you at the game. Now we’re both on her radar, and you don’t care.”

His face hardened. “I care.”

“Then act like it.”

Magnolia stood up to go find Cressida. She couldn’t let this go on. It would be too easy to give in to him. It would be irresponsible. She had to keep her eye on the prize. A chance at that L.A. job required her to keep a clean slate. She needed Ferocia’s interest in her to pass.

Austin touched her hand. It was brief, but enough to make her pause. She glanced back at him, and his features were tight again. “There are ways to avoid Ferocia. That’s why I came tonight. I need to explain that we have to work together. You just have to trust me.”

Magnolia shook her head. “Trust isn’t a word I place much faith in anymore.”

He moved into her seat. This time he touched her hip. “Trust me, Magnolia. Relax and have fun tonight. We will worry about Ferocia tomorrow.”

No. It sounded too familiar. A graduation party gone wrong. ‘Fun tonight and work tomorrow’ was what started this never-ending nightmare. She couldn’t go through that again. She stumbled backward, away from him and his offers. She’d figure out a way to get out of this on her own.

He stood. “I’m winning.” There was desperation in his voice. That was new. “You know you don’t want to let me win.”

How could he possibly know that? They’d barely talked. A two-minute interview and a rushed conversation before he dashed off at the game last weekend. How did he know how to push her buttons? The perfect combination to make her lose sight of that goal, to shift her focus back to him, back to things she shouldn’t want. She looked over her shoulder, meeting his stare head on. “You don’t want to play games with me.”

He leaned in, his teeth involuntary tugging on his bottom lip. “But I do.” He brushed a strand of her hair away from her cheek. “I really do.”

She turned around and handed him her glass of wine. She didn’t have to say the words. That spark between them flamed now. She held in the scream.

She glanced at the platform and then back to him, considering her options. She could leave now, but this little cat and mouse game he wanted to play would only continue some other day. She couldn’t risk that. It needed to end tonight. Embarrassing her, toying with her emotions, and endangering her career came at a price. Austin Blakely would have to learn his lesson the hard way.

“Fine. We’ll see who wins, and then it’ll be over. For good.” She stalked toward the stage, not bothering to look back. Cressida stood at the table next to the bowl of fruit that was to be their muse for the evening. Magnolia smiled her brilliant, evil, challenge winning smile.

Game on.

Chapter Eight

AUSTIN’S CHOICE

Magnolia won. She won on so many levels. Creamy skin peeked from beneath the sheet as his heart sank to his toes. She was naked.
Naked
. Magnolia’s friend announced the change in plans like she would a change in the dinner schedule. There would be no painting a bowl of fruit tonight. They had a volunteer for a live model. The human form would be their muse. Magnolia’s form.

Naked.

Magnolia would be naked in front of him, and in front of all these people. No clothes at all.

“I like her,” Leila said, her arms crossed over her chest. “She didn’t just call your bluff, she jumped off the fucking cliff.”

Henrik nodded his agreement. “Score one for Georgia.” Then he looked at Austin. “Your move, big guy.”

His move.

What the hell was he supposed to do?

Austin looked back at Magnolia. Her stare drilled into him. Her hands held the skimpy sheet over her bare chest. Her even barer shoulders were slightly visible through the long sheath of silky black hair. Magnolia pushed her glasses back up her nose with the tip of her finger. A deliberate move. Like she knew those little fuck-me glasses drove him bat shit crazy.

What was he supposed to do?

Magnolia stepped onto the podium, and murmurs erupted around him. Well, he was sure what he wasn’t going to do. He would absolutely not sit here and watch her drop that damn sheet, and let these people watch him fall flat on his ass. He showed up here to accomplish two goals. First, he needed to convince Magnolia the easiest way to avoid another feature in
The Whisperer
was to interview him again. A plain, boring, no thrills interview. Then, he needed to convince her to be friends. At least, friends in the sense that he got to flirt with her every day and play the back and forth limbo to keep his mind busy and off his own much more problematic Ferocia problem.

Callen glanced over his shoulder. “This was an awesome idea,” he said, and then the bastard winked.

Yeah. This was not happening. Not like this. Not right now. Not with a fucking audience. He stood up. His feet moved without instruction.

Henrik laughed behind him. “And that is exactly what I thought would happen.”

It didn’t matter. Austin stalked up the aisle, pulling his shirt over his head as he went. He was on the podium within seconds. He shot Magnolia a glare before shoving his shirt over her head and down to her waist. Then he grabbed the sheet, holding it in place over her legs before pulling her around in his arms.

She didn’t say a word, but her fingers pressed against his chest. She wasn’t angry. It was something else. He felt it too. Something he didn’t recognize. He jumped down from the podium and made a beeline for the back room, or wherever the hell she’d put her clothes. He needed to find those damn clothes.

“Don’t worry,” her friend announced to the crowd behind them. “This isn’t the first time she’s talked him out of his shirt.”

The hallway was dark, but his choppy breaths were loud. His heart sounded like a freaking drum line. She heard it, or rather she felt it. The tips of her fingers touched the pounding point in his chest. “The bathroom is the third door on the right.”

He found it in silence and set her down just inside the door. He opened his mouth, but she gently pushed him back. “Give me a second.” Then she smiled. It was weak, but it was there. The harsh edges suddenly stripped away. “At least let me find my panties.”

Positive this conversation would go a lot better if she had clothes, Austin stepped back and let her shut the door. He paced in front of it. He stomped back and forth until finally he couldn’t hold it in any longer. He placed his hands on either side of the doorframe. “What the hell were you thinking?” The door didn’t answer, so he continued. “You were mad that Ferocia put one interview on her site, but you weren’t worried that someone might have taken pictures of you naked out there?”

Again, nothing. Damn it, she was good at this. “You realize all my friends are out there. You would have been naked in front of all of them.”

“Is that jealousy in your voice?”

He glared at the closed door. “I’m not jealous.”

“You sound jealous.”

He tried the handle, but it was locked. “This is so not about jealously. This is about me not embarrassing myself in a room full of people, and then getting arrested because I punch Callen Copley in the nose when he can’t resist opening his stupid, filthy mouth.”

The other side of the door went quiet.

“Did you want me to get arrested? Was that your plan? Just to embarrass me?”

There was a sound. A giggle. She was fucking laughing at him.

“Do not make me open this door, Magnolia Cross, because I will.”

The door creaked open anyway. She stood there, fully clothed, grinning in her short tuft of a dress. There was cleavage and legs for days, but he couldn’t take his eyes off her face. It was confident and smug. She knew she won. “You don’t call what you just did embarrassing yourself in front of a room full of people?”

She eyed his bare chest, the corners of her lips quirking into a small smile. He took a slow breath. This woman. There was something about this woman that drove him crazy. She didn’t just make him lose thoughts that burdened his mind. She made him lose every thought, every piece of common sense and rationality that existed. “Maybe I did embarrass myself, but I deserved that one. We’re even.”

She laughed again. This time it was deep and rich. It made him sad that he grabbed her off the podium. “Not even close. A couple people in a paint studio can’t compare to half the nation.”

Austin sighed. She wasn’t going to let that stupid interview go. “What can I do to make it up to you?”

“I don’t know.” She pulled his shirt over her head, covering her dress, and breathed it in. “But I’m keeping this—it’s warm.”

She was still winning. Even now when the game was over. He crossed his arms, leaning against the frame. “You know there is a better way to keep warm in Manhattan than stealing my clothes.”

“No.”

He grinned. This was what he wanted. What he needed. The playful banter that kept him on his toes. “What do you have against my suggestions?”

She shrugged, pulling her hair around her shoulder and straightening her glasses. “They’re your suggestions. Isn’t that enough?”

He laughed now, the strain of the day drifting away. “I’m going to come up with something brilliant one day, and you’re going to miss out on it because of pure stubbornness.”

“I’ll take my chances.” She smiled before trotting out of the bathroom. The hem on her dress swished across the back of her thighs as she walked past him.

He caught her by the arm. He wasn’t done. He needed more of her. “Stop.”

“What?”

He stepped up beside her, taking a second to enjoy the sight of her in his shirt. “About the video on
The Whisperer
.”

She turned around with her chin set. “Oh. Now you want to take that seriously?”

“I always take it seriously. I was trying to explain to you. I’ve done this before, not me particularly, but I helped Henrik avoid her. There are ways around the system.”

“I can handle it on my own.”

His hand moved to her hip. It was a reflex, like everything that happened when he got near her. He was glad he did, though. She moved into him. He could smell the hint of her shampoo, mixed with her perfume. Strawberries and don’t-leave-yet. “I’m taking a chance too. You realize that, right? Me coming here tonight was a risk. Ferocia has our scent.”

“Why risk it, then? Why didn’t you just stay away?”

“It’ll be easier if we work together. Avoiding each other will only make her look harder.”

She shook her head. It was quick. “No, avoiding each other is what we need—”

“You look good in Rangers blue.” He touched her cheek, then her hair. “Do you know how many girls I’ve seen wear my number or my gear?”

Her slightly parted lips snapped shut before she rolled her eyes.

“Zero.” He eased in front her, because he wanted her to hear this. He shifted her until her back was against the wall, his arms on either side of her. “They were just girls. Their hair different colors. Some short and some tall. I never notice them, though. I saw you that night in the bathroom, Magnolia. I noticed you. I noticed you immediately.”

Her eyes shot down, but he pulled her chin up. “I don’t want to ignore you just to make a story go away.”

Her voice was soft now. “I need the story to go away, Austin. I’m here on an internship. Internships end. First impressions can turn sour when your face is plastered across a magazine every day.”

“I can teach you ways around them. I told you, I’ve done it before.”

Her body tensed, her fingers gripped around the sleeves of his too long shirt. “I’m sorry. I’m not taking any chances. Tonight was a risk, and it was fun. It ends here, though.”

“You don’t mean that. You enjoy it too.” He joked to keep her from hearing the sadness in his voice. This was new. He’d never had something end before he knew he wanted it to start. “Request an interview tomorrow.”

“Austin.”

“I’m about to leave town for a week.” He needed more time with her. Something more substantial to keep his mind occupied. At least that’s what the little panicking voice in his head yelled at him. “Are you really going to make me say please?”

She went still, her eyes closing. She looked sad. “The answer is still no.” She touched his arm, squeezing it. “I’m sorry.”

She eased by him, and he let her go. There was something else. Something she wasn’t telling him. There was more to that look, a sadness that shouldn’t be there. Then he remembered her pep talk in the bathroom that night. Her convincing herself there was nothing to be embarrassed about here.

He walked back to the main room, shirtless and intrigued just like he’d been that night after the interview. Magnolia was gone. Every eye was on him, all wide, all watchful. They waited for his next move.

He didn’t have one. He was too busy asking himself the same question Henrik had that night. Why did he care so much?

Leila shoved his jacket into his hands and looked back at the door that remained empty. “Are you going to go after her?”

“Not tonight.”

He slipped his jacket on and looked at her. She had that annoyed look on her face that he knew all too well. “What?”

“You like her, Austin. Go after her.”

“It’s just a game. We’re flirting. It’s innocent.”

“
The Whisperer
didn’t think it was innocent, and neither do I.”

He rolled his eyes and trudged toward the door. “Well, maybe you and that stupid magazine should stay out of it.”

“She has an interview for a new job soon,” she called out behind him.

Austin stopped at the door, his hands on the glass. He didn’t turn around. “So?”

Leila’s voice moved closer, dropping to a whisper. “Her friend said the interview was for a job in Los Angeles.”

His fingers flexed around the handle of the door. “I’m waiting for your point?”

Leila was beside him now. She shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest. “No point. You’re just flirting with her. It doesn’t matter that you’re about to lose a shot with the first girl you’ve showed interest in since…I don’t know…forever.”

He glared at her. “You’re annoying. Have I ever told you that?”

She grinned. “You’re bullheaded and clueless. We all have our faults.”

He rolled his eyes.

Leila inched closer, touching his arm. “Go after her, Austin.”

He thought about Magnolia and what she said, remembering that look on her face. He shook his head and shoved through the door. He wasn’t finished with Magnolia Cross, but he wouldn’t win any favor by chasing after her right now.

Leila caught the door. “Austin?”

“I said not tonight.” He walked into the crowd buzzing along the street, losing himself in the memory of the fiery eyes and wicked smile that was burdened by something he couldn’t quite put his finger on yet. “Not tonight,” he said again, more to himself than his sister. Soon, but not tonight.