Avoiding Temptation (Avoiding #3)(13)

Lexi laughed, which she immediately turned into a cough, as she glanced away from him. This was not the territory she wanted to venture into.

A little over two weeks ago, she had slept with the irresistibly handsome man in front of her. When she had returned to New York after breaking up with Ramsey, she had been distraught from another failed relationship, another lie, another heartbreak. Chyna had been in Milan, and her roommate, Rachelle, had been away, working as a law associate for the summer. Adam had been the only one around who she had wanted to hang out with. He had been the only one who could understand since he and Chyna had broken up before she left.

Hanging out with Adam meant being around John, who Chyna despised for an instance that had occurred earlier that year when John had come on to her. But with Chyna gone, Lexi had found that she got along easily with John. She had let herself hang out with him without Adam, and then that had moved on to a couple of dates, which then moved on to the bedroom. To be honest, she had just liked not having to think or act or tiptoe or anything else. She hadn’t cared that it was a rebound. It had felt comfortable, and that had been what she needed. She wasn’t going to apologize to Ramsey about what had happened, but she couldn’t let it continue either.

“So, how long have you been together?” John asked casually.

She could tell he wasn’t as casual as he sounded though. His eyes were vigilant, and he seemed to be assessing her in a way she wasn’t used to from him. He was usually so relaxed and in control. This must have thrown him off-balance.

“We were together for almost a year, but I broke up with him and moved back to New York at the end of June,” she confessed. “I came back to Atlanta for a, uh…mutual friend’s wedding, and we decided to try to work it out.”

“And you were going to tell me…”

“When I got back,” Lexi said.

“Why are you getting back together with his guy?” he asked.

She shifted her feet uncomfortably and chanced a glance back into his hazel eyes. He seemed legitimately interested, and she wasn’t sure how to answer.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you broke up with him, moved back to New York, and started your life over. You don’t seem like the type of person who just runs back to a guy who hurt her. He did hurt you, right?”

She nodded softly.

“So, what made you change your mind?”

“Why does it matter?” Lexi asked, sidestepping.

“I want to know, so I can figure out how to change it back.”

Lexi’s mouth dropped open before she had a chance to realize what she was doing. She had not been expecting that. She had been planning to let him down easy, hoping that they could keep their relationship civil while he was working on the Bridges medical wing. She hadn’t thought he would want to continue seeing her.

“I, uh…”

“Go out to dinner with me,” he said, reaching out for her hand and pulling her a little closer to him.

Lexi stumbled forward a step, but she quickly dropped his hand. She was too close, and this was a really, really bad idea. She was used to bad ideas, but this—well, this was even worse.

“I can’t. Sorry.”

“Come on, you were going to tell me you were dating someone else when you got back to New York anyway. Go out to dinner with me when I get back. Then, you can tell me if your relationship is still perfect, and you have no doubts in your mind,” he said in an almost mocking tone.

“John,” she warned.

“If your relationship is perfect, then what does one dinner between friends hurt?” He smirked at her in a way that made it clear he thought he had her backed into a corner.

“No.” Lexi shook her head and took a step backward. “I should probably get back. I hope this doesn’t interfere with your job, and you’ll still work on the Bridges project.”

She turned and began to walk back up to the restaurant.

“Hey,” John said, jogging to catch up with her, “does he know?”

“Know what? That we slept together?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“He knows.”

“Then, you have insurance against it not happening again,” he said, his voice dipping lower for her ears only. “Unless you want it to.”

Lexi shook her head again as she kept walking.

John reached out and grabbed her arm. “Go to dinner with me, Lexi. One dinner. It was just this week that you said you couldn’t wait to get home to me, that you wanted to go to my cabin in Connecticut with me, that you were sexting me.”

He hadn’t lowered his voice this time, and Lexi’s eyes bulged.

“Jesus, keep it down,” she growled, swatting him on the arm.

“I want what I want, and I’m not ashamed of it. I’m not asking for those things—yet. I’m just asking for dinner. After dinner, if you never want to see me again, we can try to forget. We won’t even call it a date. It’s not a date,” he repeated for good measure. “Dinner.”

“Why are you being so persistent?” Why did she attract such persistent guys? That would have been a better question.

“I don’t like to see people make terrible mistakes.”

“You don’t even know—”

“I do. It’s just dinner, Lexi. Don’t make me beg.” He winked.