Crash Into Me(44)

"And that was a little stiff for you?" I found the idea that anywhere was too stiff for him amusing.

He nodded. "College wasn't what I wanted."

"What did you want?" I asked, curious about the faraway sound in his voice now that hinted at a very different Tristan.

Ignoring my question, he turned the laptop in my direction and smiled that warm smile that could make me give up almost anything. "We'll deal with my penthouse first. The poker playing dogs picture isn't working out at all, so you'll need to come up with a something else."

I couldn't help but laugh, far louder than was likely proper. Just when I thought he was stiff and distant, he made a joke like that and changed the entire way I looked at him. "You didn't take me seriously about that, did you?"

Faking sincerity, he screwed his face into a grimace. "I wasn't supposed to? Those dogs cost me a fortune."

For a second, I thought he was serious, and then he winked at me. "Let's get going. Pick out what clothes you want to take and I'll have Rogers take care of it."

"Just like that?"

He closed his laptop, sat back in his chair, and folded his arms. "Just like that. I'll give you fifteen minutes."

I began walking toward my room and turned around, feeling playful. "And if I'm not done by then?"

Without missing a beat, he answered, "Then you'll spend your time at the penthouse naked, which also works for me."

He smiled again, and I relaxed a little more. "I never know when you're kidding, Tristan."

"I'm not kidding. As far as I'm concerned, you could never wear anything again and I'd be happy."

"But what about all those clothes you bought? That's a lot of money to waste, don't you think?" I asked, enjoying our verbal sparring.

He stood from his chair and walked toward me like a wild cat stalking prey. When he was only inches away from me, he stopped and lifted my chin with his finger and stared down into my eyes. "I'd spend ten times that to make you happy, Nina. Now go get ready or you're spending our time in the city as God made you."

It was nearly impossible to think about work when he was standing there looking like that and talking about me naked at his penthouse. I hurriedly chose a few outfits and laid them out on my bed before finding him waiting at the end of the hallway that led to my room.

"Ready?"

He'd asked me that right after we'd first met and just like then, I wasn't ready. Everything was moving so quickly that I wanted to stop, ask some questions, and get my bearings. But he never let that happen. It wasn't as if he was rushing me, really. It was more that he expected things to go as he had planned and there never was a moment where I wanted to risk asking what we were doing, afraid that if I did I'd ruin everything.

What woman wouldn't want a man like him to whisk her off her feet and take care of every issue that came up in life?



Tristan's penthouse was familiar to me as I stepped out of the elevator, but this time he held my hand in his. A tiny difference, it made everything I laid my eyes on seem changed. Still appearing disinterested in his magnificent home, he led me to his bedroom and sat down on the edge of the bed across from the bare spot on the wall.

I looked at the wall and smiled. "No dogs?"

"No dogs. And if there's some picture that involves cats playing checkers or something like that, I'm going on record as saying no to that too."

"There goes my great idea. Back to the drawing board for me."