Neighbors with Benefits (Anderson Brothers, #2)(33)
“There’s that wide brush you paint me with again. I’m trying.” He gestured to Clancy, peacefully asleep. “Even the dog knows I’m trying.” A tiny smile pulled at the edges of his lips and she relaxed a little.
It wouldn’t hurt to accept the clothes, and he hadn’t done it as payment for anything. She could justify it by saying he did it to make his job easier that weekend, and she was pleased he had thought to surprise her. That was a huge step for a guy like him. “Okay. I’m sorry I overreacted. I’m a little on edge. I kind of thought I had this…” She gestured to him. “…you figured out. Clearly, I don’t.” She reached over and patted Clancy. “He seems to think you’re okay, though. Dogs know stuff.”
She stood and paused at the door. “Tomorrow’s a big day. I’m going to turn in. Thanks for the clothes. And congrats on the Kawashima deal. I know it was really important to you.”
He opened his mouth as if to speak, but didn’t. She hovered in his doorway for a moment in case he decided to respond. He watched her intently, as if he were waiting for something. It made her uneasy and thrilled at the same time. “Goodnight, Michael.”
“Goodnight.” His voice was laced with a husky undertone. Mia’s entire body recognized it. “Sweet dreams, Mia mine.”
There’d be dreams, all right, but if they were anything like the ones she’d been having nightly, there’d be nothing sweet about them.
Chapter Eleven
Through the limo window, Mia silently watched the world whiz by as they sped toward the Hamptons and what could be the biggest fiasco of her life…which was saying something.
The morning had been a mess with her losing track of her phone—twice—and then forgetting her charger and having to go back up to get it after the car had been packed. None of it had seemed to bother Michael though, who waited patiently throughout, which struck her as odd. Her flakiness had bothered the hell out of Jason. She’d expected it would drive a control freak like Michael nuts.
“The dress looks amazing on you. Do you like it?”
She drew her attention away from the window and settled it on Michael, who sat in a facing seat with Clancy on his lap across a small table from her, dressed like a men’s fashion model. With most anyone else, the limo, expensive watch, custom shoes, and other trappings of wealth would have been off-putting to her, but on him, they were natural. He’d earned this lifestyle himself, and he wore it well. On her, though, the expensive clothes felt foreign.
She looked down at the sweater dress that hugged her curves like it was custom made for her body. She wasn’t used to wearing tight clothes outside of her workout gear, and she was hyperaware of Michael’s frequent head to toe scans of her. After a hot night of crazy dreams, she vowed to keep all conversation light and businesslike. “Yes. I like all of the clothes. Did you pick them out yourself?” she asked, running her hands over her cashmere-clad thighs. Michael’s gaze followed the movement and she immediately froze. Business only, she chanted in her head.
“No. I made note of your sizes based on your existing clothes and shoes and then gave that information, along with a photo of you, to a professional shopper last week.”
“Oh…” That made sense. And she again felt remorse for being so upset last night. He’d obviously been planning ahead, which was his style. She should have known.
“Except the lingerie.” He stroked Clancy’s back. “I selected that myself.”
So much for businesslike conversation. The underwear was gorgeous and super sexy. The thought of him picking it out made her lower body tighten. “New underwear wasn’t necessary. Nobody will see it.”
He shook his head. “That’s where you’re wrong. At this level, you need to do better than look the part; you need to believe it yourself. You and I will know you’re wearing beautiful lingerie, and it will be apparent in our behavior. You will believe it. Consequently, those around you will, too.”
“Like your super successful businessman playboy role.”
“I am a successful businessman, Mia. It’s not a role I play.”
“And the playboy part?” The second she said it, she regretted it. The question was far from businesslike.
It was his turn to look out the window. “Nothing but inference on the part of the media.”
She arched a brow. “And inference on the part of a neighbor who has heard you in action through the wall.”
They stared at one another for an uncomfortably long time. Why couldn’t she have just let it go?
“What are you thinking?” he asked.
“That the weather is lovely,” she lied.
He leaned a bit closer over the table between them. “That’s not what I’m thinking.”
Oh, shit. She could tell from the look on his face she was in trouble. It was the same odd, unreadable poker face look he had in the office before he kissed her.
To her relief, he leaned back and resumed stroking Clancy. “I’m thinking about the first day we met.”
“When I set off the fire alarm and almost flooded your apartment.”
“Yes, but more specifically, when you imitated the noises you’d heard through my wall.”
Mia was hard to embarrass, but that did it. She’d moaned, and imitated sex sounds, and overall made a fool of herself in order to piss him off that first day. And it had worked…sort of. He’d left, anyway. And she had certainly surprised him and thrown him off guard, exactly like he had just done. Shit. Payback was hell. She turned her attention to the scenery zipping by outside the limo.