But he didn’t want to be rude, so he decided to try and give Gabby his absolute attention for a while. It didn’t work, though. He discovered his gaze returning to Sebrina’s table more than it should have. She and her date had ordered their meal, and Parker couldn’t help but notice that the guy seemed to be talking as much as Gabby was. Periodically, Sebrina would take a sip of her wine and nod.
He just wished she would look up and see him sitting over here.
Sebrina was doing what she normally did when she dated Bob—she’d keep a smile plastered on her face and give a timely nod now and then. She had hoped one of the other women he’d dated over the past few months had told him that his habit of monopolizing the conversation was not the way to go. Obviously not.
Bob still liked talking about his business and how successful he was at it. And he was still boring. The only time he had shut up had been when the waitress had taken their order. The guy hadn’t even commented on how she looked.
Well, she thought she looked pretty darn good tonight. But all Bob had done when he’d seen her was kiss her cheek and tell her that she looked well. Well? What happened to sexy, gorgeous, beautiful? Hell, she would have even settled for nice.
Bob had never been generous with compliments, something she was only remembering now, unfortunately. Usually, she wasn’t a woman who needed them, but she could have used them tonight, especially given the confusion she felt over her friendship with Parker. There was just something about knowing she was wanted and desired by a man that made a woman feel complete. She hadn’t come tonight to listen to Bob boast about himself and his business. Someone needed to tell him that showing a little male appreciation every now and then would go a long way.
The waitress brought their food, and she thanked the heavens that Bob had a thing about not talking during a meal. Although she had never understood it, she appreciated it tonight. It was the first time that evening that he’d shut up. The silence was lovely.
“Sebrina?”
She glanced across the table, surprised he’d spoken. “Yes, Bob?”
“Thanks for going out with me tonight. I’ve thought of you a lot.”
She wished she could say the same, but she wasn’t about to lie about it. “Thanks. I’ve been pretty busy lately. There’s a shortage of doctors but the hospital just hired a few more, so hopefully, I soon won’t have to pull so many extra hours.”
Bob nodded and then looked down at his meal. That was her cue that he’d rather not hear about her job, although he’d been giving her an earful about his earlier. She took another sip of her wine and was about to begin eating when for some reason, she got the feeling she was being watched.
She glanced around the restaurant but didn’t see anyone. She was about to return her attention to her meal when her gaze lit on a table way across the room, right by the huge stone fireplace. And sitting at that table was Parker.
He and his date were here? Of all the coincidences. And that feeling she’d had about being watched? He was staring at her with a deep, penetrating gaze. She looked back at him while emotions she had tried to ignore where he was concerned were hitting her full force, even across the room. At that moment, she was more aware than ever of the power of their chemistry—the sexual energy that definitely was not fading. This was the first time she’d seen him in a suit, and he looked strikingly handsome.
Suddenly, at that moment, a fiery burst of sexual need settled between her legs and she sucked in a deep breath of air. Bob heard it and glanced up at her. “You okay, Sebrina?”
She broke eye contact with Parker long enough to say, “Yes, I’m fine.”
Bob went back to eating his meal, and she did the same, though she kept sneaking glances at Parker. She wondered what his date thought of him sitting with her, but staring across the room at Sebrina? Her gaze briefly left his to glance over at his date. From her profile, she looked pretty. And she seemed to be keeping up a lively one-sided conversation. Maybe like Bob, she had a business she was bragging about, too.
Sebrina smiled. No, she wouldn’t wish that on Parker. But Victoria was right about one thing—sexual chemistry did have a language all its own. Because at that moment, she was pretty sure she could read Parker’s thoughts and she had a feeling he could read hers.
Even with the distance separating them, the desire between them was almost a physical thing. And while they were both doing their best to try to ignore it, desire was winning the battle.
She also knew something else—his date wasn’t going any better than hers was. As if to let her know she assumed right, he winked. That made her chuckle.
It also made Bob lift his head to glance at her again, then look at her plate. “I thought you were hungry.”
“I am. I was just thinking about something.”
He nodded, then added, “You need to eat before your food gets cold, Sebrina. Besides, after dinner I want to finish telling you about that new project I’m working on.”
She began eating, and another couple was seated at the table beside her and Bob, blocking her direct view of Parker and his date. A short while later, she saw that he and his date had left.
CHAPTER THIRTY
PARKER HUNG UP HIS coat in the closet after he got home. Gabby had tried every trick in the book to get him to come up to her apartment and stay awhile, even going so far as to invite him to stay the night. And even after he told her that he had a busy day tomorrow and needed his rest, she had suggested he come up for what she described as a ‘blow-your-mind quickie’, and then proceeded to describe the act in explicit detail.
But nothing she said caused even the slightest spark of desire to burn in him. All he could imagine as Gabby spoke, was Sebrina doing those things with him. And while that caught his interest, it was wishful thinking on his part.
All through dessert, while Gabby happily chatted away, his gaze kept returning to Sebrina. Blood had rushed through his veins each and every time their eyes connected. It was only when her date said something to her that she became more attentive to her meal. He doubted the man had known what had captured her attention because at no time had he glanced over in Parker’s direction. The same thing had held true with Gabby. She hadn’t had a clue that neither she, nor her conversation, had been his focus this evening.
Even after Sebrina had stopped looking at him, he had continued to watch her, had studied her mouth while she ate, thinking of all the naughty things he would love to do to it. He had even thought about ordering a second piece of cake, just so he could continue to sit there. But when Gabby said she was ready to leave, no doubt assuming he would be coming inside for a while when he took her home, he had no excuse to linger. He had thought about going over to Sebrina’s table to speak before leaving. But then he’d figured it would be best if their dates didn’t pick up on the intense sexual tension between them.
There had never been a time when he’d ached for a woman and hadn’t done anything about it. Unfortunately, this ache wasn’t something he could easily do something about. Because he only wanted her. And she didn’t want to want him.
And he shouldn’t want to want her, either. He had big goals, life goals, and couldn’t afford to let any woman get under his skin. By this time next year, he would be leaving St. Paul for Tampa, and he didn’t want anything holding him back.