He had left the party early that night and caught a flight back to Savannah the next day, claiming he had an important case to prepare for. And though Quinn and Alexia might have believed that lie, his brothers had not. Mainly because they’d already agreed to hang around L.A. for a few days after the party and take in the sights.
At first, he’d refused to tell them the reason, but finally, he’d leveled with them. They had known about the woman he’d met in Paris, but they couldn’t believe that woman had been Victoria. Although he hadn’t met Victoria before, his brothers had met her while visiting Quinn and Alexis on other occasions. They liked Victoria, and thought she was a nice person. That wasn’t what he’d wanted to hear because she definitely hadn’t been nice to him.
After that night at the party, their paths crossed often — more often than he appreciated. And when he’d moved from Savannah to L.A. to join Quinn’s law firm, it was a given that they’d see each other from time to time. Victoria owned a nursery and landscaping business whose clients included major corporations on the west coast. That meant she traveled to L.A. a lot. And they always seemed to find themselves in the same place at the same time. Was it awkward? Definitely. They had yet to talk about what happened between them in Paris.
However, tonight they would discuss it, whether she wanted to or not.
He stood when she approached the table. “Glad you could make it, Victoria.” In a way it was hard to think of her as Victoria when he’d only thought of her as Adele for so long.
She took her seat and looked over at him. “Did you honestly think I wouldn’t, Cortez? You were right, it’s time for us to move on.”
Was she admitting they hadn’t? That she hadn’t? It was too early to ask, but he would use the rest of the evening to feel her out. He needed to know if he still affected her the way she did him.
A waiter approached the table with a water decanter. When he left, she glanced around. “Nice place. How did you know about it?”
“I’ve been to St. Paul before. I have a friend here whom I visit on occasion,” he said.
“Oh.”
The waiter returned with menus, and she took a few minutes to check out the restaurant’s offerings. He hesitated a minute, studying her, instead. When she glanced up and caught him staring, he couldn’t help but ask the one question that had plagued him for years. He needed an answer, and he wanted it now. “Why did you run out on me in Paris?”
Victoria drew in a deep breath. At least he hadn’t asked why she hadn’t given him her real name, or what she’d been doing in Paris in the first place. He was only interested in knowing why she’d disappeared when she’d promised to stay the entire weekend.
She knew he deserved an answer. It had been simple — he’d taken what he wanted from her, and she had taken what she’d wanted from him. Only she hadn’t counted on the situation between them being so sinfully erotic. Or him to be so sensuously powerful.
She’d never dreamed he’d rock her world the way he had, or that her need for him would hammer her senses, making her lose the control she’d kept such a tight rein on when it came to men. That night, she’d practically drowned in the taste, scent, and feel of him. There was no way she could hang around for two more nights of his lovemaking, when after just one night in his bed sexual energy had consumed her, and her common sense had flown out the window. Any more time with him would weaken her even more. She’d known Cortez was special, that he could be the one to make her reconsider her thoughts on men. After their night together, he’d been so loving and caring with her, two traits she’d never associated with the men she knew.
But still, she often thought about that night, about the way she’d run off that morning without a trace… And she knew if the shoe had been on the other foot — and she’d awakened to find him gone — she would have been just as upset, as well.
Placing her menu aside, she took a sip of her water. “I felt I had lied long enough.” There was no need to go into detail about why she’d decided to end their game. Or tell him about how she’d felt herself losing control of the situation. Had she remained for three nights, she would have given up any sense of self-restraint. And she had promised herself years ago not to let any man get in the way of her common sense.
He held her gaze. “Why did you lie at all?”
“Why had you?”
He frowned. “I might not have shared everything about myself, Victoria, but I didn’t lie. I often go by the name of Cort rather than Cortez. I was in Paris celebrating passing my bar exam, and I was there waiting for my best friends — my brothers — to arrive. So, what did I lie about exactly?”
She took another sip of water when her lips suddenly felt dry again. Okay, so he hadn’t lied. But she had. She’d told him she was French and had led him to believe she was a student at the University of Paris. instead of an intern working at the botanical gardens.
“I admit, I owe you an apology for not being truthful with the information I had shared about myself,” she said. “But please try to understand my reasons. I didn’t know you, but I knew what you wanted from me. And it was the same thing I wanted from you.”
She figured their desire for each other had been for different reasons at the time, but it hadn’t mattered. “I couldn’t take the chance of you one day using our time together against me.”
“And you think that I would have done something like that?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Like I said, I didn’t know you. The only thing I was certain about was that I wanted you,” she said honestly.
There was no reason to lie about that. She had wanted him in a big way, even when she hadn’t known just how powerful desire could be. She might have wanted him to help rid her of her virginity, at first, but the more time she’d spent with him, the more she’d just wanted him, skin to skin.
“And I’d wanted you.”
His words made her look over at him. Yes, she’d known he’d wanted her. At least they were being honest with each other about that. She appreciated the waiter returning to refill their water glasses. When the man walked away, she glanced over at Cortez. He’d been sipping his wine while watching her. And then she felt it. That same slow pull in the pit of her stomach that she’d experienced that very first day.
“What about now, Victoria Adele?”
He was letting her know that he knew Adele was her middle name. She figured he discovered it since a number of her older relatives called her by her first and middle name. Realizing what he’d asked her, she nervously licked her lips. “Now?”
“Yes, do you want me now?”
She frowned. “Why would you ask me something like that? For all you know, I might have a boyfriend. And you might even have a girlfriend.”
“I date on occasion, but I don’t have a steady girlfriend. Do you have a steady guy?”
She had a feeling that he knew she didn’t. He had a close relationship with Quinn and Alexia, and probably knew more about her than she wanted him to know. “No, but that’s beside the point. I might have had one.”
He placed his wineglass down. “The only thing that matters to me is us, Victoria.”