“What did you have in mind?” I could get her a good job somewhere with a nice salary, but I suspected she would reject my offer. Maybe after we got to know each other a little better, she’d be more receptive to it. I could tell this woman was too proud to take a handout. I admired her for it even though I didn’t like it. But the thing that surprised me the most was myself. Why did I want to help her at all? Why did I care?
“Maybe bartending.” She turned on her stool, and her knee gently grazed mine. She had beautiful tanned skin that didn’t possess a single flaw. Her body was toned like she did weights or some other form of exercise. “Maybe stripping.”
Both of my eyebrows rose up my face. “You’d be a damn good stripper.”
She chuckled slightly at my reaction.
“I’d be in the front row every night.”
She chuckled again. “I’m kidding. My ex-husband would march in there and drag me out by the hair.”
I wasn’t sure how long they’d been divorced, but I was surprised he still felt involved in her life. “You don’t seem like the kind of woman that would let that stop you.”
Her smile faded away, but her eyes had a new look. They softened like warm butter. She took me in with an expression she hadn’t given me before. “I could use the money…but not the headache.”
“You could strip for me…privately.” I smiled so she knew I was kidding…even though I wasn’t kidding.
That pretty smile was back, and her shoulders relaxed now that she was growing more comfortable around me. She ran her fingers through her hair and pulled it from her face. I noticed the way her fingertips glided through the curls so easily.
I wanted to do the same thing.
“Truth is, I don’t have a lot of work experience. I got married too young and didn’t work for years. I’m basically starting over.”
“You’re still young. Have plenty of time to do anything you want. Question is, what do you want to do?”
She considered the question in silence, swirling her drink as she tried to find an answer. “I really don’t know. Right now, I’m just looking for a stable job that pays the bills.”
“I always have positions at the bank…if you’d be interested in that.”
Thankfully, she wasn’t offended by the offer. “That’s sweet, but no thank you.”
“You could be my secretary…or sex-retary.”
“You already have a secretary.”
“But you’re way sexier.” I winked at her.
Even when she laughed, she was beautiful. Her lips parted, and all her beautiful teeth were visible. Her eyes crinkled in the cutest way. “I don’t think that’s a very good qualification.”
“Depends on what you’re trying to get done. Having a beautiful woman in my lap is far more important to me than expense reports, meetings, all that boring bullshit.” I could visualize it now, her dress riding up and exposing her slender thighs as she straddled my hips.
“Sounds like you wouldn’t be in business long.”
I shrugged. “I do have my other job, so…”
She grabbed her glass and took another drink, this time finishing it off. She didn’t ask me about my other occupation, and this time, it seemed purposeful.
“You want another?”
She pushed the empty glass away. “No. I’ve already had two. That’s my limit. Any more than that and I lose my mind and think I’m a wizard.”
I chuckled. “I’d like to see that. I have a wand for you to use.”
She smiled slightly at my joke. “Thank you for not asking a million questions about my divorce.” Maybe the alcohol had suddenly hit her hard and made her vulnerable. When I’d shown up at her restaurant, she had been a spitfire of anger and sass, but now she was calm and interesting…the way she was at the bank. “Every time I go out with a guy, they fixate on that. They ask me a million questions, and it feels like an interrogation.”
“You can tell me as little or as much as you want.” I had to admit I was curious, but I was glad I hadn’t asked. It seemed to make her more comfortable around me. I hadn’t looked into her husband’s account to figure out what he did or what he was like. I thought it might make me jealous, so I refrained. “I would like to know how long you’ve been divorced, but you don’t have to tell me that.” It seemed like it was fresh because she was still on his account and she’d just bought her own place, but she talked about other men, so some time must have passed.
“It’s been six months.”
I could barely control my reaction. That was a long time, and I was surprised she wasn’t able to get herself off his account until recently. I was surprised she hadn’t gotten her own place before now. A million questions came into my mind, but I didn’t ask any of them.
“What about you?”
It’d been a long time since Hades said he wanted nothing to do with me, at least eight months. I’d expected him to come around at some point, but he was just as cold as ever. Every time I saw him, it seemed to get worse. His hatred only grew, and my resentment matched. “About eight months.”
She nodded slowly. “It’s rough.”
Hades wasn’t a lover or a spouse, but he was my closest friend. He was family. When he couldn’t forgive me, part of me died and never came back. My regret turned to rage, and I became so cold that I felt like I had ice in my veins. I understood how she felt when she said she didn’t want to talk about her divorce, because I didn’t want to talk about him.
She studied my face. “I can see it in your eyes.”
I stopped trying to control my expression and realized how black my heart had just turned. I focused on her face and felt my fingers grip my glass. “See what?”
“Everything.”