He stepped out of his car and approached the two women. They spun around to stare at him. Maria’s mouth opened and closed like a goldfish. Vera said nothing, but her eyes widened.
Rowan flashed the smile that had secured his latest six-figure modeling contract. “Dr. Rios, I’d like to take you out to dinner.”
Maria nudged Vera not-so-discreetly and scurried to her car, leaving Vera and Rowan staring at each other.
“Uh, I…” Vera glanced down at her tote and shifted her weight, as if on the verge of running. When she looked up and met his gaze, the sparkle of humor in her eyes caught him off guard. “Just to be sure I can afford it, what is your…um…rate?”
The truth about his profession stood on the tip of his tongue, but driven by a perversely wicked streak of matching humor, he bit it back. “Let’s just say the first one’s on me.”
“Really?”
Rowan stepped forward and reached for her hand. She did not resist as he raised it to his lips. He kept his eyes on hers and observed her transition from wary hesitation to trembling anticipation as he breathed the promise of a kiss upon her knuckles. Her slender fingers quivered as he laced his fingers with hers, but she did not pull away. Their hands fit well together; perhaps it was a lucky omen.
For a moment, Rowan forgot that his only intention was to give a lonely woman a wonderful night on the town. He gestured to his car. “Come on. I’ll drive.”
She glanced at her car, a sedate silver Honda Accord, and then at his firecracker red Audi. “I…”
He supposed that healthy caution was not a bad thing for a woman. “I’m not in the habit of hurting women. Remember, escorts only get paid if the woman is alive and happy after the date.”
She pressed her lips together. It could have been a nervous gesture, but a corner of her mouth quirked upward. If he had to hazard a guess, he would have pegged her as amused rather than concerned.
“You could call Iris,” he suggested. “Ask for a reference.” He had to work to conceal his smile. His sister would be livid, but he knew Iris well enough to suspect that she would actually play along, just for laughs. After all, no one was getting hurt.
“I guess I will,” Vera said. She tugged her hand free and walked a short distance away before reaching into her bag for her cell phone.
Rowan leaned against his car, his tongue tucked into his cheek, and braced for an evening that was going to be a great deal more entertaining than he had anticipated.
Chapter 3
Vera searched her cell phone directory for Iris’s number, but stopped short of calling it. What was the point? Rowan was obviously confident of receiving a positive referral from Iris, and it could mean anything from something as fundamental as “He’s not going to rape you and kill you” to the truly important things like “He’s a demigod in the bedroom.”
Vera turned her back on Rowan to hide her sudden blush and held up the phone to her ear to fake a private phone conversation. Could Iris say anything that could change her mind?
Probably not, she decided. She lingered on the fake phone call for a few moments longer before slipping her cell phone back into her bag and walking toward Rowan. “All right, I’m in.”
He held the car door open for her. “I promise it’ll be the best night you’ve had in the past twenty-four hours.”
She laughed. “Not aiming high, are we?” Some of the tension eased out of her shoulders, although the butterflies in her stomach were multiplying in a breeding season run amok. God knew Rowan did not need to aim high. The last time she had been out on a date with someone who wasn’t her husband had been fourteen years ago, at her junior year prom. She had married Darren several months later, and the butterflies in her stomach had gone extinct shortly thereafter.
Well, they were back with vengeance now. She looked at Rowan as he slid into the driver’s seat. “Where are we going?”
“Ever been to YOLO?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“It’s a fun scene. I think you’ll like it.” The Audi engine came to life with a low purr. Rowan handled the stick shift of the obedient-though-not-quite-tame sports car with the same easy confidence that had attracted Vera from the start. “Have you lived in Fort Lauderdale long?” he asked.
“Most of my life. I left for medical school, but came back for my residency. What about you?”
“I live in New York.”
“Oh?” She studied his chiseled profile. “Did you come down here for a date?”
A corner of his mouth tugged up into a grin. “I came down to see someone. The unexpected date with you is just a perk.”
“It’s not a real date, is it?” Damn. Even she had heard the quiver in her voice. She needed better self-control.
“It is to me.” He took his attention off the road for a split second and placed his hand on hers. His touch steadied her. “If it makes you feel better, just imagine I’m Iris’s brother, or something equally innocuous.”
“But you’re too good-looking to be just someone’s brother who happened to ask me out on a date. This isn’t a normal thing for me; I don’t usually hang out with people who look like you.”
His amber eyes darkened subtly. “You must not have looked in a mirror recently.”
“What?”
“You’re stunning.”
The muscles in Vera’s back tensed, and she inhaled a jagged breath of air. “You say that to everyone you take on a date?”
For a moment, he looked offended before easing into a half-smile. He shrugged. “Far fewer than you’d expect.”
“I’m not used to compliments.”
“I’m noticing that.” He pulled off I-95 and swung the car toward downtown Fort Lauderdale. “Would you like to spend tonight practicing how to receive them gracefully?”
“Only if they’re sincere.”
“I wouldn’t offer them otherwise.”
“Really?” She arched an eyebrow. “In your line of work, I’d have thought…”
“Thought what?” he asked as her voice trailed off.
“Nothing. It was rude to even think it.”
“It didn’t stop you before.” He sounded amused.
Even so, Vera flushed. “In the clinic. I’m sorry. Your attitude just…got to me.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean why?”
“I won’t pretend it’s honest work, since it is technically illegal, but it’s a choice people make—”
“Is it?” Vera shook her head. “How many of these women are selling their bodies because it’s the only thing they believe they can do?”
“Probably more than I think and less than you think.”
She looked at him, startled by how easily he had cut through their differences and averted a pointless discussion over numbers neither of them could back up. “Are you always this good with women?”
“Me?” He flashed her a smile as he turned the car into the circular driveway in front of YOLO. “Hold on to that thought.”
A waiting valet opened the passenger door for Vera, and then stepped around the front of the idling vehicle to hand Rowan a claim ticket.