Free Tempting Nora by A.M. Evanston

around. Laughing at herself, she finally jumped out of the car and then went inside the restaurant.
    As her mouth watered due to the smell of roasting steak, she walked over to the hostess who stood behind a service desk.
    " I have a reservation," she said. "It should be under the name Robert Campbell."
    "Yes, your friend is already here." The hostess let out a dreamy sigh.
    What was that sigh about? Normally people didn't sigh when talking about Robert—unless it was a sigh of exasperation.
    "Oh." Nora nodded. "Okay."
    "I'll show you to your table." The hostess flashed a grin, then sized her up. Judging by the way her smile lessened several molars, the woman was not impressed.
    Perplexed, Nora trailed behind the hostess. She was led over to a table in the backroom. But Robert was not waiting for her. Unfortunately, Gideon was.
    "Here you are, m a'am," the hostess said, even as she simpered at Gideon.
    The woman went ignored by both of them. Looking putout, the hostess left.
    "No, no, no." Nora glared at Gideon. "What the heck are you doing here?"
    Gideon cocked his head and gave a dazzling grin.
    "You may want to sit down." He motioned for her to take a seat. "People are staring."
    Sure enough, every head was turned in her direction. For a moment Nora considered making a fool of herself and running away, but then—much to her shame—curiosity got the better of her. She sunk down into her chair and glared at Gideon.
    "Where's Robert?" she asked. "I was supposed to meet him here, not you ."
    She said "you" as if she was talking about something unpleasant like a creepy spider.
    "Something came up." Gideon shrugged.
    "Something?" She glared at him suspiciously. There was no doubt in her mind that Gideon was responsible for this something.
    "Yes." Gideon shrugged and opened a menu.
    "And what would th is something be?" She wasn't going to let this go without a fight.
    "I happen to have a lot of beautiful friends that would love to go to a Trevor Malone concert." Gideon shr ugged. "One of them happens to be a model for an up-and-coming magazine. Naturally, Robert was more than a little ecstatic to have such a gorgeous date, so he was willing to let me have you for the evening if I set him up with her."
    My best friend left me with Gideon because of a model? The betrayal stung. Sure, she hadn't wanted to go to the concert anyway, but what Robert did was low.
    "I can't believe him," she said.
    "You aren't mad, are you?" Gideon asked. "I talked him into it. And it took a lot of persuasion. A lot."
    "How much persuasion is a lot?" She raised an eyebrow.
    "Well, I had to show him the woman's picture." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
    She winced. That wasn't much persuasion at all.
    "Oh, come on." Gideon frowned, noting her pained expression. "When else would Robert have an opportunity to go on a date with a model? He saw a chance and he took it."
    " He practically sold me to you." She wrinkled her nose.
    "Sold you?" Gideon snorted. "Stop being so dramatic. He thought he was doing you a favor. He told me so."
    "What?" How could Robert think such a thing?
    "It seems he worries about your lack of love life." A wicked grin crossed Gideon's face.
    "That's it." She flew to her feet. "I'm killing him and then you."
    Heads turned in her direction again. Even though Gideon was smiling, he pulled her into her chair.
    "Don't leave," Gideon said. "You want cake, don't you?" 
    "Hmph. " Of course she did, but she was still mad.
    "Order anything you want." Gideon pulled out the dessert menu and handed it to her. "Heck, eat an entire cake if you want to."
    As she stared down at the menu, her mouth watered. She studied the picture of her favorite dessert. Layers of thick chocolate cheesecake were drenched in gooey fudge. A whipped cream swirl covered the top of the cake. The piece was garnished with shreds of dark chocolate and decadent syrup.
    She looked up from the menu.
    "What's the catch?" she asked.
    "Catch?" Gideon cocked his head.