Free Jaded by Ember Leigh Page B

her.”
    She eyed him cautiously. “I know what you’re looking for.”
    “So?”
    “Just admit it. You’re a womanizer.”
    “No. If I were a womanizer, I would say something like, ‘Your tits look great in that top.’ But I’m not a womanizer, so I’ll say, ‘You look really great tonight’, because you do. That makes me just a normal guy.”
    She watched him, smiling. It seemed she liked what she was hearing. She’d be putty in his hands soon enough.
    “Well, explain why you’re so cocky.”
    He feigned a look of shock. “Me? You think I’m cocky ?”
    She pursed her lips.
    “I’m cocky because I choose to be. It’s endearing.”
    “It’s not endearing.”
    “Maybe not to you.” He winked.
    She narrowed her eyes at him. “So I know your game.”
    He sighed loudly. “Listen, I’m gonna tell you something straight up, and if you repeat this I’ll deny it until the day I die, because honestly, babe, I can’t take too much more of this third-degree here.” Luke leaned in close to her over the table and lowered his voice. “I used to be smart; I used to use big words like you, but that’s not part of my life anymore. It wasn’t a choice; it just had to happen, you see? With where I work, with who I work around, I can’t use that part of me.”
    Luke paused, took a bite of his breadstick, chewed it, and then said, “There’s a different Luke buried inside me, okay? He’s the real Luke Peterson, and actually he prefers to use his full name, Luke Titus Peterson, because it sounds more impressive. But I can’t be him every day; with the world I live in, I have to revert to some sort of...” He paused, feeling the exact word swirling deep inside him, and struggled to pull it from the murky depths of his vocabulary. “...primordial male mode. All that’s required is that I eat a lot, drink a lot, and ogle a lot of women. Those expectations of me are much lower than somebody like, well, you.”
    Isabella didn’t miss a beat. “So who do you talk to?”
    “What do you mean? I talk to lots of people.”
    “No, I mean, really talk to. Who does Luke Titus Peterson come out to?”
    Luke paused, struggling to remember the last time he’d been required to have an opinion about something other than a pair of legs or a new flavor of beer. “Nobody.”
    Her eyes softened and she took a sip of wine. “I’m sorry.”
    “Don’t be. I’m fine with it.”
    “Are you really?”
    He bristled. “You might not understand, being privileged and all, but when you’re dealt a certain set of cards, you just gotta roll with it. I’m providing for myself; the rest doesn’t matter.”
    “Well.” She lifted her eyebrows and took a big gulp of her wine. “Looks like I touched a sore subject.” She paused, watching him a moment. “If you want, I can readjust my requirements so that we can drink, laugh, and ogle lots of women.”
    Luke bit back a smile, hoping she wouldn’t think he was starting to seriously fall for her. He was acting like such a child at times, unable to contain his blushes and grins, as though every noise or phrase she uttered were exactly the thing he wanted to hear. As the night went on, he knew without a doubt he was with her because he genuinely wanted to spend time with her. The bet hadn’t propelled him here at all. In fact, the bet continued to weigh heavy on him. He wanted to tell her, just to clear the air, to get it out there for his own peace of mind. But how could he bring it up?
    Luke decided to steer away from the touchy subjects and they enjoyed the rest of their dinner talking about lighthearted things. By the end of the meal, he couldn’t recall the last time he’d had so much fun on a date, and he most certainly couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt such warmth surrounding his heart. He felt almost lightheaded as they left the restaurant, unable to focus on anything other than each moment with her as it occurred.
    Luke was surprised to learn that Isabella