This being a Hamptons pub, there were no bikers. Was it possible to be a preppy pub? Even inside, it still wasn’t polished, but nor was it as weathered as the exterior suggested. And Eliza even spotted a couple top-shelf bottles of alcohol.
There were several pool tables, currently empty, with blue felt instead of green. It was, she learned as Craig put a hand on the small of her back and guided her inside, because the pub was called Blue’s.
Interesting.
Not the name of the pub. Eliza had seen a great many fun names in New York. No, it was the way his hand on the small of her back sent warmth throughout her body. The way her body leaned into him. When had that happened? How had that happened?
They skipped the picnic Craig had packed or, rather, Eliza suspected, Donna had packed, and decided to eat at Blue’s. That had been a mistake. The wings were terrible, the potato skins undercooked, and the spring rolls more soggy than springy.
Grimacing at the rolls, Eliza swallowed the bite she’d taken and quickly washed it down with a glass of iced tea.
“At least last night’s restaurant was delicious. What was the name of that place?” she asked, pushing the spring rolls aside. “I’d love to go back sometime.”
“Choppy Waters,” Craig said as he eyed the potato skins. “A hundred times better than here.”
“A thousand,” Eliza agreed.
“But I didn’t bring you here for the food,” Craig said and stood from their booth. “I brought you here for the pool.”
“Pool?” Eliza repeated. A slow smiled spread over her mouth and she stood. “Oh, you’re in the mood for another game.” Nodding toward the closest table, she added, “I’ll take that bet.”
“Oh?” Craig asked as he set the balls in the triangle. “How interesting are our terms going to get?”
“How about dinner?” she asked with a faint smirk. Games she could do. Games with Craig she understood. Warm touches and seductive smiles that made her heart flip? Not so much.
“Burgers and beer?” he asked.
“I’d rather have a fancy night out,” Eliza said, testing her stick.
She wasn’t great at pool but had at least played sometime in the last ten years. Chalking the tip, she dug out a quarter.
“You’re on,” she said and flipped to see who broke.
She did, which was lucky since he seemed to be very, very good at this. Served her right to jump into a bet on a game she couldn’t win. What had her dad always told her about betting before she assessed the odds? Wise man, her dad — she should’ve listened.
They played only one game. And Eliza suspected he let her win. She had no proof, other than a faintly smug look in Craig’s eyes and his gracious, “Fancy dinner tonight, it is.”
But she didn’t quiz him on that; he left to pay their bill, and she used the ladies’ room before they returned to the horses. Apparently, Blue’s was a popular destination for the horse-trotting set, as the pub literally had a row of hitching posts. Eliza found that fascinating as she petted Andromeda, who seemed genuinely happy to see her.
The ride back to the stables was easy. They joked about the food at Blue’s, and Craig admitted they probably should’ve just eaten the picnic lunch they’d packed. Eliza didn’t ask him if he had or Donna had; she just let that go. It wasn’t important in the sudden lightness of their conversation.
Eliza said good-bye to Andromeda and promised to see her again soon. Maybe she’d take lessons, as long as she could have Andromeda to learn with. Or maybe while she was staying with Craig, she’d just come for a visit. She’d grown very fond of the beautiful horse.
“Go shower and change,” Craig said as he pulled into the driveway. “Fancy dress,” he added with a fast smile. “For our fancy dinner tonight.”
Horseback riding was smelly business, and Eliza had to admit that the hot water felt good on muscles she hadn’t been aware of owning. But the big question was what to wear for a fancy dinner out with Craig.
A date?
Hmm, yes, tonight could possibly be considered a date. Did she consider it a date? Eliza wanted to say yes, but her natural cynicism, especially when it came to Craig, held her back.
Her little black dress looked perfect. It skimmed her knees and hugged her curves in all the right places. And that was why she kept it around, because it really was perfect. Since the dress was sleeveless she grabbed a pink pashmina, tugged up her sheer hose, and put on a pair of pink heels that matched the pashmina.
She kept her hair down, applied light makeup, and took one last look at herself before exiting her room.
Craig waited for her at the foot of the stairs. Dressed in a gray suit, with a blue button-down and swirly tie, he made her mouth go dry. Eliza steadied herself on the stairs with a hand on the banister, and smiled down at him.
She knew he cleaned up well, but she’d never seen it directed at her before. It made all sorts of yummy fantasies race through her mind. And swirl through her body.
“You’d leave anybody breathless,” Craig admitted.
The honesty stunned her and made her falter on the last step. Eliza wanted to make a flippant remark and shrug off his words as one of his many tools of seduction. She couldn’t quite manage to, not with the raw look on his face or the clear gaze locked on her.
“You look pretty spiffy, too,” she said with a real smile.
Maybe tonight wasn’t for sarcasm and cutting remarks or catty replies. Maybe tonight was simply for honesty.
“Where are we going?” she asked, suddenly disappointed she’d won a fancy night out. Seeing him there, with his honesty hanging between them, Eliza wanted to stay in.
“You’ve been invited to the most exclusive table there is in the Hamptons.” Craig grinned, his right eyebrow raised, and offered his arm. “It took some doing to wrangle this invitation, too.”
Curious, she racked her brain. “That new place…?”
But Craig was already leading her through the house. Not toward the garage or the front door, but toward the back by the pool.
Flowers floated in the pool with candles mixed in. The large table was covered with a crisp white linen covering it and more flowers in the center. A violinist stood off to the side, and when she and Craig exited the French doors, he immediately began to play.
“How’d you manage all this in such a short time?” Eliza asked.
A server waited by the table, his white gloves gleaming in the fairy lights. He nodded to her, but instead of pulling out her chair, Craig did.
“You’d be surprised what a few phone calls can manage,” Craig said with that unfathomable look again.
Eliza smiled across the table as the waiter told them about their meal: lobster and scallops, salad, and fresh rolls, and for dessert a New York-style cheesecake with raspberry topping.
Behind her, the violinist played on, and it took her several moments to realize it was a Top 40 hit. Eliza laughed and sipped her white wine.
“You really have put a lot of effort into this, Craig. More,” she admitted, somewhat ashamed, “than I thought you would. My favorite foods, my favorite type of music.” She smiled and tilted her head in the direction of the violinist.
However that man learned to play Top 40 hits for the violin, Eliza applauded his skill.
“What fun is it to be friends with someone for a long time, want them,” Craig added significantly, raising his glass in a toast. “Then when you finally get the opportunity to be with them, not use your knowledge of their likes to your advantage?”
Eliza set her own glass down and drew in a deep breath. Serious it was then. “And if this happens between us, Craig?” She waited for a beat while the waiter set her salad. “If we enjoy each other,” she continued, “it’ll change how we relate to each other.”
“You really think so?” He leaned over the table, curious with that intense focus that made her heart skip a beat. Those dark eyes that drew her in, more so now than ever before.
The sarcastic reply died on her tongue. “It’s inevitable that things would change,” she said honestly.
“They don’t have to change for the bad,” Craig told her, and Eliza thought he really believed that.
“I supposed you and me could be fun,” Eliza allowed. She took a moment to gather her thoughts, and tasted the salad. “But I have to admit, this is all very weird. We’ve been friends for years, Craig, and I never really expected to be at a romantic table by your pool if there wasn’t a group of us.”
With him flirting with most of the women. Was that how she saw him? Was that only how she saw him? No. No, it wasn’t, and the more time she spent with him like this, just the two of them, the more Eliza saw a different side of him.
He’d been uncharacteristic — his honest, his lack of snark, and what seemed to be sincerity. But that had to be his skill. She’d never really been on the receiving end of his seduction ploy. No wonder women didn’t stand a chance.
Craig swallowed a bite of his salad and sent her a fast grin. “I’ve done groups; it’s not really my thing.”
Eliza choked on a laugh, and her salad went down wrong. Hastily sipping her wine, she grinned across the table at him as the waiter removed their salads and set the lobster and scallops down. “I’m sure you’ve done most everything.”
Damn. And she’d wanted to keep her remarks smooth and polite. But Craig only smiled, stabbed a scallop, and held it across the table to her. Before she could think the move through, Eliza leaned over and accepted the bite.
She did not miss the way his eyes watched her mouth. Or the way his gaze heated. Or how that heat spread through her.
“At the moment,” Craig said in a low voice that went straight through her, “not the right things.”
Eliza enjoyed the scallop, but had no reply. The violinist continued to play, but for the most part she and Craig ate in silence. What conversation they did have was about the food, or how certain songs translated for the violin, or even her sudden desire to learn to ride. So long as it was on Andromeda.
After the last bit of cheesecake she really shouldn’t have had, Craig stood and offered his hand to her.
Eliza bit her lip but accepted it. Did he want to dance to the violin version of some pop diva’s ballad?
No. He escorted her back to her room. The perfect gentleman. Each move of his continued to throw her until Eliza didn’t know who the real Craig was. She almost asked, almost joked, Would the real Craig Grant please take off his mask? But she couldn’t bring herself to ruin the mood and the moment, this quiet, perfect moment between them.
And then he kissed her.
Outside her room, ending the evening like the gentleman he’d been, he kissed her. Not a gentlemanly kiss on the cheek. Not a quick, chaste press of his lips against hers.
Craig’s kiss curled her toes, blasted heat through her, made her forget her name. Well, certainly made her forget how to breathe. The world tilted and spun faster, and Eliza combed her hands through his hair and pulled him closer.
What was she doing? And did it matter?
There was something familiar yet foreign about his kiss — she’d never kissed him like this before. But somehow Eliza knew what it’d be like.
Name? Who cared about names?
His tongue slipped past her lips and swept her mouth, and Eliza shivered, pulling Craig closer. She was suddenly glad she’d opted for the higher pink heels to bring their heights closer together. Because she could feel his hardness against her belly as he pressed her against the door.
And then he pulled back.
Eliza struggled to draw in breath. To remember how to breathe. Damn. Oh, damn. What was this? What had she done?
“Good night, Eliza,” Craig said. The back of his fingers brushed down her cheek and made her nerve endings spark. She wanted to feel those fingers on the rest of her body. On all of her body.
“Night,” she managed.
Eliza made it into her bedroom, she knew that, and slipped off her shoes. She just didn’t know how that happened. But her limbs still moved, so it must’ve been her. Not bothering to undress further, she wandered to the window seat.
She licked her lips and tasted Craig there. The sharpness of him, the underlying taste of wine. One kiss, one simple kiss. Hell, as far as she was concerned, that was more than a kiss. That was…Eliza didn’t know. A brand? A…
She licked her lips again and looked out the window at the brilliant night.
It’d only been a couple days since Craig made his intentions to seduce her clear. And Eliza had been ready — ready to give him the game of his life. To tease and taunt him just enough until he revealed how this was all a challenge for him — a way to one-up her. How could her opinion change in so short a time?
And did it really matter?
This was also her chance to taste Craig. It’d blow her scorecard to hell and back. She’d need a new one, probably. Or maybe just scrap the entire thing. She was lousy at keeping score, anyway.
“What the hell,” she muttered. “I’ve made mistakes before. What’s one more?” She shrugged and stood.
Not bothering with her shoes, Eliza smoothed a hand down the front of her dress and took a deep breath. She left her room and headed straight for Craig’s.