“You sure about that?”
“One thousand percent.”
He shrugged with an exaggerated sigh. “Well, shucks. Then I guess you have to find another handsome face to sell your whiskey.”
And just like that, he stood up, set his coffee on her desk, and walked out.
Shock rendered her speechless and inert as she watched him go. But only for a second, because that’s all it took for her dignity to rustle up some self-righteousness. Gretchen shot to her feet and stomped after him. “Where the hell are you going?”
He turned around at the other end of the short hallway. The small space looked even more cramped with his tall frame filling it up. “You said no. I’m going home.”
“Just like that?”
“Is there anything more to be said? At least I’m actually saying goodbye instead of running scared.”
Indignation sparred with a dash of shame, and it made her, as Uncle Jack liked to say, as cross as a raccoon in a trap. She cocked a hip. “Oh, I get it now. This is some kind of revenge, isn’t it?”
“Revenge?”
“You’re doing this to get back at me for committing the unforgivable sin of walking out on the Great Colton Wheeler. That must’ve been a serious blow to your ego, but I am not willing to prostitute myself for your self-esteem.”
A look of horror crossed his face, as if it hadn’t occurred to him she might construe things that way. “Jesus, Gretchen. I’m not demanding that you sleep with me. I want to take you on a date. That’s it.”
She planted her hands on her hips. “Why?”
“What do you mean, why?”
“I mean, you must have millions of women who would give up a lung for a chance to go out with you—”
He nodded. “I do. Sometimes they even toss their bras at me with their phone numbers written on them.”
She tossed up her hands. “Great. Call one of them.”
“I don’t want to. I want to go out with you.”
“Why?”
“Because I like you.”
“No one likes me.”
Colton winked. “With your cheerful disposition? I find that hard to believe.”
“Is that called flirting?” She pressed her hand to her chest. “Be still my beating heart.”
Colton laughed, and Gretchen realized with a start that he was enjoying this. His long legs closed the distance between them, and Gretchen had the momentary instinct to back up. But she held her ground, even when he stepped so close that they could have been dancing. Her body reacted as if she’d been struck by lightning. She remembered distinctly what it was like dancing with him . . . and what it led to.
“Let me try this another way,” he said, his voice dropping into who’s your daddy range. “Gretchen, I like you. I thought you liked me. I have no idea what happened last year that made you go running off like that, but I would love to try again. So would you do me the honor of letting me take you out tonight so you can make your best pitch for why I should consider your family’s proposal?”
It was the sincerity that cracked her resolve. Her voice came out airy. “Why?”
He shrugged. “Why not?”
“Because it’s a waste of time.”
“For who? You or me?”
“Both of us.”
He lifted his eyebrows. “Pick you up tonight at seven?”
Gretchen gulped. “I don’t have much choice, do I?”
“Of course, you have a choice.”
Sure. A choice between having to tell Evan that she’d lived up to his low expectations of her, or go out with the only man who had the power to make her feel the worst emotion ever . . . vulnerability. It wasn’t much of a choice. “Fine,” she ground out.
“Awesome.” He grinned, stepping back. “I’ll pick you up at home.”
He gave a gentle tug to a lock of her hair and then turned around. He paused before opening the front door. “Oh,” he said, looking over his shoulder, “and be sure to dress warm.”
“Why? Where are you taking me?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“I don’t like surprises.”
“You’ll like this one.”
She doubted that very much. “And I hate being cold!”
It was too late. He’d already left.
She chuffed out an argh and returned to her office, her concentration ruined. She had clients relying on her, but her fingers suddenly itched to look up cute cold-weather outfits on Pinterest. The only thing that made the personal humiliation tolerable was knowing she got to call Evan and say she was making progress.