“Still counts.”

His eyes followed my every move as I sucked on the maraschino cherry. Something told me that act was partly why he loved serving me drinks. And considering I liked driving Rush crazy, I made sure to do it in slow motion.

Rush swallowed hard. “So, you enjoyed the movie?”

“Movies plural. I saw two. Actually, they were foreign films, one French and one Italian.”

“You should have hit me up. I would’ve gone with you.”

Playing with my straw, I said, “I didn’t figure you for a foreign film kind of guy.”

“T’as de beaux yeux, tu sais?”

Oh my God. Did he just speak French? He was too damn sexy as it was, then to speak the language of love on top of everything else.

“Well, well…what do you know. You speak French?”

“My mother is originally from Canada. She only moved to Long Island as a teenager. She spoke French to me growing up, and I picked up a lot.”

“What did you just say to me?”

He smirked teasingly. “I’m not telling you.”

“Well, now I’m sorry I didn’t ask you to go to the movies. You wouldn’t have even needed the subtitles. Anyway, I figured you were working.”

He wiped the table. “You’re forgetting I’m the boss. I can take off as much time as I want.”

“I would’ve liked the company, but if I’d asked you to the movies, that might have come across as a bit forward, don’t you think? I wouldn’t have wanted you to take it the wrong way.”

Rush paused, then said, “It wouldn’t have been a date. I don’t date my employees. So, you don’t have to worry about me thinking that.” He stared at me for a few seconds before he resumed wiping the table.

Well, alright then. Thanks for clarifying that.

I broke the several seconds of silence. “Then why are you even interested in going to the movies with me?”

“Because I sort of like your company.”

“Sort of?”

“When you’re not pissing me off the other half of the time, yeah.”

I laughed. “You don’t date your employees. You just order them around and entice them to talk dirty to you.”

He shook his head and flashed a naughty grin. “No…just you. You’re the only one I want to hear talk dirty.”

“Lucky me. You do realize that your behavior is odd.”

“I never claimed to be normal. You don’t know the half of it, Shakespeare.” He slapped the hand towel against the bar and swung it over his shoulder. “Anyway, you like hanging out with me, too. Admit it. You could’ve gone home with Riley. You chose to stick around.”

“Actually, if my memory serves me correctly, you made that decision for me.”

Before he could respond, a tall brunette approached. When Rush’s eyes landed on her, he seemed to tense up. She waved and was headed straight toward him.

Wearing a tight, leather half-jacket over a short, white sundress, she was definitely attractive. I was beginning to feel the same way I had when I’d first spotted Lauren earlier.

Here we go again.

“Rush…you’re still here,” she said. “I was hoping to catch you.”

His jaw tensed. “Rachel…”

She glanced over at me and then back at him. “I was just driving by, figured I’d stop in and see if you were still here, see if you’d want to hang out tonight.”

He scratched his chin and hesitated. “I have some things to do tonight.”

Rachel looked over at me. “Who’s this?”

“One of my employees.”

I offered my name. “Gia.”

Without responding to me, she nudged her head toward the door. “Can we talk for a minute?”

Rush looked pissed but followed her over to a corner where I could still hear what they were saying.

“I miss fucking you, Rush. How come you haven’t returned my calls?”

My heart dropped as I continued to eavesdrop.

“Lower your voice,” he scolded.

Rush then led her toward the entrance where they lingered for a few minutes. I could no longer hear them, but could see she was running her fingers through his hair. Even though he looked annoyed, it irked me to see her touching him. I had no right to feel that way.

Shake it off, Gia.

After she finally left, he returned to where I was sitting at the bar. He didn’t acknowledge what had just happened as he continued to wipe the bar top when there was nothing left to wipe.

“So, who’s Rachel?”

“No one,” he was quick to say.

“I have ears, you know.”

“And what exactly did you hear with those ears, Minnie Mouse?”

“That she misses fucking you. Is she one of your whores?”

He stopped wiping and whipped the towel at me. “Now, now…have some respect. I think the correct term is concubine.”

I snapped my fingers. “Ah, sorry. Didn’t mean to cheapen it.”

He shrugged. “Honestly…she’s no one important…just someone I used to mess around with.”

“Used to?”

“When I meet someone, I’m very clear on the fact that I don’t want a relationship. I don’t make any promises. Sometimes women expect things to keep going when they were never meant to go on. Sometimes, no matter how clear you make your intentions, they still don’t listen.”