London Falling (25 page)

She caught her breath. The Royal Protection Squad had her passport number and knew she was living here. What would they do to Simon if they discovered her illegal activities?

Simon glanced at his watch and sighed. Half-past nine. He’d been searching for Aimee for almost two hours. What in the hell was he doing? He should be at the office, working on his proposal, or going over the event with Lucy, but he was wandering the streets of SOHO and searching for Aimee. He could have just left her a note, but no, he had to spend hours searching for her so he could tell her in person. His father was right. He didn’t deserve to win the royals’ business if he acted like this.

Two hours just to let her know that she couldn’t be there tomorrow night. He’d had word that one of the royals was coming, although he had no idea who, and the last thing he needed was for the RDPD to discover Aimee was staying at his house. Lucy had offered to let Aimee use her flat tomorrow night, and he had to convince Aimee to take her up on it, not just for tomorrow night, but for the rest of her stay. He couldn’t have Aimee at his house, providing a distraction from his work.

Simon walked past a narrow side street, catching a glimpse of something pink. Aimee’s fairy cake boxes were pink. He stopped, backed up, and stared down the alley.

There she was.

He almost hadn’t seen her. She was tucked in a dark doorway, next to a loud bar. She’d hidden her trademark red hair under a knit cap. A knit cap that looked very much like the one he’d worn skiing last winter. If not for the pink boxes, he never would have seen her at all. What was she doing, hiding in a dark street like that? Was he going to have to watch her all night to keep her safe? Sometimes, he wondered where she’d left her survival instinct. He strode down the narrow sidewalk.

His steps echoed against the buildings. It was ridiculously dark down this street. Aimee turned at the sound of his footsteps. An open smile lit up her face as she turned, but it faded when she realized the person walking down the street was him and not a potential customer.

“I didn’t expect to see you here,” she said.

All of a sudden, Simon wanted to wring her neck for putting herself in so much danger. “If you recall, I’m supposed to be providing protection for you.”

“Don’t you have another job to do? Besides, I’ve been doing fine by myself.”

“You’re standing in a dark doorway in a dark alley! You’re practically asking someone to mug you.”

She rolled her eyes. “This is the best spot so far for selling cupcakes. I’ve almost sold everything already, and I even made a double batch today.” She turned away. “Besides, I can defend myself.”

“Right. You barely hit a hundred pounds.”

She snorted. “I wish.”

“How can you be so naive?”

“I can defend myself.”

“How?”

“I’d show you, but I’d hate to hurt you.”

He wanted to bang his head against the wall. Why wouldn’t she get it into her head that she needed protection? “I don’t believe you.”

“Fine.” She shrugged. “Go ahead and attack me.”

Simon couldn’t stop his bark of incredulous laughter. “I’m not going to attack you.”

“Your loss,” she said, lifting one shoulder.

“Aimee …” He stepped closer to intimidate her into listening to him. She smelled of chocolate and mint. One curl snuck out from beneath the cap and cradled her face near her jaw. How could he want to strangle someone at the same time he wanted to snog them into oblivion? “You’ve got to stop acting so stupid.”

“What?” Anger stained her cheeks red. Her eyes narrowed to tiny slits.

“I’m acting stupid?” She gave an angry hiss. “I’m the one who’s done fine all on her own so far. I live by myself at home, and I come home at all hours of the night on the bus. Do you know how many crazies there are at four in the morning in the University district where I live? I’m not stupid. I know how to take care of myself. Not only have I taken self-defense classes, but I know karate.” She balled her hands into fists at her sides. “Errgh! I know enough to knock you on your ass! So don’t give me any of your stupid reasons. I do not need a man to take care of me. I’ve been doing line my whole life.”

She stalked over to him, put her hands on her hips and glared at him.

She was brilliant! It was all he could do not to pull her into his arms and kiss her right then and there. She was strong, and sexy, and stubborn, and apparently she even knew karate. He was actually turned on by that! She stepped closer to him, and he was suddenly on the ground, with an altogether different view of her. He’d been so distracted by the sexy jut of her hips and the fire in her expression that he hadn’t even see it coming.

She pointed her finger at his chest and said, “I don’t need you here. So just go away and work on your stupid proposal.”

His arm hurt where he’d hit the ground, but he couldn’t stop grinning.

“I’m staying.”

“No.”

“Yes.” He rolled over to his knees and stood up.

“Errgh!” She paced back and forth in front of him, but she was distracted by a large man leaving the bar. She was able to sell him two fairy cakes, and after she pocketed the money, her anger had dissipated. “I can’t have you here, Simon. Please,” she pleaded with him.

He knew she was upset about last night. He was upset about last night.

And there was only one thing that would fix it. “I want a do-over.”

Aimee almost had to scrape her jaw off the dirty sidewalk. “A do-over?”

“It means that I want a second chance.”

“I know what it means.” She didn’t understand him. He couldn’t be referring to last night could he? Why would he want to sleep with her again after her embarrassing performance? Although he was a man. They didn’t need much–just a willing body–and they could enjoy themselves. She shook her head. Never would she put herself through that humiliation again.

He narrowed the distance between them and placed his hands on her arms. He stood so close that when he whispered in her ear, his warm breath made her shiver. “You have to give me a second chance.”

She wanted to shrink into the ground. “I can’t! It’s too embarrassing!”

The words came out before she could stop them. She pulled away so she didn’t have to look into his eyes and see his pity.

His voice got really quiet. “Why was it embarrassing?”

Why wouldn’t he go away? “Do I have to spell it out for you?” She lowered her voice, in case anyone was near. “Because I sucked. And I’m not going to miraculously get better overnight.” She felt her face heat up in embarrassment. She turned her back on him so she wouldn’t have to see his face. Why wouldn’t he just go away and leave her alone?

He was quiet for so long that she wondered if he had gone away. She turned around, but no such luck. He was still standing there with an awestruck expression on his face and his hands hanging limply by his sides.

“What?” she asked.

“You said that you sucked.”

She crossed her arms, willing him to disappear.

He looked up at the sky and then a crack of laughter escaped his lips.

“Fine. Go ahead and make fun of me,” she said. “That’s really big of you.”

She turned her back on him again because she was about to cry, and she couldn’t handle giving him one more reason to look down on her.

“Hey, don’t cry,” he said, suddenly standing in front of her. He pulled her into his arms. He was big and strong and warm. Seeking comfort, she turned her head into his shoulder and slid her arms around his waist. She couldn’t help herself.

“I’m not crying,” she said. At least not yet.

“Aimee, you can’t cry because of last night,” he said. He sighed. “How do I say this?” His chest rose and fell on another deep breath. “I want a do-over because of my performance last night. I know I let you down, and you’re right not to want to give me a chance again, but I swear I can do better. I will do better.”

Her unshed tears balled up in her throat. What was he saying? Was he saying that he was the one who sucked? Aimee pulled away to gauge his expression, because surely she was misreading him.

Someone entered the street, so he pulled her into the doorway. “I don’t know what happened to me. I just lost control. I haven’t had that poor of a performance since my first time.” He leaned so close that she could feel his breath on her ear. “I wanted you too much.”

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”

“I wish.” He pulled back and focused on her eyes. He looked intensely serious. “The only thing you were guilty of was being so attractive that I couldn’t keep my wits about me.”

Could he be telling the truth? That he didn’t think she was a horrible lover?

“Please Aimee. You have got to give me a second chance.”

A second chance? At humiliation? Or would it be completely different this time? She pulled away. “I’ll think about it.”

“You’ll think about it? That’s it?”

She nodded. She wanted to believe him, but what if he were pretending just so he could get her into bed? She didn’t think so, but there was always the possibility.

“I have to sell my cupcakes first.”

He let out his breath in a frustrated sigh. “You’re killing me.”

She held in her smile so she could torture him a little more.

They hung out by that bar for a while, but there seemed to be a lull in the number of people on the street. Aimee tried to focus on something other than last night, but it was hard with Simon pacing back and forth between her and the doorway. Everything about him drew her eyes. The stubborn set of his shoulders. His eyes bright from the cold. The way he walked, as if he owned the street. The way he’d stopped pacing and now stared at her.

“What?” she asked.

“Huh?” he asked. “I was thinking.” He rubbed his chin, scraping the shadow of his beard. With his just-a-bit-too-long hair and his five o’clock shadow, he looked slightly dangerous. All he needed was a leather jacket and a motorcycle to complete the look.

“About what?” Work probably. And how he shouldn’t be spending time with her.

He looked up and down the street. There wasn’t a soul around. “About why a beautiful woman like you would think that she was terrible in bed?”

Uh-oh. She did not want to talk about this. She’d already revealed way too much to him. “I wonder if we should switch locations. Things have gotten pretty quiet around here.”

He pulled his elbows back and shoved his hands in his coat pocket. “Was I your first time?”

“What? No!”

“Are you sure?” he asked.

Where was that hole that could open up in the pavement and swallow her in an instant? “Of course I’m sure. Don’t you think I might remember something like that? Don’t you think you might notice if it was my first time?’

“Yes, I guess you’re right.” He let out his breath. “Boy, that’s a relief. I wouldn’t want your first time to be that terrible. I’d never forgive myself.”

Aimee hated the blush that rushed her cheeks. She turned to look at the brick wall behind him. “There used to be a window in that spot,” she said, pointing at the wall. “The bricks are all a different color.”

He didn’t take his eyes off her face. “When was your first time?”

Aimee shook her head. This was getting way too personal.

“It wasn’t that Rodney bloke was it?” He sounded kind of pissed, which was interesting.

“No. I already told you I didn’t sleep with him.”

He shook his head. “So when was your first time?”

“Isn’t this a little personal?”

“We already slept together. You can’t get more personal than that.”

Damn, he had a point. Still, she wasn’t interested in rehashing the past, especially with him.

“I have all night,” he said.

How could she get him to leave it alone? “I was fifteen. He was a senior. I was a freshman. Typical story.”

“Why do I get the sense that there was nothing typical about it?” He stood in front of her, his hands in his jacket pocket, elbows sticking out, and head angled in curiosity.

There was something between them, she knew that now. How else could he read her so well? It was as if he knew her thoughts before she even voiced them, and then he poked and prodded until she couldn’t hold them in any longer.

“You can trust me,” he said. And then waited.

She sighed. His opinion of her already sucked. Telling him wouldn’t change anything. “He was on the football team and part of the popular crowd. Totally out of my league. We were in study hall together, and I used to daydream about him asking me out and taking me to the prom and all the usual things that you dream about when you’re fifteen.” She rubbed her arms against the chill. “And then one day after class he asked me out.”

“You were only fifteen. What did your parent’s say?”

“My parents weren’t around. And Gram didn’t really care what I did, as long as I didn’t get in trouble. At least not then. Anyway, he took me out for Zeek’s pizza and then we went to the movies. And then afterward …”

“Did he rape you?” Simon asked in a terrible voice. He looked tense and his jaw was clenched.

“No,” she said with a cynical laugh. That was the worst part. “Oh, no. I was quite willing. He drove me to Golden Gardens, which is this park near the sound.” She could still hear the waves washing up on the shore, and the creak of the leather seats. “He gave me his class ring and asked me to go steady. All I kept thinking was, ‘I’m with one of the most popular guys in school!’ I thought I finally belonged.” It was such a surreal experience. “And then, when it was over, he told me that he wanted to break up and asked for his class ring back.”

“What an asshole.”

“Yeah.” And the worst part was that she’d let him do it. It was all her fault.

“I hope the next time was better.”

“Um, sure.” She couldn’t even look at Simon. He didn’t say anything for several seconds, and neither did she.

“Bugger and blast. I was your next time wasn’t I?”

Aimee didn’t say anything.

“I am so sorry. Jesus.” He wrapped his fingers around the back of his neck. “I am such a prat! It was only your second time, and I ruined it.”

“It’s not like I haven’t had plenty of other opportunities,” she said. “I’ve dated a ton of guys since then.” She just couldn’t bring herself to put herself out like that again. She messed around and got close. But when push came to shove, she ended up shoving.