Page 10 of The Heartbreaker

He shook his head. “It’s not what it would tell me. It’s what it would show me.” He set his hands on his thighs, clenching them for a second before they lay flat. “I’m not looking to change you, Addy. I just want to get to know you better.”

Another shocker.

As though I were an end piece with straight edges and a dip in the middle and he was the next row, measuring to see if his bubbled-out piece fit with mine.

But why?

That was what I couldn’t understand.

I was an actress onstage, and he was paying for a show. How did he know he would even like what was beneath those light-brown eyes?

Still, I had to give him applause for his creativity. “You’re more than just a handsome face, Ridge. Has anyone ever told you that before?”

He laughed.

Not just a chuckle. He really laughed. And the sound was so sweet that it made me laugh.

“I like you.”

His admission came when we were both almost silent.

“You can’t like me in a place like this. Feelings are forbidden.”

“I’ll like you when we’re outside of this place. In fact, I’m positive I’ll like you even more.”

My hair fell into my eyes, and I didn’t push it back. “I doubt that.”

“Why don’t we leave and find out?”

I stared at him, at the little parts of his face that I could make out in the faint light. Ash-brown hair that was longer and messy on the top, like I’d just run my hands through it. Scruff that fell past his jawline and onto his neck. He hadn’t taken the time to shave that part before he went out, which told me he didn’tcare enough. He hadn’t come here to meet a woman; he’d come to celebrate with his friends, so shaving wasn’t exactly needed. Below his face was an outline of muscle that I could see through his clothes, a style that was more Malibu than LA.

And his scent, I couldn’t get enough. It was uncommon, like his eyes. An aroma that reminded me of a place where the trees met the waterline. A little earthy, a little salty, and a little spicy.

What Ridge was showing me was that he was everything I looked for in a man … if I was looking for one.

I needed to get through this season of my life, the next couple of months being the most complicated with everything I had going on—starting with the fact that I was working here—and then maybe I could consider dating.

Intrigued? Yes.

Enjoying myself? Absolutely.

Mentally prepared for something? That was where things became muddy.

“I can’t leave,” I told him. “I’m scheduled to work until closing.”

“But I paid for the entire night, which means you’re not on the stage and you’re not out on the floor. In your boss’s eyes, they’ve already lost you for this shift. Why would it matter if you left?”

He had a point. It wouldn’t matter, especially because I would technically be spending the rest of the evening in here with him and the club had already gotten their cut of what Ridge had paid me.

But could I really leave with him?

Did I want to?

“Where would we go?” I glanced down at my body. “When I’m dressed like this?”

“Did you wear that to work?”

Another point.