Chapter 14: A Daring Bargain
** Eli **
What the absolute hell did he just hear?!
Eli felt as if he had just been struck by lightning. The world stopped making sense. Surely he misunderstood what she was trying to say, right? Right?
"Um," he cleared his throat. "Harper—"
"Don't start telling me this is a bad idea," Harper cut him off in alarm. "I'm an adult and I know the significance of decisions I make. I've thought through this. Of course, unless you don't want to agree for your own reasons ... then it's a separate issue."
Eli was rendered speechless. The girl was prepared — he didn't even get a chance to argue one word before she completely shut that door. Belatedly, he realized that she had been planning for this conversation all along. The question about his ex, the hint about her lack of experience, even the fact that they were meeting at her apartment out of all places ...
Oh dear God, what did she think tonight was going to lead to?
He wondered once again how it was possible for the situation between them to derail to such an extent. In a brand new light, he studied the girl in front of him with a fresh eye, trying to figure out what it was that he kept missing about her.
She had certainly chosen her look this evening with care. At first glance, it was all casual, a jade green summer dress that perfectly attenuated the warm copper tone of her hair. And that was all he picked up ... until now. Now, he started to notice the sweetheart neckline, revealing her delicate collarbones and drawing attention to the curves of her breasts. He started to notice the laces hugging her slender waist before flaring out into a miniskirt, stopping way above the knee as she sat. He even started to notice the plumpness of her cherry lips, and he remembered the sweet fragrance that greeted him at the door ...