Set In Stone Read online

  “It’s nothing. Don’t worry. Just get in and you’ll be fine.”

  I opened the passenger side door and held off the reporters as she got into my sports car. Satisfied I’d been able to protect her and still have the press get their pictures, I smiled at the reporters to give them a good shot.

  “Thanks, guys. She’s not used to all of this, so try to take it easy on her.”

  One woman with glasses yelled as I walked around the car to open the driver’s door, “Does this mean you’re off the market, Killian? Are you still single?”

  I simply waved and flashed them a smile before getting in and driving off. All they really wanted was a good picture to put with whatever they planned to write about anyway, and I knew my part in all of this.

  Looking over at Tressa, I saw she truly didn’t like the attention of the press. Her frown told me our run in with them had started our date out on the wrong foot. No worries. I’d fix that.

  “Sorry that got a little wild back there. I’m glad I was around to protect you, but remember, they’re harmless.”

  She turned to look at me as her frown grew deeper. “Protect me? You’re the reason they’re out there day and night in the first place. If you would have just left me alone and not insisted on going on this ridiculous date, I would have never had to deal with them at all.”

  The car stopped at a red light as I said, “To be honest, they’re out there because of the picture someone took of you looking up at me at the auction. I didn’t have anything to do with this. It’s because of you, actually.”

  I heard something like a growl come out of her at my explanation. Not exactly fixing things. I had to switch gears, so I said, “I think you’re going to love the place I picked out for dinner. My agent tells me great things about it.”

  “Where are we going?” she asked, only slightly less infuriated than she was a moment ago.

  “The National Club.”

  My car took that as an opportunity to inform me of the important details about our ride. “Dinner reservations are for eight, sir. I’ll call ahead and let them know you’re on your way and to have the valet look for the closest spot near the building as it’s going to rain in approximately two hours and thirty-one minutes.”

  Tressa looked at me and arched her eyebrow. “Approximately? I think your car doesn’t understand the meaning of that word.”

  I smiled, and the car answered, “I understand every word in every language known to man, Miss Stone. I simply like to be precise whenever I can be. I don’t want you to get wet on your date with Mr. Brenton. We will arrive at the National Club in fourteen minutes. Please sit back and enjoy the ride.”

  The light turned green, and with that, the car continued on its way as I turned in my seat to face Tressa. “So have you ever been to the National Club?”

  “No offense, but your car is a know-it-all. I turn all that off, and more often than not when I drive, I actually perform the act.”

  I couldn’t help but be charmed by this woman. Even cranky, she had a way about her that made me want to be around her. At the moment, she looked downright unhappy to be there with me, though, but that would change.

  “I like an old-fashioned woman. It seems like nobody drives anymore.”

  “Well, I do. My brother does too, along with my father. My mother never liked driving after an accident she was in years ago, so she was more than happy when self-driving cars became available.”

  “You are an interesting woman, Tressa Stone. I want to know more about you.”

  For the first time, she smiled. “Why don’t you ask your car? I have a feeling it can find out anything you like about anything in the world.”

  I shook my head and laughed just as the car began talking again. “Sir, Miss Stone is twenty-seven years old. She is the daughter of Tristan and Nina Stone. She is one of the few people on the planet who can say they’re a fraternal triplet. Less than one percent of the population is a triplet, according to the latest information from the National Center for Health Statistics. Her brother’s name is Ethan, and her sister’s name is Diana. Tressa is named after her paternal grandmother. When she was four, she—”

  Leaning forward, I quickly pressed the button to turn off the sound of the car. “Enough of that. Since you’re an old-fashioned girl, I’ll learn about you the old-fashioned way.”

  Amused, Tressa chuckled. “Then you won’t learn much since this is going to be our one and only date. I think you’re going to have to go back to talking to your car on this one.”

  “We’ll see. I’m hoping to impress you with my charm so you’ll at least smile in the pictures the press gets. You’re truly a beautiful woman when you aren’t scowling.”

  “And when I am?” Tressa asked sharply as her expression instantly returned to unhappy.

  I studied her face for a moment and smiled. “I’d guess most people would say you’re intimidating, but I have a feeling you’re more frustrated with things than unhappy.”

  She rolled her eyes and sighed in disgust. “Frustrated, huh? Typical man. I bet you think if I just had a dose of your magical penis that I’d be a perfectly happy woman, don’t you?”

  “No. All I meant was you know what you want out of the world, and you work hard to get it. When those around you don’t work as hard, you get frustrated.”

  Tressa looked away and after a moment quietly said, “Oh. Well, color me embarrassed. I’m sorry I said all that.”

  “No problem. I’m tough. I can handle it.”

  As she stared out the window, I knew for sure now she was definitely not disinterested in me. No woman mentioned a guy’s cock if she hadn’t thought about it at least once. I had a feeling I was exactly the kind of man Tressa Stone would enjoy. Men had let her down because they weren’t strong enough to handle her. But I was, and I intended on finding out just what it took to make her happy.

  “So you’re a triplet?” I asked, just realizing what the car had said minutes earlier.

  For a moment, Tressa didn’t answer, and I figured I’d have to keep asking her questions in the hopes of starting a conversation both of us might enjoy. But then she turned to face me and gave me a little smile.

  “I am. Two girls and a boy.”

  “I thought triplets were always identical. I guess I learned something today,” I said with a chuckle.

  “No, not when there aren’t all the same sex. My brother meant we’d be fraternal instead of identical.”

  “So do you and your sister look the same and he just looks different?”

  My question made her genuinely laugh, and even though I knew she was laughing at me, I didn’t mind because for that moment, she didn’t look like she wanted to slap my face or bark at me anymore. She looked happy.

  “No, it doesn’t work that way either. My sister looks like my mother, but my brother and I resemble my father more, as I’m sure you noticed when you were there with us the other day. I’m just the female version of Tristan Stone. My brother could be his twin.”

  “I’ve never met anyone who was a triplet. That makes you unique, Tressa.”

  She shrugged like that didn’t mean much. “I think I’d rather be unique because of something I’ve done after I was born.”

  “Twenty-seven years old and already the COO of a major hotel chain? That makes you pretty unique. VP at a successful company like Stone Worldwide too? Again, pretty unique, and trust me, I know about being unique. I’m one of only a handful of people on the planet to do what I do at my level.”

  Narrowing her eyes, she stared at me and asked, “Your car didn’t tell you all of that, so how do you know about me?”

  “Maybe I asked it about you on my way to pick you up.”

  “Did you?”

  I didn’t want to lie to her, so I shook my head. “No. I asked around. I wanted to know about the woman who paid ten thousand dollars for a date with me. By the way, I promise to make it worth every penny.”

  My answer made her blush. “I swear I thou
ght it was just five thousand. Every time you say that number, I sound more and more ridiculous.”

  “Why?”

  As the car stopped in front of the National Club, she winced like what she had to say made her uncomfortable. “No self-respecting woman would pay that much money for a date, Killian. I looked desperate.”

  “You looked like the most beautiful woman in the room, Tressa. Trust me. There’s nothing desperate about you.”

  For a second time, she blushed, and I had to admit this side of her made me like her even more.

  Chapter Seven

  Tressa

  The maître de at the National Club escorted us through the main dining room of the restaurant dimly lit with candlelight and wall sconces. As we walked past other diners already at their tables, I saw their reaction to Killian as he followed behind me, his hand gently brushing my arm as if he was protecting me somehow. Their gazes passed right over me and then they smiled up at him and said his name, while others pointed and whispered about his being new to town and how much the team paid for him. I looked back and saw him smiling in return like he truly enjoyed their attention.

  When we were finally seated at a secluded table near the rear of the restaurant, I couldn’t help but notice that Killian had chosen the chair with his back facing all those people who’d just adored him as he walked by. While he scanned the menu, I sat transfixed by how much they actually cared about him being there with them.

  “Does it ever bother you to feel people’s eyes on you?” I asked as I watched one man point in our direction.

  Looking over his menu, Killian shook his head. “No. It’s just something you get used to. They’re like the press. I figure if I wasn’t doing something right, they wouldn’t give a damn about me or what I do.”

  “I don’t think I’d ever get used to it. The fact that people keep turning around and looking at us seems so intrusive.”

  Killian lowered his menu and flashed me one of his stunning smiles. “They’re probably looking at you.”

  Suddenly, I felt completely exposed. Holding my menu up in front of me to hide everything from my eyes down, I said, “Why? Because of those pictures everyone plastered all over the papers and online?”

  “No. Because you’re gorgeous and wearing that dress.”

  I looked down at my red dress that I’d bought for last year’s Christmas party at work. I’d debated on wearing something that showed a little cleavage since I didn’t want to give Killian the wrong idea, but as I stood in front of the mirror modeling it earlier that evening, I loved how it looked next to my dark hair and how it always made me feel beautiful.

  Now I wondered if I’d made a mistake.

  “Is there something wrong with my dress?” I asked, happy to be hidden behind the menu.

  He shook his head and smiled again. “Not as far as I can see. You do understand people stop and look at beautiful women, right? I can’t believe this is the first time in your life you’ve been stared at by strangers because of how you look.”

  “That’s not who I am, so I have no idea what you mean.”

  Lowering his menu, he leaned forward and whispered, “Tressa, these people aren’t looking at me anymore. My back is to them. If they’re staring over here, it’s because of you.”

  “You’re just trying to make me think that we’re similar, when it’s obvious we aren’t. If I was alone at this table or with any other man, no one would give us a second thought. They’re looking at you, and you love it.”

  His response to my indictment of him was to shrug. “Any idea what you’re going to get? I hear the swordfish is great here. I’m not much into that, but my agent raved about it.”

  Killian’s sudden change in conversational topics caught me off guard. I’d planned on keeping him on the one about him being an attention whore, but he didn’t seem to want to talk about that anymore.

  Not that it mattered. It didn’t change the fact that he loved the attention and I hated it.

  We sat in silence staring at our menus until the waiter arrived to take our orders. As I watched Killian order steak and asparagus, I couldn’t deny this felt like any other date I’d ever been on. I even had to admit that it was probably better than any I’d been on since he was definitely more attractive than any man I’d ever dated.

  After I ordered and we were once again left alone, the silence returned. Not that I’d expected we’d have much to say to one another anyway. We had nothing in common, and he was a football player.

  “So tell me more about this old-fashioned streak you have.”

  I looked across the table at him and tried to determine if he was making fun of me, but he seemed sincere. I didn’t know why he wanted to know much of anything about me since this whole date was just the fulfillment of that auction so the charity could never be guilty of defrauding anyone.

  “I’m not sure there’s much to tell. I actually drive cars instead of letting them drive me. I guess my use of phones would be considered old fashioned since I would prefer not seeing the people I’m speaking to most of the time.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Because I’m not superficial. I don’t judge people on what they look like. I judge them on what they do and how they act.”

  Killian leaned back and leveled his gaze on me. “See? We’re not that different, you and me. I’m the same way.”

  Somehow I doubted that. I would never admit it to him, but I looked up some of the women he’d dated in the past few years. Every girlfriend was stunning, each one more gorgeous than the last.

  When I didn’t respond to his ridiculous claim, he continued. “I judge people on their abilities. On the field, a player is valuable if he does his job well. Off the field, people’s behavior dictates whether or not I spend time with them.”

  As much as I wished I could let that go, I couldn’t. Something about this man brought out the fight in me.

  “So the women you’ve spent your adult life surrounded by were carefully chosen based on their behavior and not on their looks? I’m sure they’re all deep thinkers and people working to change the world, right?”

  Instead of taking the bait, Killian simply smiled. “Women are different.”

  “Oh? Why is that?”

  “Because maybe I don’t get to meet many deep thinkers and women looking to change the world.”

  I didn’t know how to respond. The way he said that sounded strangely disappointed, like he wished he did meet more women like that. I doubted that, though. Women who dedicated their lives to intellectual pursuits and to changing the world would have no place in Killian Brenton’s life. How would they look for the camera?

  “What made you go to the charity event the other night? You’ve already made it perfectly clear that it wasn’t to meet me, so what was it?”

  “I go to those kinds of things all the time. I like to support charities whenever I can.”

  “Me too. My foundation works with the pediatric cancer organization. It’s one of the charities I support. I bet you didn’t think I did that, did you?”

  I saw in his expression he was sincere and not just lying to impress me. What I didn’t understand is why he was bothering.

  Leaning forward, I looked him straight in the eye and said, “Killian, let’s lay our cards on the table. You don’t have to make me like you. That’s not necessary. You wanted this date to happen, and it is. I’m guessing it was some kind of conquering thing you athletes have in your DNA that made you practically blackmail me to come tonight. Or maybe it was an ego thing. You couldn’t handle the idea that any woman wouldn’t be interested in going out with you. Whatever it is, you don’t have to work to impress me. After tonight, we’ll never see each other again, so relax and have a few drinks. Maybe go talk to your fans. I’ll be fine here. Really.”

  He said nothing for so long that I wondered if something in his brain had short-circuited and he couldn’t speak anymore. I watched as he nodded like he understood and then leaned forward so our faces
nearly met in the middle of the table.

  In the dim light, I saw a sparkle in his green eyes that seemed entirely out of place with what I’d just said to him. Maybe he hadn’t understood me.

  Then he spoke and I was the one left speechless.

  “Tressa, at first I thought you were simply beautiful but shy. Then I decided you were a nasty bitch, plain and simple. Now I see neither of those were entirely right. You’re beautiful, you have a streak of bitch a mile wide, but you’re not shy and you aren’t nasty. I’ll admit my ego was a bit bruised when you refused to go on our date, and yes, I manipulated you to come here tonight. I’m guilty of those things just like you’re guilty of all your faults. That said, I know what I saw when you looked at me Saturday night. I wasn’t mistaken then, and I’m not mistaken now. I don’t know why you want to pretend you aren’t attracted to me, but as I told you already, I don’t give up when I meet someone I want.”

  My heart beat wildly as the words came out of his mouth so calmly yet so forcefully. No one had ever spoken to me like that. It wasn’t rude or offensive. It was simply strong and straightforward, and I couldn’t help but like Killian more than even before.

  And it didn’t escape my notice that he’d changed his way of talking and I wasn’t a something he wanted anymore but a someone.

  Killian Brenton and I would never be anything romantically, but I couldn’t deny he’d impressed me. He wasn’t just a pretty face and a great body.

  “So now that we got that out of the way, maybe we can enjoy ourselves?” he asked with a sexy smile that made my stomach flip.

  “Okay. I can appreciate someone who’s a straight shooter like me.”

  The waiter brought our food, and for the next hour while we ate, I genuinely had a good time there with him. I hadn’t expected him to be smart or funny, but after we both said what was on our minds, it felt like a wall had come tumbling down between us.

  And then some reporter with a camera showed up on our way out to the car and everything changed.

  Chapter Eight