“Yeah,” I smiled, “Sorry, I can’t help with that.”
“A shame.” His voice was low, and I was starting to become hypnotically charmed by this man. “I was looking for the only person not drunk to enjoy this amazing view with.”
Okay. Nice assumption that just made you look like an asshole, Ash! I smiled at him to hold my exterior confidence. Good Lord, he was gorgeous. The dark shadow on his jaw worked to carve out the faultlessness of his chiseled face. His coal-black hair, a tousled mess of perfection, set off his eyes that seemed to bore straight into my soul as he stared into mine.
A glance at the man who was leaning against the ledge, body twisted to face me, gave me all I needed to know about how I sort of wished he was asking me to spend the night with him. Shit, he was gorgeous. His dark ribbed sweater hugged his chest and muscular arms, waking up all the dormant female parts of my body.
“Yes,” I sighed, gathering my thoughts and wishing I had some water to hydrate and shake this alcohol out of my head.
“The views are stunning,” he said, bringing his attention out to the city. “May I ask why you’re over here and not enjoying the company of the women I saw you with earlier?”
“Spying on me, eh?” I teased.
He licked his lips, and then they parted into a sexy smile that revealed perfect white teeth. “If you would call taking notice of a beautiful woman in this toxic atmosphere of after-hours fun for work, then I guess I’m a spy.”
“Toxic atmosphere?” I laughed. “Who the hell are you anyway?”
He sipped what I assumed was his glass of scotch. “A man who positively does not want to be here this weekend.” He glanced around the affluent rooftop, “And not even the slightest bit tempted to appreciate the bullshit conference I was forced to attend today—even with the perks that come with it.”
I leaned up against the ledge, letting the crisp air continue to clear my thoughts with my mystery dream guy. “I guess that means you had to go to the medical conference or whatever in the hell my friend Liz called it, too? Too bad you’re not a chick because all I’ve heard about tonight was how the keynote speaker made a week’s worth of conferences manageable.”
He chuckled, “Is that so? I found the jackass to be dull and ridiculously boring.”
“So, you’re a doctor then, eh?”
He eyed me, his brows pulling in as those damn snake-charming eyes roamed over my face. “I’m reconsidering my love for that particular profession after today.”
“What the hell?” I said.
“I’m fucking with you.” He laughed and motioned for a waiter, “Can we get…” he looked at me, “What are you having? It’s on the Medical Group that’s hosting this shin-dig.”
“Water,” I stated. “Shin-dig?” I laughed.
“Water?” The corners of his eyes crinkled in humor. “Trust me, the group that put this ordeal on can afford it.”
“I’m not being modest.” I smiled at the waiter, “I’ll have water, please.”
“Water for the lovely lady, and I’ll have another scotch.”
The waiter bowed out and left Mr. Gorgeous and me back to whatever in the hell we were talking about.
“So, am I going to get a name other than Annie?”
“Why don’t we just keep it at Annie,” I said with a smile. “Let’s face it, we’re complete strangers, and I don’t think this is going any further than us both complaining about being up here.”
“All right, no names then,” he said, studying me. “But what if it went further than us complaining about this pretentious party that we’re at?”
Okay. He’s not here for the chit-chat. Why the hell would I think he was? He was gorgeous and an asshole doctor who was most likely doing what my friends were doing—sizing up the place for someone to screw. I was clearheaded enough now to know this was all superficial on my part too—wanting a piece of this guy—because of his looks alone.
“Yeah, going to have to pass on that.” I smiled and gulped my water.
“And she shatters my self-esteem.” He mockingly covered his heart.
“I’m sure you can get plenty of girls up here who would take you up on that offer.”
“I’m not interested in any of the women up here. As I mentioned, I am merely out here and have spied on you earlier tonight because you are the most attractive woman in the club.”
“While I appreciate the compliment,” I patted his arm—Shit! Bad idea, this guy worked out at least three times a day, “I have to get my ass out of here.”
He laughed and stood, “Let me call for your ride.”
“I have an Uber,” I said, pulling out my phone and using the app to seal the deal and get me out of here before I did make a real fuck up with this guy other than spilling a drink on him earlier.
“Then I guess you are leaving me to the wolves.” His lips frowned in some irresistibly handsome way.
I hadn’t been laid in over a year—one night with a stranger, no strings attached…surely that wouldn’t send me straight to hell, right?
He leaned in, and his fingers traced down my arms, “It’s been nice seeing you. I only wish it could have been more than small talk.”
His lips grazed my ear as he whispered, and I couldn’t respond. I was paralyzed by the smell of his cologne, his warm breath caressing my neck, and the devilish grin he gave me before the man left me standing on the balcony cursing myself for always playing it safe and being too damn proper all of the time. I wanted to chase him down and tell him I was down for whatever he was looking for. We were both strangers from out of town—we would never see each other again, and well, a few more drinks, and I wouldn’t give two shits about whatever the man wanted to do.
I never was one to be approached by guys…never. Yet, here I was literally at the top of the city with the most handsome man I’d ever seen in my life, and I just fucking turned him down? I went to follow my dark side and find where he disappeared into the crowds, but then the text from my dad came through.
Dad: Hey, kiddo. You never called. I hope everything is well and you had a good visit with your friends today. Don’t go too wild.
I smiled at my dad, pulling me back into my reasonable mindset. Here I was about to go fuck some guy because he was hot and because my meetup with friends was an epic fail. I had no idea where the hell the girls or their men were at this point, and I had to go to this stupid wedding in the morning. This reunion was a complete waste of time, and I almost threw the entire reason I was up here to the wind all because some hot guy wanted to be more than friends tonight.
Ash: Yep. Heading back to my room now. I’ll text you tomorrow after the wedding. See you on Sunday night.
Dad: Love you, kid.
Chapter Two
Ash
After a restless night of analyzing the conversation with Mr. Gorgeous, I woke up in a more rational mindset. San Francisco brought out a side of me I never knew existed, a daring side that actually believed I missed out on a one-night stand with some random hot guy.