Page 56 of Maxwell

The look he gave her was mildly annoyed. “You’ve been off all night. Are you all right?”

It’s true she hadn’t been fully engaged in their conversations, mentally elsewhere half the night. That wasn’t fair to Nicholas.

“I’m sorry, I have a million things on my mind, and I guess I’ve been a little distracted,” she said.

“Work?” Nicholas asked.

“Yes and no,” she said, which wasn’t technically a lie. Yes, because the issue was related to the job, but no because the “issue” was Maxwell.

“I can take your mind off your problems.” Nicholas reached across the console and placed a hand on her knee, his grip warm and confident.

Her gaze dropped to his hand and then lifted to his face. “Um...” She shifted uncomfortably in the plush seats. “Not tonight. I’m tired, and like I said, I have a lot on my mind.”

Slowly, he withdrew his hand. “Are you blowing me off?”

“Of course not. I...” Jasmine searched for an acceptable answer to give him. “I don’t want you to come up tonight. That’s all.”

He stared at her, and she saw the exact moment his patience thinned when his expression changed. “I just spent over 200 dollars on dinner.”

The air in the car chilled.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Jasmine asked.

“I’m saying, I spent a lot of money tonight and put a lot of thought into the evening. I made reservations weeks ago.”

“I appreciate the effort, but what exactly are you implying? Are you saying that I owe you because you spent money on a nice dinner?” Surely, he couldn’t be serious.

“That’s not...” Nicholas took a deep breath, obviously reevaluating how to proceed. “I’m not suggesting that you owe me anything.”

“Funny, cause that’s exactly how it sounded.”

“Jasmine.” He said her name in the same voice he had used in the past when he was annoyed because he thought she was being unreasonable. “My point is, I planned a really nice evening, you’ve been somewhere else in your head all night, and now you don’t want me to come up. Something is off, and I’m allowed to mention it.”

“If you want to have a conversation about my behavior, that’s one thing. You’re not allowed to suggest I owe you access to my apartment or me because you paid for a damn dinner.”

“That’s not what I said,” Nicholas said testily through his teeth.

“You implied it.” She refused to let him gaslight her into believing she was overreacting.

He stared through the windshield at the multi-story apartment building, light spilling out through the glass doors. “I have been patient with you, giving you space, moving at the slower pace you need. I didn’t want to push. I know I’m the one who moved away years ago and caused us to prematurely end our relationship, but I’m starting to have doubts about you. I want to be exclusive and have wanted that for a while. Are you even there yet?” He turned to look at her. “I can’t tell.”

“You’re bringing up exclusivity because I don’t want you to come upstairs after you bought me a steak and lobster dinner?”

“I’m bringing it up because it’s been on my mind, and tonight makes me wonder if you’ll ever be on the same wavelength as me regarding our relationship.”

Jasmine pinched the bridge of her nose. “We need to have this conversation another time. Not ten-thirty at night in the parking lot of my apartment.” She reached for the door handle.

“I’ll walk you up.”

“Don’t bother. I’ve got it. Good night.”

She pushed open the door and climbed out of the vehicle into the cool spring air. What was the problem with men? Were they all horrible? Was she being unreasonable?

Stalking across the lot, she heard Nicholas’s heavy footsteps behind her and turned around. “You don’t have to walk me up.”

Nicholas threw up his hands. “I’m trying to be fucking gentleman and walk my date to her door. Can I do that?”

She took a good look at him. He was clean-shaven and dressed in a full suit. Aside from his trousers, which were admittedly a tad tight, he appeared stylish and handsome, as always. She wondered, however, about the inside of the man. Had she been wrong about him?