Page 85 of Titus

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You’ve already done that by helping my sister.”

His eyes locked onto mine. “No, preciosa. Aún no has visto nada.”

I studied his full lips as he smoothly delivered the words. No, beautiful. You haven’t seen anything yet.

Then I smiled. “Cálmate, guapo.”

His expression darkened with amusement. “I am perfectly calm,” he replied smoothly. “Though I’ll admit, I enjoyed finally getting you to call me handsome.” He finished with a wink.

I had to get us moving. Allowing him to sit here and speak beautiful words in Spanish to me was absolutely not the direction I wanted this night to go.

I pulled away from the curb as Titus settled into the passenger seat of my Porsche Cayenne like a man entirely unaccustomed to being a passenger. Hell, I wondered if the guy drove himself anywhere at all.

The city lights streaked gold across the windshield as he loosened the knot of his tie and glanced over at me.

“So,” he said smoothly, “where exactly are you taking me?”

I smirked, keeping my eyes on Pacific Coast Highway. “You ask a lot of questions for a man who said he was at my mercy tonight.”

His low laugh filled the SUV. “Fair point.”

I glanced over at him. “You should probably mentally prepare yourself, though.”

“That sounds mildly threatening.”

“It should.”

He leaned his head back against the seat, watching me with those molten amber eyes that should’ve been illegal on a man with that much money.

“I’ve survived hostile takeovers and boardroom coups, Catalina. I think I can survive dinner with you.”

Damn. The way he just said my name. “We’ll see,” I answered, not giving away what was happening to me inside.

Those damn female hormones were going to be the end of me if I couldn’t figure out how to block them.

“How is your sister doing?”

“Much better, thank you,” I answered, thankful for the small talk. “Her friend, Jessica, has been here for a week, helping her get through bed rest.”

“That is wonderful to hear,” he said. “So, it’s just the two of you living in Southern California?”

I didn’t want to get too personal with the man, but I did owe him a little sincerity and trust since he helped Amelia, the baby, and me.

“Yes,” I smiled over at him. “She just got out of a relationship and moved down here to start her life with the baby.”

“I hope she is okay. That’s a difficult road, being a single mom and all.”

My lips twitched, itching to snap at him, but he wasn’t wrong.

“She’s going to be just fine,” I reassured myself more than him. “She’s tough, and although it will be difficult, she has a solid support group with my friends and me.”

“I’d imagine so,” I heard him laugh softly.

This was so bizarre. I didn’t know the man well enough to judge him fully, but this was definitely not who I’d pegged Titus Hawk to be. Well, not after the first impression he made when he got into the car before the small talk started. That version of him? That was exactly who I expected him to be.

This more human side of him was something I honestly didn’t think he possessed. Which was probably a good thing, because where we were going to eat would pull him straight out of his elite world and force him to simply be a regular guy.

Twenty minutes later, I pulled into a crowded harbor parking lot filled with Jeeps, beach cruisers, tourists, and locals in hoodies and sandals wandering the marina.