He threw a hundred dollar note on the table—at least double what the bill was worth. So he was generous, too. Funny. Sweet. Ripped as all fuck. As they walked out of the restaurant, Eden wondered why she was fighting this so hard. Then she remembered the way he’d talked about his dad. There was no way she could make it work with Sloan ‘I call my father from the beach’ Williams. Not even a fake relationship.

But when they reached the stairs and he held out a hand, a warm smile playing on his lips, she took it. They headed onto the street hand-in-hand.

“That was nice,” she admitted, letting go.

“Thirty seconds, is that a personal best?”

“Maybe.” A zebra crossing lay in front of her, and she stepped onto it.

“Hey, there’s a car coming.”

She kept walking. “It’s a zebra crossing. You’re supposed to give way to pedestrians.”

The headlights grew brighter. But the car wasn’t going fast. It would stop.

“Eden! Eden.”

The grey Maserati screeched to a halt like she knew it would. She refused to look at the driver as she finished crossing. There was the sound of running feet and Willow’s arm wrapped around her. “Fucking hell! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

“It’s a pedestrian crossing! Everything’s fine.”

The car sped up, the driver tearing into the road like an asshole. Willow swore and Eden shook his arm. “It’s okay. It’s fine.”

“You don’t know that!”

“I did.”

He made a noise between a groan and a laugh. “Baby, you had no idea.”

Eden’s brain fogged over. Did he just call her baby?

Willow didn’t seem to notice the slip of the tongue. “I can’t believe you. You almost died in front of me.”

“The car was going to slow down. Like, what are you gonna do? Brake for five seconds or run someone over in front of an Uncle Tito’s Japanese Cheesecake?”

“You still could have waited.”

“I didn’t and it was fine.”

He glared at her. “If I was your boyfriend, I’d make you be more careful.”

Warmth radiated through her at the thought, and Eden untangled herself from his grasp. “Sure you would, Captain Vanilla.”

Willow shoved his hands in his pockets. “I know you think I’m too nice, but I can do the ‘man in charge’ thing.”

Eden found herself drunk enough to say it. “I’m sure you have your moments, but I’m a total freak.”

“How’d you mean?”

His dark, intrigued tone was a bad sign. Maybe she shouldn’t have opened this can of worms. “I… I can’t say it here.”

He looked her over, his gaze lingering on her lips. Her breasts. “So, message it to me. Tell me what you want it to be like.”

“Willow…”