me because you bought me an expensive dinner.’
‘Actually, I’m expecting quite a lot from you Nadia.’ He smiled with genuine amusement. ‘And call me Ethan.’
She stood up and walked to the door, because if she didn’t her anger was going to burst out utterly inappropriately. He stood too. She saw him take in her height and glance down to register the height of her heels. She just knew he was mentally calculating the difference if the shoes were off.
‘Very dangerous things come in small packages,’ she said tightly.
He grinned—the patronising, “amused by the little girl” grin that she’d seen way too many times in her life.
‘So do very precious things,’ he countered softly.
She didn’t see him the rest of the way out. Couldn’t. The wave of heat all but blinded her. Half fury, half something else altogether. Oh, yes, he deserved to be on WomanBWarned, even if he wasn’t a bona fide candidate. He’d trample hearts without any effort whatsoever.
But not hers. Never, ever hers.
CHAPTER TWO
WomanBWarned
Top tips for surviving the dating jungle. What not to do on your first date …
Don’t drink—at least not much. Alcohol impairs judgment and you want to make safe, sensible decisions.
Don’t be too sexual—if it’s a possible relationship you want, not a one night hook-up, then keep a little mystery. You want to be taken seriously.
Don’t go on and on about your ex(es) or your ailments or how awful your boss is. Negativity is a downer.
Don’t go to the movies—it’s a cop-out. You want to get to know the person, not sit next to them in silence for two hours.
Don’t try too hard—just relax and be yourself.
ETHAN sprawled on the sofa in his apartment and laughed as he read, his laptop balanced his stomach. Oh, boy! OlderNWiser—the online pseudonym for one Nadia Keenan—really had her rules, didn’t she? There were a ton of little blog bits on her site, giving tips for this and that in the dating realm. As if she was some kind of expert.
He so didn’t think so.
The woman needed a lesson or fifty from a true master. And he knew just how he was going to do it—by taking over her own turf, of course. Fighting fire with fire and all that. Because anyone could set up a blog, right? And fortunately he was partner at a firm that didn’t have uptight HR princesses like Nadia Keenan. His firm believed in treating adults like adults, and didn’t care about what personal things employees decided to put up on the internet. There were no draconian, moralistic guidelines attempting to govern their workers’ private lives. So long as it wasn’t work-related, and didn’t impact negatively on the business, they weren’t interested. If the people he did deals with stumbled across it they’d most likely laugh and cheer him on. They were human, with senses of humour.
Yeah, it wasn’t because of his work that he was bothered by her reputation-shredding website. For him, it was the core injustice of having to prove innocence instead of guilt. That violation of a fundamental legal principle. Okay, there was an element of the personal too. They’d picked on the wrong Rush. Ethan didn’t deserve to be slated—it was his father who was the jerk. And Ethan refused to be anything like his father—not fickle, not deceitful, not hurtful. Ethan might play, but he was up-front and honest about it, and always nice to the women whose company he enjoyed. Mind you, he didn’t feel like being nice to Nadia Keenan.
He logged onto one of the major blogging sites and thought for a second about a title.
GuysGetWise?
Fantastic—not registered, and his to use.
And his tagline?
Taking on the Dirt-Dishing Dating Divette.
He could do alliteration too, see? And at least he could spell, rather than use basically illiterate abbreviations. The t-crossing, i-dotting legal writer in him detested those. Although admittedly “divette” was his own invention—but she was too itty-bitty to be a true diva. He filled in the little grid detailing “all about this blog” …
EthanRush—supposedly “shamed” as Mr 3 Dates and You’re Out over on WomanBWarned wants those women to get real and for guys to wise up to the dating reputation dross that’s online. Come hang out here, boys, and get clued up to the reality. And get way better dating advice than any you’ll read over there.
Because he was so much more of an expert on dating than Ms OlderNWiser, and she was going to know it. He chuckled as he composed his first entry. There was nothing like a direct challenge to get his blood pumping. Grin wolfish, he started typing the beginning.
GuysGetWise: The chick flick is your friend
According to the self-proclaimed guru over at WomanBWarned, OlderNWiser, going to the movies is a dumb first date destination.
Wrong.
A cinema is a nice, totally safe environment that can push the defrost button on even the most hardened ice queen—like OlderNWiser herself.
You can round it out more if you want by going for pizza before, if necessary—NOT the usual cheap delivery, guys. This first time it’s got to be gourmet. Be seen to be making an effort. But, as we all know, there’s nothing worse than being stuck at a pricey restaurant with a vacuous woman who has no conversation while waiting hours for two strips of potato, a fifty-pence-sized piece of steak and some weird green oil drizzled in dots on the edge of an oversized white plate. Instead go for pizza to say hi, and then ease off the pressure for a bit.
The movie gives you a couple of hours to settle into each other’s company—you’re close, but not too intensely focused on each other. Afterwards you’ve got something to talk about to start you off. And then, once she’s started, she won’t stop. Babes like to talk—and they will if warmed up. After a movie she’ll be in the mindset. So let her share with you.
Immutable dating fact: the more you let her share, the more she’ll want to be with you. It’s that simple.
You might wince, but the chick flick in particular is your friend. She’ll get the warm fuzzy feeling. Go for the one-two punch—the chick flick followed by dessert. She’ll be as gooey inside as the chocolate pudding she’s spooning in. And, bud, you will benefit from the happy ending hormones she’s riding on.
Brace yourselves and get her to a rom-com, feel-good kissy flick. That’s what I’ll be doing with Ms OlderNWiser. It’s the perfect first date softener. And us guys like soft.
Ethan paused, his fingers hovering above the keyboard, his lips twisting as an evil urge gripped him.
Stay tuned for how to nail her on
