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His lips quirked. “Someday, you may come to appreciate that as one of my finer qualities.”
“I doubt it. Though considering how few fine qualities you possess, on second thought, maybe the idea isn’t so far-fetched.”
“Are you going to stand there throwing verbal poisoned darts at me, or can we step aside and talk for a few minutes?”
She lifted her brows. “I’m surprised it’s taken you this long to catch up with me.”
“You’re a difficult woman to get hold of.”
He’d purposely shown up late to the party, because he was here for one purpose only.
“Fine,” she responded. “Follow me.”
Following her entailed winding their way past assorted guests. Some of them attempted to get Eva’s attention or his, but Eva was determined not to be detained for more than a few moments, and he, likewise, was set on not having their progress halted.
Eva stopped when they made it inside to the kitchen. She removed the tray from around her neck as various employees hustled past them, bearing food in and out of the kitchen.
Griffin counted gangsters, chorus girls, office girls and, yes, cigar girls.
Eva folded her arms. “Shoot.”
He glanced around. “I was thinking of some place more private.”
“Too bad. This is all I have time for.”
On closer inspection, he noticed her face looked strained. As if she hadn’t been sleeping well.
He silently cursed Carter Newell—and for good measure, damned his own role in bringing Newell’s transgressions to Eva’s attention.
His lips tightened. “I created this problem.”
Eva frowned. “What problem?”
“Your broken engagement.”
She spread her hands. “Look, Griffin, I know what I said last week, but I’m an adult. Now that the initial shock has passed, I know enough not to blame the messenger—”
“I’m not talking about Carter,” he interrupted.
“Well, good—but what are you talking about then?”
“I’m talking about throwing a wrench in your plans to beat the biological clock.”
She tilted her head. “Yes, well…that was an unintended consequence, wasn’t it?”
“What are you going to do?” he asked bluntly. The issue had been bothering him since last week. A lot.
She sighed, looking weary and vulnerable. “I don’t know yet.”
“Have dinner with me tomorrow night,” he offered without preamble.
Her eyes widened a fraction, pools of golden-amber. “I can’t.”
“Why not? Do you have to work?”
“No…tonight is the only time I have to work this weekend.”
“Then have dinner with me.”
“Why?” she asked, suspicion darkening her tone. “So you can ambush me with more disturbing news?”
“Unfair. You know better.”
“Then why?”
He shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Maybe I’m interested in stepping up to the plate.”
Her eyes widened for real this time. “What?”
“You want a baby, and I’m the guy who created your present problem,” he said evenly.
A half laugh escaped her, her expression disbelieving.
“Don’t you think your boss would frown on your knocking up his daughter?” she asked tartly.
He felt a smile tug at his lips. “In the first place, your father is really no longer my employer. In the second, I’m offering to do this right. Marriage.”
She looked stunned, but she recovered quickly. “Isn’t it a bit much to be volunteering to fix things this way?”
“Why don’t you let me worry about that part?”
Her lips parted. “There’s no spark between us.”
“I disagree.”
The words hung in the air between them, and he could tell she was remembering the kiss they’d shared at her apartment, just as he hadn’t been able to forget it, either.
She laughed again, but it came out a trifle forced. Then she moved to step by him. “Griffin, be serious.”
“I am,” he said, blocking her with his arm when she was very close.
She looked up at him mutely.
“Why don’t we kiss and put it to the test?”
A flash of alarm crossed her face.
“I don’t think—”
“That’s right, don’t think,” he parried.
And before she could say anything more, he swept her into his arms.
Six
Any hope she’d had that she could chalk up last week’s embrace as an aberration was vaporized by the heat of their kiss.
It sizzled along her nerve endings, danced along the surface of her skin and pooled as throbbing need between her legs.
Griffin cupped the back of her head, slanted his mouth and deepened the kiss, giving her his tongue.
Rock-hard planes pressed against her, and his mouth tasted of wine and man.
It was like being consumed, Eva thought dimly. Unwrapped, exposed and thoroughly enjoyed.
She moaned low in her throat…and a moment later heard a whistle of encouragement.
Abruptly she was brought back to earth.
She pushed Griffin away, and her gaze landed on the amused expressions of two of the waitstaff.
Clearly she and Griffin had been providing some free entertainment.
She compressed her lips. She should be setting an example for her employees, not engaging in teenage antics.
She touched Griffin’s arm and said tightly, “Come with me.”
She knew there was a study across the hall from the kitchen, and it was likely empty since the party was taking place mostly outside.
She led the way, and once inside, she shut the door behind them.
Table lamps cast a warm yellow glow, lighting a room done in dark hues, from the maroon leather chair to the gray sofa facing the fireplace.
She faced Griffin. “So is today’s performance your coda to a carefully constructed plan to ruin my life?”
He raised his eyebrows, his expression mild.
She started counting off on her fingers. “Let’s see. Last week, you informed me that my fiancé was cheating on me. This week, you grab me for an adolescent tussle in front of my employees.”
He had the indecency to let his lips to twitch.
“I needed to grab your attention,” he said. “I succeeded.”
She ignored the flutter in her stomach. “I have options, you know.”
So what if she sounded defensive? This whole conversation was ridiculous. She couldn’t believe she was even discussing the topic of conceiving a child with Griffin Slater.
Except his proposition was so ludicrous, she was having a hard time coming up with a sane way to refute it. So instead of addressing the sticky issues—such as their complete incompatibility—she went for the straightforward one.
She regarded him coolly. “It’s possible to just buy a vial of sperm over the Internet these days. Why do I need you when I’m capable of getting pregnant on my own?”
He eyed her. “Do you really want to be a single parent?”
What she really wanted was to be loved for herself, she thought, but squelched the wayward thought. “I could have my eggs frozen until I met someone.”
“Egg freezing technology is still experimental. Besides, you could be waiting years to be a parent.”
She was surprised he knew about egg freezing, but she supposed he’d read a news report somewhere.
“I’d be a father to your child. To our child,” he continued. “Today. Tomorrow.”
Damn him. He was holding out everything she wanted on a silver platter. Well, almost everything.
Her silly heart ached, and she automatically sought to protect it. It had been getting a pounding recently.
“What’s in this for you?” she asked suspiciously.
“With any luck, I’ll get a child—a child who will one day inherit Tremont REH.”
She frowned. “How are you any different from Carter then? He had ulterior motives that involved getting his hands on Tremont REH money and so do you.”
He looked as if she’d insulted him. “In the first place, I’m being up-front with you. Our marriage would have advantages for both of us. Secondly, I don’t want Tremont REH for myself.” He shrugged. “But I’d be happy if a child of ours inherited that legacy.”
She was surprised he didn’t claim he was entitled to get his hands on Tremont REH by virtue of his having contributed to its success, and grudgingly conceded it was a point in his favor.
At the same time, she knew she had to get away now, because her abused heart just couldn’t take any more.
She’d spent her whole life trying to create an identity for herself apart from being the Tremont heiress—real estate mogul Marcus Tremont’s daughter. It had been a futile effort, but she hated the way it always caught up with her—particularly now.
She reached for the doorknob. “I need to get back.”
Griffin stepped forward, his gaze intent. “Eva—”
Just then, however, the door was pushed open, and she took a step back, her hand falling away from the knob.
One of her employees, dressed as a 1930s-era doctor, complete with head mirror and suspenders, appeared in the doorway.
“Here you are!” he said. “We’ve all been looking for you! Sue wants to know where Beth Harding’s spare freezer is located.”
She chanced one more look at Griffin. “I’ve got to go.”
Then she ducked out of the room.
She wasn’t fleeing…or so she tried to convince herself.
“He what?” Beth Harding asked.
“He proposed to me,” Eva repeated. Saying the words made them only slightly more real.
