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“Do you like steak, lobster or pheasant?”
“I like most everything if it isn’t too spicy,” she replied.
“Including tall, black-haired businessmen?”
“You have to flirt, don’t you?”
“With you, absolutely. All right, I’ll take you to one of my favorite spots,” he said, smiling at her. He ran his finger along her cheek. “I really missed you,” he said in a thick voice that affected her as much as his light touches.
“I find that hard to believe,” she replied dryly, glad he couldn’t detect her racing heartbeat at that moment.
“I’ll admit that I haven’t been sitting home staring at the wall,” he said, giving her another disarming smile, “because I didn’t know whether I’d ever see you again or not.”
“Actually, Saturday was a surprise.”
“I hope one you liked. I’m working on changing your standoffish attitude.”
She couldn’t keep from smiling at him.
While they talked, he drove swiftly through the traffic. At the restaurant’s canopy-covered entrance, a uniformed valet came to hold open her door.
The dining area opened onto a large deck built over a pond covered with blooming water lilies. Strings of colored lanterns hung above the tables, and bright yellow and red bougainvillea spilled from hanging pots.
They were led to a linen-covered table overlooking the pond. Seated facing Ryan, Ashley knew she would remember this place and evening forever. Their waiter handed her a thick black menu, then gave Ryan a wine list and made suggestions.
“If you like lobster, it’s very good here. The steaks are excellent, too,” Ryan said, offering her the wine list.
Smiling, she shook her head. “I’ll just have a glass of ice water.”
Ryan ordered white wine for himself, and when they were alone, he reached across the table to take her hand. His grip was strong and his fingers warm. The slight contact was disturbing and heightened her longing.
“There has to be a reason you don’t want to see me again. And there has to be more to it than you just lost your head that weekend. I thought we were having a grand time.”
“Ryan, try to understand. That weekend was so contrary to my nature.”
“That’s fine, but now we know each other. If you want to back off and take things slowly, we can. If we just met and I asked you out, would you go?”
“Yes, I probably would, but this is different. We have a history, and you want what we had that weekend, while I don’t.”
“I just said we can take renewing our relationship slowly,” he said, holding her hand and rubbing her knuckles lightly with his thumb.
“Ryan!”
A woman’s voice cut across their conversation and Ryan released Ashley’s hand as he stood. “Hi, Kayla,” he said. “Ashley, this is Kayla Landon. Kayla, meet Ashley Smith.”
Ashley smiled at a statuesque redhead who should have been able to make Ryan forget all about seeing anyone else. She was dressed in a figure-hugging black dress that had spaghetti straps and ended well above her knees. Ashley recognized the woman as the one who had been talking to Ryan at his condo that Sunday morning.
“How do you do,” Ashley said, and received a frosty look and a nod before Kayla turned to Ryan.
“You’ll get my message when you get to your condo,” she told him. “I hope to see you Saturday night at my party. The last one was such fun,” she purred, placing her hand on his arm.
“I’ll give you a call, Kayla,” he said casually.
“Make it tomorrow.” She brushed his cheek with a kiss, turning to walk away without saying anything to Ashley.
“Now, where were we?” Ryan asked, sitting and facing Ashley.
“She’s the woman who was in your condo that Sunday I was there.”
“Ah,” he said, studying her. “That’s why you disappeared without a word.”
“Not altogether. It just reminded me of the differences between us,” she said. “You and I reside in separate worlds. You have your wealth and ritzy lifestyle. I grew up on a farm and have worked in the city less than a year. I practically have hay in my hair.”
He smiled and reached over to twirl a long blond strand around his thumb. “I’ll comb my fingers through your hair later and see if I can find any hay,” he said in his rich, magnetic voice.
She drew a deep breath. “You’re making this a trying problem.”
“I’m not the one being difficult. To me, the situation is simplicity itself. Man wants to go out with woman. Man and woman have fabulous time together. What’s troublesome about that?”
“You go too fast,” she replied. “I regret that weekend, but I can’t take it back and undo it.”
“All right, we’ll go slow. The weekend never happened. We just met at the wedding last Saturday, I want to see you and you’re here to eat dinner with me. This is good. Simple.” He reached across the table again and laced his fingers with hers. “And in the interest of having a great evening, let’s put this discussion on hold until later.”
“That is just your way of ending the argument,” she said and received another disarming smile.
“And as far as being from different worlds, do you know where and how I grew up?”
“No, we never got around to talking much that weekend we were together,” she said, and he smiled.
“You brought up the weekend. I didn’t,” he pointed out. “My dad did whatever he could find to do—dishwasher, served food in cafeterias, ditchdigger. My mom cleaned houses. We had almost nothing. I’d wager that, growing up, you had a more comfortable life than I did.”
“I wasn’t aware of your history. I knew you were self-made, because that’s in news stories, but not much else. Except the beautiful, sophisticated women you see.”
He gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “That’s tabloids looking for something sensational. My history is simple. My mom died too young. Dad’s still living, and my brothers and I take care of him. He’s worked hard all his life and he doesn’t need to now. I’m the oldest. I helped my two brothers get started, and they’re doing well. Brett is a commercial pilot and Cal, my youngest brother, is an accountant who works for me. I started earning money mowing lawns when I was eleven years old.”
Ashley nodded, realizing their worlds were not as far apart as she had thought. Yet she had a difficult time imagining him living in poverty. “So how did you make this miraculous climb to millionaire status?” she asked.
“Long story. Some luck, hard work and help from friends. Nick Colton and Jake Thorne were buds, and both came from simple beginnings, as I did. We made a pact in college to reach millionaire status and to help each other get there.”
“Wow! That’s impressive,” she said. “All of you succeeded.”
“Yeah, Nick most of all. They’re great friends to have. We all played football in high school and college, and worked for a landscape outfit during summers. We started doing that after our sophomore year in high school. We were all tall. I played pro ball for two years and invested every dime with Jake, who was a whiz in finance from the start. Then I quit football to build hotels.”
“No wonder the three of you are such close friends.”
“I couldn’t have made it without both of them.” Ryan paused when their waiter returned with tossed salads on crystal plates and a loaf of golden bread. “How often do you go home to the farm?” he asked, when the waiter departed.
“Since moving here, I’ve been busy with weddings on weekends, so it’s really been difficult to get there. I’ve gone home for holidays, and I went in February for a weekend because my assistant handled the weddings.”
The waiter appeared with their entrees. Ashley glanced down at her plate of shrimp, covered with sun-dried tomatoes and sliced mushrooms and resting on angel hair pasta, while Ryan’s plate held a juicy, thick sirloin.
After the first bite, she smiled. “This is fantastic, Ryan. No wonder this restaurant is what you like best.”
“No. This is a favorite eating place. I have something else I like best,” he said in a deep voice, his green eyes intense on her. She knew he was flirting. “I think I’ve become a challenge to you. Maybe if I start hanging on each word and looking at you in an adoring manner the way Carlotta and Jenna do, you’ll run for the hills.”
“Try it and see,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes.
She couldn’t resist taking his hand and batting her eyes. “Oh, Ryan, tell me more about yourself,” she drawled, leaning forward and speaking in a breathless voice.
He inhaled and the amusement vanished from his expression. “That just makes me want to get the check so we can leave and I can be alone with you,” he growled. “I can lose interest in food and dinner conversation.”
Straightening, she yanked her hand away. “That didn’t have the effect I expected. I won’t try that one again,” she announced, and once more he smiled, but his gaze was speculative.
“I blew that in a hurry,” he said. “I have to tell you, that’s been the best moment of the night so far. Sure you don’t want to continue?”
“Don’t get your hopes up, because it won’t happen.”
“I should’ve acted indifferent, but that’s absolutely impossible with you. Okay, if we have to start over, why don’t you tell me about yourself. What’s in your future? What do you want out of life? I don’t believe we discussed that before.”
His question brought her situation crashing back, and the fun she’d been having with him changed as she remembered she intended to discourage and get rid of him. She shrugged. “I like my job and hope to continue it. Since it’s a franchise, it’s almost like my own business. I get a cut of the profits, so if business increases, my income grows.”
“That’s good,” he said, nodding. “Working for yourself, if it’s successful, is satisfying.”
“On your level it certainly would be,” she remarked dryly.
“On yours, too. You just said so. So what’s the best wedding you’ve done?”
“The one I enjoyed the most …” She paused to think a moment. “Probably one last December. It was a Christmas wedding, with reds and greens and beautiful decorations,” she said, telling him about the ceremony and wondering if he was really interested, their conversation drifting to other topics as they enjoyed their time together.
Her shrimp was delicious, but she didn’t have much of an appetite, and she noticed that neither did Ryan. While she talked, he listened, studying her and holding her hand. Each volatile contact heightened her awareness of him.
They discussed various subjects, and Ryan occasionally flirted, until he finally motioned to the waiter for their check.
When she looked around, she saw they were almost the last customers. She glanced at her watch. “My word, it’s ten o’clock. We’ve been here for hours.”
“Actually, not for hours. Time flies when you’re having fun,” he quipped as he smiled at her. “And I have had a great time tonight.”
While wind tangled locks of his black hair, lights in the parking lot threw his cheeks into shadows, highlighting his prominent cheekbones. She admired his self-assurance and optimism. He was confident, handsome and good company, making her wish that the situation were different between them. She blamed herself that it wasn’t, and again tried to pay attention to their conversation.
“You know I’ve had a great time, too,” she said. “And I know you want me to admit it.”
“Damn straight. Your confession reassures me,” he said, looking at her.
“As if you need encouragement,” she said, laughing when they reached his car. With a smile, he swung open the door.
“Are you saying I’m arrogant?”
“You’re confident. How’s that?”
“Much better. I’ll settle for confident.” He leaned closer to talk to her as she settled inside. Then he shut the door, and she watched him stride around the car and slide in beside her.
“Your place or mine?” he asked.
“My place and—”
“Don’t make hasty decisions,” he urged. “Let’s see. I told you I’d go slowly and I have. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes, it is,” she had to answer, because he had been. But that didn’t mean he would continue to, and she knew every minute they were together forged a stronger bond between them.
“Tell me where you live. And I’ll come get you in the morning and take you to work since you left your car at the office.”
“Well, there’s no point in arguing this one with you,” she said, telling him her address.
She gave him the combination to get through the wrought iron gates of her apartment complex and they drove past several blocks of single-story redbrick duplexes until she directed him to hers. He got out to open her door, and walked her to the front porch, where she faced him.
“It’s been a super evening, Ryan.”
“It’s early, really early,” he said. “I’d like to see your place.”
Part of her wanted him to come inside, and another part wanted to tell him to go. He stood in silence, waiting patiently, and she couldn’t resist. “Do you want to come in?” she asked with a smile, already knowing that was exactly what he hoped to do.
“Thanks, and of course.”
She opened her door and stopped to switch off the alarm system and turn on the light in the short entryway.
Ryan entered and she led him into the living room, turning on a lamp while, he looked around. “It’s great, Ashley,” he said.
“I moved here about a month ago, and I’m just getting new furniture,” she explained, trying to view it from his eyes. An Impressionist print in a gilt frame hung above an oak mantel above the brick fireplace. Her sofa and matching wing chair were upholstered in blue antique velvet, and she had a polished hardwood floor, but her place was modest and small compared to his sprawling high-rise condo with its terrace and magnificent view of Dallas.
He had four bedrooms, an entertainment center, an exercise room, a living area and dining room, all filled with elegant fruitwood furniture, and every convenience. Her duplex had to be unimpressive to him, but he was being polite.
“In here is the living area, where I spend all my time,” she said, leading him into a small, less formal room with a sofa upholstered in bright flowers and two matching chairs. An oak coffee table sat in front of the sofa.
He walked over to a wooden game table in one corner of the room to look at the chess set on it. “Ah, a game in progress.”
“I’m playing with someone via the computer,” she said.
“We’ll have to have a game,” he said. “We won’t disturb this one, but sometime soon, or when you finish this one, we can play.”
“I imagine you’re excellent at chess,” she said, unable to picture him doing anything that he didn’t consistently manage to succeed at.
“We’ll see,” he said. “It’s difficult to judge yourself.”
She laughed. “No, it isn’t! You just don’t want to admit, especially before we’ve played, that you rarely lose.”
“I’m going to have to improve my image with you,” he teased.
“No, and don’t even try,” she replied, realizing she was giving him one challenge after another.
