couldn’tafford to be forthcoming because it would reveal his identity and his mission.
“It’s always nice to visit a country where I’d never been. The downside is I find myself getting homesick.” He glanced up at her. “And I get homesick for the worst things.”
“Like what?”
“Hamburgers, franks, deep-dish pizza and Southern fried chicken.”
Celia’s eyebrows lifted. “What about North Carolina pulled pork?”
“That, too,” he crooned as a dreamy expression came over his face. “Have you done a lot of traveling?”
“I used to when I was a young girl. My dad would take me with him on business trips to Belize, Mexico, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. Once I entered high school, academics became a priority for me. I knew I wanted to become a doctor, so all of my spare time was spent studying. I have a few doctors in the family, so they would give me study tips for the MCAT. Thanks to them I scored in the top one percent.”
“Where did you go to medical school? No, I take that back. What schools did you apply to that accepted you?”
Lowering her arm, Celia dabbed her mouth with a napkin. “I applied to all the Ivy League schools. The others were Johns Hopkins, Howard and Meharry. I was accepted into most of them, but decided on Meharry.”
“Why Meharry?” Gavin asked.
A mysterious smile softened her parted lips. “I fell in love with this part of the country. The first time I drove through the Great Smoky Mountains I felt as if I’d stepped back in time, and I made a promise to myself that once I became a doctor I would buy property here.”
“Do you keep all of your promises?” he teased.
“Maybe not to myself, but if I promise someone else something, I do everything within my power to keep it.”
Leaning over the table, Gavin gave Celia a long, penetrating stare. “Will you promise…”
“Promise what, Gavin?”
A deafening silence swallowed them in a cocoon of anticipation where they were able to shut out everything and everyone around them. The seconds ticked as a slow smile parted Gavin’s firm lips. “I want you to promise me that we’ll be civil when it comes to Terry.”
Slumping back in her chair, Celia’s expression registered disbelief. She’d thought what he’d wanted to propose had something to do with them, not the dog. Perhaps, deep down inside she wanted it to be different—that she’d met Gavin under another set of circumstances.
She also wasn’t oblivious to the admiring glances women diners directed at Gavin. Celia wanted to tell them they could look, but he was going home with her. Her fingers tightened around the stem of her wineglass. Now, where had that thought come from? She, who’d professed not to have a jealous bone in her body, was suddenly struck by the green-eyed monster.
“I promise.” She placed her hand over her wineglass when Gavin attempted to refill it. “Please. No more.”
His hand halted. “You only had one glass.”
“One glass is my limit.”
Gavin leaned over the table. “What happens after the second glass?”
Celia also leaned closer. “I lose my inhibitions.”
“No!”
“Yes-s-s,” she slurred. “My tongue doesn’t work well after one glass.”
Reaching over the table, Gavin took her hands in his. “I promise not to take advantage of you if you do drink that second glass.”
I wouldn’t care if you did, she mused. Easing her right hand from his loose grip, Celia traced the rim of the wineglass with her forefinger. “I trust you to keep your word,” she lied.
Gavin’s gaze moved from Celia’s face to her chest. He could discern the lace on her bra under her blouse. The flesh between his thighs stirred when he recalled the press of her firm breasts against his chest. He wanted Celia Cole-Thomas in his bed, he between her legs and his hardened flesh buried so deep inside her they wouldn’t know where one began and the other ended.
“Are you an only child?” He had to say something, anything to take
“It’s always nice to visit a country where I’d never been. The downside is I find myself getting homesick.” He glanced up at her. “And I get homesick for the worst things.”
“Like what?”
“Hamburgers, franks, deep-dish pizza and Southern fried chicken.”
Celia’s eyebrows lifted. “What about North Carolina pulled pork?”
“That, too,” he crooned as a dreamy expression came over his face. “Have you done a lot of traveling?”
“I used to when I was a young girl. My dad would take me with him on business trips to Belize, Mexico, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. Once I entered high school, academics became a priority for me. I knew I wanted to become a doctor, so all of my spare time was spent studying. I have a few doctors in the family, so they would give me study tips for the MCAT. Thanks to them I scored in the top one percent.”
“Where did you go to medical school? No, I take that back. What schools did you apply to that accepted you?”
Lowering her arm, Celia dabbed her mouth with a napkin. “I applied to all the Ivy League schools. The others were Johns Hopkins, Howard and Meharry. I was accepted into most of them, but decided on Meharry.”
“Why Meharry?” Gavin asked.
A mysterious smile softened her parted lips. “I fell in love with this part of the country. The first time I drove through the Great Smoky Mountains I felt as if I’d stepped back in time, and I made a promise to myself that once I became a doctor I would buy property here.”
“Do you keep all of your promises?” he teased.
“Maybe not to myself, but if I promise someone else something, I do everything within my power to keep it.”
Leaning over the table, Gavin gave Celia a long, penetrating stare. “Will you promise…”
“Promise what, Gavin?”
A deafening silence swallowed them in a cocoon of anticipation where they were able to shut out everything and everyone around them. The seconds ticked as a slow smile parted Gavin’s firm lips. “I want you to promise me that we’ll be civil when it comes to Terry.”
Slumping back in her chair, Celia’s expression registered disbelief. She’d thought what he’d wanted to propose had something to do with them, not the dog. Perhaps, deep down inside she wanted it to be different—that she’d met Gavin under another set of circumstances.
She also wasn’t oblivious to the admiring glances women diners directed at Gavin. Celia wanted to tell them they could look, but he was going home with her. Her fingers tightened around the stem of her wineglass. Now, where had that thought come from? She, who’d professed not to have a jealous bone in her body, was suddenly struck by the green-eyed monster.
“I promise.” She placed her hand over her wineglass when Gavin attempted to refill it. “Please. No more.”
His hand halted. “You only had one glass.”
“One glass is my limit.”
Gavin leaned over the table. “What happens after the second glass?”
Celia also leaned closer. “I lose my inhibitions.”
“No!”
“Yes-s-s,” she slurred. “My tongue doesn’t work well after one glass.”
Reaching over the table, Gavin took her hands in his. “I promise not to take advantage of you if you do drink that second glass.”
I wouldn’t care if you did, she mused. Easing her right hand from his loose grip, Celia traced the rim of the wineglass with her forefinger. “I trust you to keep your word,” she lied.
Gavin’s gaze moved from Celia’s face to her chest. He could discern the lace on her bra under her blouse. The flesh between his thighs stirred when he recalled the press of her firm breasts against his chest. He wanted Celia Cole-Thomas in his bed, he between her legs and his hardened flesh buried so deep inside her they wouldn’t know where one began and the other ended.
“Are you an only child?” He had to say something, anything to take
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