shiny, her eyes a bright blue. His gaze skimmed over her
figure and what he saw didn’t displease him at all. She was physically fit but
not overly muscular.
She had to be completely aware of his scrutiny. He didn’t
linger on her breasts or her hips, but he knew she could feel his gaze. He imagined
her reaching over to touch him to get his attention.
He knew very well what she saw when she looked at him. He
worked hard to maintain his image. In spite of the fact that he was obviously a
well-known businessman, his general appearance didn’t scream “corporate magnate”.
The plain white dress shirt he wore was silk but the gray slacks tailored to
fit his unique form could have come from any one of several finer men’s stores.
His one nod to vanity hung from his head in a loose ponytail
today but it still fell almost to the middle of his back. Like a silky black
tail. Tony studied her as they sat at the table with their menus. Carly met his
eyes over the menu then dropped her gaze. Tony leaned forward as he clasped his
hands on the table in front of him.
“What made you decide to go into medicine?”
“I always wanted to do something interesting. Medicine just
fit the bill. I love being able to fix things, you know? What about you? Why
antiques?”
Tony shrugged. “My Spanish ancestors settled in New Orleans
a long time ago and intermarried with the French and other people living here.
I had always been fascinated as a child by the clothes and furniture in the
pictures at my family’s home. Then when I realized there was a whole world out
there of people who had ancestors from different countries, with different
furniture and different things, I decided I wanted to know more about them.
“I started out studying architecture then discovered I was
more interested in the things that people actually put in their homes rather
than the homes themselves. My paternal grandmother had an astonishing
collection of early Spanish art. She was really the one who got me started
collecting art pieces. After that it was only natural for me to open an
antiques shop. I simply wanted to share my love of history with others.”
Carly beamed at him, a genuine smile. “I think that’s great.
I’ve never really been into antiques myself, though I know a lot of people are.
I guess it’s growing up in California where it’s always ‘the newest’ or ‘the
latest’ that everybody was crazy about. Even my parents wanted the most modern,
the latest in furniture and fashions. I do have one antique. It’s a piece of
jewelry that belonged to my great-great-grandmother. Would you like to see it?”
Tony’s smile was brief but he nodded in the affirmative. His
eyebrows went up slightly as Carly reached under the neckline of her shirt to
pull a thin gold chain out into the open. She held the necklace out toward him.
Tony shifted his chair so that he was closer to her then reached out and cupped
the pendant at the end of the chain in his right hand.
It was warm from the heat of her body. He knew from the
length of the chain that the pendant nestled between her breasts. Tony resisted
the urge to drop his eyes to her breasts again and instead concentrated on the
pendant.
It was egg-shaped and not as heavy as he had expected it to
be. Tony turned it over in his hand and looked for a jeweler’s mark on the
back. The mark was there but was very faint from years of wear. He leaned
slightly closer to Carly and heard as well as felt her draw in a breath. His
smile was fleeting and he tilted his head slightly so that he could look up at
her face. Carly’s eyes were locked on his head as her breathing became slightly
shallower.
This time the urge that came over him was to draw her nearer
to him. Instead, he lifted his head slowly. His hand was still clasped around
the pendant but his eyes were locked on Carly’s. Her breathing was still
somewhat shallow and he could see her pulse beating rapidly in her throat.
Tony released a soft rumble
figure and what he saw didn’t displease him at all. She was physically fit but
not overly muscular.
She had to be completely aware of his scrutiny. He didn’t
linger on her breasts or her hips, but he knew she could feel his gaze. He imagined
her reaching over to touch him to get his attention.
He knew very well what she saw when she looked at him. He
worked hard to maintain his image. In spite of the fact that he was obviously a
well-known businessman, his general appearance didn’t scream “corporate magnate”.
The plain white dress shirt he wore was silk but the gray slacks tailored to
fit his unique form could have come from any one of several finer men’s stores.
His one nod to vanity hung from his head in a loose ponytail
today but it still fell almost to the middle of his back. Like a silky black
tail. Tony studied her as they sat at the table with their menus. Carly met his
eyes over the menu then dropped her gaze. Tony leaned forward as he clasped his
hands on the table in front of him.
“What made you decide to go into medicine?”
“I always wanted to do something interesting. Medicine just
fit the bill. I love being able to fix things, you know? What about you? Why
antiques?”
Tony shrugged. “My Spanish ancestors settled in New Orleans
a long time ago and intermarried with the French and other people living here.
I had always been fascinated as a child by the clothes and furniture in the
pictures at my family’s home. Then when I realized there was a whole world out
there of people who had ancestors from different countries, with different
furniture and different things, I decided I wanted to know more about them.
“I started out studying architecture then discovered I was
more interested in the things that people actually put in their homes rather
than the homes themselves. My paternal grandmother had an astonishing
collection of early Spanish art. She was really the one who got me started
collecting art pieces. After that it was only natural for me to open an
antiques shop. I simply wanted to share my love of history with others.”
Carly beamed at him, a genuine smile. “I think that’s great.
I’ve never really been into antiques myself, though I know a lot of people are.
I guess it’s growing up in California where it’s always ‘the newest’ or ‘the
latest’ that everybody was crazy about. Even my parents wanted the most modern,
the latest in furniture and fashions. I do have one antique. It’s a piece of
jewelry that belonged to my great-great-grandmother. Would you like to see it?”
Tony’s smile was brief but he nodded in the affirmative. His
eyebrows went up slightly as Carly reached under the neckline of her shirt to
pull a thin gold chain out into the open. She held the necklace out toward him.
Tony shifted his chair so that he was closer to her then reached out and cupped
the pendant at the end of the chain in his right hand.
It was warm from the heat of her body. He knew from the
length of the chain that the pendant nestled between her breasts. Tony resisted
the urge to drop his eyes to her breasts again and instead concentrated on the
pendant.
It was egg-shaped and not as heavy as he had expected it to
be. Tony turned it over in his hand and looked for a jeweler’s mark on the
back. The mark was there but was very faint from years of wear. He leaned
slightly closer to Carly and heard as well as felt her draw in a breath. His
smile was fleeting and he tilted his head slightly so that he could look up at
her face. Carly’s eyes were locked on his head as her breathing became slightly
shallower.
This time the urge that came over him was to draw her nearer
to him. Instead, he lifted his head slowly. His hand was still clasped around
the pendant but his eyes were locked on Carly’s. Her breathing was still
somewhat shallow and he could see her pulse beating rapidly in her throat.
Tony released a soft rumble
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