your ‘get-her-in-my-bed’ list.”
He wondered what Kylie would think if she knewNatalie had already been in his bed; however, he hadn’t been in it with her. “Aw, come on, Kylie. You make me sound like the rake of the year. I’m very up-front with any woman I become involved with. I tell her what to expect and what not to expect.”
“But that’s no guarantee that they won’t fall in love with you anyway. I don’t want to remind you about Alyson Greer.”
Donovan rolled his eyes. “Please don’t bring her up. And I did explain to Alyson how things would be, but she refused to take me at my word because she had her own agenda. What you don’t want to accept, Kylie, is that there are women just like me out there who don’t want a lasting relationship any more than I do. Those are the women I deal with. Plain and simple.”
From her expression, he could tell his words hadn’t been too convincing so he said. “Trust me, Kylie. It’s not that serious.”
She lifted a brow. “I don’t know about that, Donovan. I’m the mother of a daughter whom I want to be aware of men like you.”
His grin didn’t waver since he didn’t take her words as an insult. “And your daughter has an uncle who would defend her honor to the hilt if he had to. But, again, the women I deal with know the score. If they choose not to believe what I tell them, or if for some reason they get it into their heads that I’m a man who can be caught and tamed, it’s their fault and not mine.”
He and his sisters-in-law had had this conversation several times before, and his stomach knotted at the awful memories. One night they had cornered him and all but made him promise to be considerate ofwomen’s feelings. It had taken him a full hour or so to convince them that he was.
He watched as Kylie sighed in frustration before walking over to open the glass case. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Donovan. I have a feeling that one day will be payback for you, and some woman is going to break your heart.”
He chuckled. “Trust me, sweetheart, it’s not going to happen.”
“Aren’t those flowers just lovely, Nat?”
Natalie smiled as she placed a bowl of soup in front of her aunt while glancing at the flowers that had been delivered earlier that day from Donovan Steele. “Yes, they are pretty, Aunt Earline. But then all your flowers are simply beautiful.”
And she had received quite a few from various church members, neighbors and friends. Natalie had a feeling why her aunt thought the ones from Donovan were so special. Because she hadn’t expected them. There certainly hadn’t been any flower deliveries from Kelly and Simpkins.
“I need to send him a thank-you card.”
Natalie knew it would be a lost cause to tell her aunt there was no hurry in doing that, so she didn’t.
“You got two calls today from potential clients. I got their addresses to mail them out a brochure,” she said sitting down across from her aunt at the table.
“Thanks.”
“And the Baxters called to cancel their service on Thursday. They’re going out of town.”
For the next hour Natalie brought her aunt up tospeed on everything that had happened that day with the business including the bad news that they’d received a resignation from one of their employees whom they considered dependable.
“I hate that Lola will be leaving us in the fall, but I’m glad she’s decided to return to school. She only has a few credits left before she gets her college degree. And at least she gave us a lot of notice for us to find a replacement.”
And then it was time for her aunt’s afternoon nap. After making sure she had taken her medicine and was comfortably settled in bed, Natalie was just leaving her aunt’s bedroom and closing the door behind her when the doorbell sounded. Not wanting the sound to disturb her aunt, she quickly headed toward the front of the house, wondering if one of her aunt’s church members had come calling.
She
He wondered what Kylie would think if she knewNatalie had already been in his bed; however, he hadn’t been in it with her. “Aw, come on, Kylie. You make me sound like the rake of the year. I’m very up-front with any woman I become involved with. I tell her what to expect and what not to expect.”
“But that’s no guarantee that they won’t fall in love with you anyway. I don’t want to remind you about Alyson Greer.”
Donovan rolled his eyes. “Please don’t bring her up. And I did explain to Alyson how things would be, but she refused to take me at my word because she had her own agenda. What you don’t want to accept, Kylie, is that there are women just like me out there who don’t want a lasting relationship any more than I do. Those are the women I deal with. Plain and simple.”
From her expression, he could tell his words hadn’t been too convincing so he said. “Trust me, Kylie. It’s not that serious.”
She lifted a brow. “I don’t know about that, Donovan. I’m the mother of a daughter whom I want to be aware of men like you.”
His grin didn’t waver since he didn’t take her words as an insult. “And your daughter has an uncle who would defend her honor to the hilt if he had to. But, again, the women I deal with know the score. If they choose not to believe what I tell them, or if for some reason they get it into their heads that I’m a man who can be caught and tamed, it’s their fault and not mine.”
He and his sisters-in-law had had this conversation several times before, and his stomach knotted at the awful memories. One night they had cornered him and all but made him promise to be considerate ofwomen’s feelings. It had taken him a full hour or so to convince them that he was.
He watched as Kylie sighed in frustration before walking over to open the glass case. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Donovan. I have a feeling that one day will be payback for you, and some woman is going to break your heart.”
He chuckled. “Trust me, sweetheart, it’s not going to happen.”
“Aren’t those flowers just lovely, Nat?”
Natalie smiled as she placed a bowl of soup in front of her aunt while glancing at the flowers that had been delivered earlier that day from Donovan Steele. “Yes, they are pretty, Aunt Earline. But then all your flowers are simply beautiful.”
And she had received quite a few from various church members, neighbors and friends. Natalie had a feeling why her aunt thought the ones from Donovan were so special. Because she hadn’t expected them. There certainly hadn’t been any flower deliveries from Kelly and Simpkins.
“I need to send him a thank-you card.”
Natalie knew it would be a lost cause to tell her aunt there was no hurry in doing that, so she didn’t.
“You got two calls today from potential clients. I got their addresses to mail them out a brochure,” she said sitting down across from her aunt at the table.
“Thanks.”
“And the Baxters called to cancel their service on Thursday. They’re going out of town.”
For the next hour Natalie brought her aunt up tospeed on everything that had happened that day with the business including the bad news that they’d received a resignation from one of their employees whom they considered dependable.
“I hate that Lola will be leaving us in the fall, but I’m glad she’s decided to return to school. She only has a few credits left before she gets her college degree. And at least she gave us a lot of notice for us to find a replacement.”
And then it was time for her aunt’s afternoon nap. After making sure she had taken her medicine and was comfortably settled in bed, Natalie was just leaving her aunt’s bedroom and closing the door behind her when the doorbell sounded. Not wanting the sound to disturb her aunt, she quickly headed toward the front of the house, wondering if one of her aunt’s church members had come calling.
She
Similar Books
