with her plans for seduction. Evan wasleaving for Guatemala tomorrow morning. If she couldn’t coax him into bed tonight, she wouldn’t have another chance before their wedding.
She assessed him through the glow of a pricey zinfandel. He was classically handsome—flawless to a fault, perfectly symmetrical features, manicured fingernails, complexion like a baby’s, every hair combed smoothly into place.
And Delaney couldn’t help comparing him to the rugged guy she’d tarped outside Evan’s office.
Now there was a man.
Ha-cha-cha.
Immediately her mind conjured up a picture of him. Beard stubbling his firm jaw, calluses on his hands, tanned skin, unruly hair curling around his collar. He put her in mind of Gerard Butler, the rugged British actor who’d played the phantom of the opera in the recent film version of the famous musical. It was one of her favorite movies. He possessed the same hauntingly mesmerizing quality of extreme masculinity that Mr. Butler did.
Her heart thumped faster just thinking about him.
He was everything she had never wanted. Bold, brash, cocky. And yet, again and again, over the course of the last couple of days, her mind had been drawn to thoughts of him.
He’s a fantasy; forget him. Your future is sitting right in front of you.
But those biceps. Those piercing dark brown eyes. She sighed.
She squinted at Evan in the candlelight and tried to get worked up, but an undertow of anxiety tugged at her thoughts. He was a very good-looking man. Why couldn’t she get stoked over him the way she did over this stranger? What was wrong with her?
“And by then,” Evan was saying, “we’ll be ready to have kids, and then you can give up your business and stay home.”
“What?” Delaney blinked, realizing she’d spaced out. “What did you say?”
Evan repeated what he’d said.
“I’m not giving up my business. I love my business. What made you think I would give up my business?”
“We don’t need the money, and our children will require your undivided attention.”
“What about your undivided attention? Don’t kids need a dad as much as a mom? Why don’t you give up your job?”
He laughed, the braying sound affecting her like fingernails on a chalkboard. When had the sound of his laugh first started to irritate her? She’d never really noticed before what an unattractive sound it was.
“Okay, point taken,” he said. “You can keep the business as a sideline and we’ll hire a part-time nanny.”
“Oh, thanks so much for your permission.”
“You’re mad?” Evan looked bewildered. “Why are you mad?”
“Nothing. I’m not mad.” She held up her palms. He didn’t even realize he’d been patronizing her. “Never mind.”
“No, no, let’s talk this through.”
His calm rationality was getting on her nerves. Which was weird. His steady sensibility was one of the things Delaney liked most about him.
Thankfully, her cell phone picked that moment to ring.
Evan gave her a gently chiding look. “You left your cell phone on? This is our last dinner together for six weeks.”
“You leave your cell phone on whenever we go out,”Delaney said, feeling a little defensive as she searched in her clutch purse for the slim flip phone.
“I’m a doctor; there could be emergencies,” he said. “You stage houses for a living.” There it was again, that slightly condescending tone in his voice.
She found the phone and checked the caller ID. It was from Trudie Klausman, the one client who had not come to her from her mother’s sphere of social influence. “Excuse me, Evan, I need to take this.”
Delaney put her napkin on the table, pushed back her chair, and hurried to an out-of-the-way alcove to take the call.
“Trudie,” she greeted her caller. “How are you?”
“Fine, just fine.”
“How’s the new condo?”
“Wonderful, I love it. There’s so much to do here, so many activities, and lots of handsome widowers to chase after in my golf
She assessed him through the glow of a pricey zinfandel. He was classically handsome—flawless to a fault, perfectly symmetrical features, manicured fingernails, complexion like a baby’s, every hair combed smoothly into place.
And Delaney couldn’t help comparing him to the rugged guy she’d tarped outside Evan’s office.
Now there was a man.
Ha-cha-cha.
Immediately her mind conjured up a picture of him. Beard stubbling his firm jaw, calluses on his hands, tanned skin, unruly hair curling around his collar. He put her in mind of Gerard Butler, the rugged British actor who’d played the phantom of the opera in the recent film version of the famous musical. It was one of her favorite movies. He possessed the same hauntingly mesmerizing quality of extreme masculinity that Mr. Butler did.
Her heart thumped faster just thinking about him.
He was everything she had never wanted. Bold, brash, cocky. And yet, again and again, over the course of the last couple of days, her mind had been drawn to thoughts of him.
He’s a fantasy; forget him. Your future is sitting right in front of you.
But those biceps. Those piercing dark brown eyes. She sighed.
She squinted at Evan in the candlelight and tried to get worked up, but an undertow of anxiety tugged at her thoughts. He was a very good-looking man. Why couldn’t she get stoked over him the way she did over this stranger? What was wrong with her?
“And by then,” Evan was saying, “we’ll be ready to have kids, and then you can give up your business and stay home.”
“What?” Delaney blinked, realizing she’d spaced out. “What did you say?”
Evan repeated what he’d said.
“I’m not giving up my business. I love my business. What made you think I would give up my business?”
“We don’t need the money, and our children will require your undivided attention.”
“What about your undivided attention? Don’t kids need a dad as much as a mom? Why don’t you give up your job?”
He laughed, the braying sound affecting her like fingernails on a chalkboard. When had the sound of his laugh first started to irritate her? She’d never really noticed before what an unattractive sound it was.
“Okay, point taken,” he said. “You can keep the business as a sideline and we’ll hire a part-time nanny.”
“Oh, thanks so much for your permission.”
“You’re mad?” Evan looked bewildered. “Why are you mad?”
“Nothing. I’m not mad.” She held up her palms. He didn’t even realize he’d been patronizing her. “Never mind.”
“No, no, let’s talk this through.”
His calm rationality was getting on her nerves. Which was weird. His steady sensibility was one of the things Delaney liked most about him.
Thankfully, her cell phone picked that moment to ring.
Evan gave her a gently chiding look. “You left your cell phone on? This is our last dinner together for six weeks.”
“You leave your cell phone on whenever we go out,”Delaney said, feeling a little defensive as she searched in her clutch purse for the slim flip phone.
“I’m a doctor; there could be emergencies,” he said. “You stage houses for a living.” There it was again, that slightly condescending tone in his voice.
She found the phone and checked the caller ID. It was from Trudie Klausman, the one client who had not come to her from her mother’s sphere of social influence. “Excuse me, Evan, I need to take this.”
Delaney put her napkin on the table, pushed back her chair, and hurried to an out-of-the-way alcove to take the call.
“Trudie,” she greeted her caller. “How are you?”
“Fine, just fine.”
“How’s the new condo?”
“Wonderful, I love it. There’s so much to do here, so many activities, and lots of handsome widowers to chase after in my golf
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