that we at least might get to be friendly. But I’d settle for not
killing each other.” Taking a sip of her wine, she turned in her stool to look
directly at him. Might as well get this out in the open, she thought. She
really wasn’t looking for double entendres, innuendos, or any kind of
flirtation, and she probably should make that clear.
“Look,
Mason. I was wrong about you. As I mentioned to you before, when Jen told me
that she was marrying you, I assumed you would be some sort of crazy,
reclusive, socially-maladapted man. It’s clear that you’re not. In fact, it
occurs to me that you are probably used to women falling at your feet, for any
number of reasons. But it’s important that you realize that I’m not planning to
do that.”
Hazarding
a glance at him, she realized that he was giving her his full attention.
“This
is only going to work if we treat it as a business arrangement. We have a
contract. Let’s keep things fully professional. And perhaps friendly, if we get
that far.”
Mason
smiled slightly as she wrapped up her argument. “Spoken like a lawyer. But I
agree. I want a clean relationship, with no emotional entanglements. So your
limitations work for me, and I'm happy to hear you voice them. Very well. Let’s
drink to a detached affiliation.”
Emma
laughed then. “Detached affiliation?”
“An
unemotional relationship. Same thing. To us, Emma.”
Emma
raised her glass. “To us.”
“With
that settled, shall we have some dinner?” he asked.
“Yes,
please. I’m starving. Leon fed me mixed nuts, but they only take a girl so
far.”
“Leon
again?”
“Yes.
I may leave you for him some day, Mason. He feeds me and places wine in front
of me. He sets the bar pretty high.”
Mason
chuckled, then helped her off her stool. Motioning to the hostess to indicate
that they were ready to be seated, he stood to the side and waited for her to
lead them to their table.
“You
must come here often,” she observed after they were seated with menus in front
of them. “They know you well.”
“Fairly
often. Mostly for business lunches, I’m afraid.” Nodding at the wine that they
were sharing, he added, “So I haven’t paid much attention to their wine list.”
“Too
bad,” Emma observed. “It’s a nice mix.”
“Then
we’ll explore it together,” Mason said. “Thanks for coming this evening.”
Emma
nodded seriously. “I realized that I have a lot to learn about you too.”
“Did
you get questions at work today?”
“No.
I moved the ring to my other hand and stayed in my office. But I’m sure that
word will get out at some point. Particularly once I let my secretary know of
my change in address,” she added dryly.
“You’re
right. Word will get out. I’d actually like to host a reception soon, Emma.
People will want to meet you once they find out that we've married.”
“Same
on my end. But we’ll need some semblance of a story, Mason, unless you want to
tell people that we met for the first time two days ago.”
“Do
you have a story in mind?” he asked.
“The
truth is always simplest. My sister introduced us.”
Mason
took a sip of wine. “That works as well as anything. I first met Jen five
months ago at a charity event. So you and I met shortly after that. The only
person who can refute that is Jen, and she probably won’t be putting in an
appearance any time in the near future.”
Emma
twirled the stem of her wineglass between her fingers as she thought about it.
“It’s still a whirlwind courtship,” she pointed out, looking up at Mason over
the top of her glass.
He
shrugged. “Five months is better than five days.”
“True.
But people will likely want more details.”
He
shrugged. “Tell them what you want to.”
“Before
then, we need to get a few important issues out of the way. Like Chaos. And my
parents. And my grandmother. I’m not lying to them, Mason. I can cope with
telling them a partial truth, but I’m not telling them
killing each other.” Taking a sip of her wine, she turned in her stool to look
directly at him. Might as well get this out in the open, she thought. She
really wasn’t looking for double entendres, innuendos, or any kind of
flirtation, and she probably should make that clear.
“Look,
Mason. I was wrong about you. As I mentioned to you before, when Jen told me
that she was marrying you, I assumed you would be some sort of crazy,
reclusive, socially-maladapted man. It’s clear that you’re not. In fact, it
occurs to me that you are probably used to women falling at your feet, for any
number of reasons. But it’s important that you realize that I’m not planning to
do that.”
Hazarding
a glance at him, she realized that he was giving her his full attention.
“This
is only going to work if we treat it as a business arrangement. We have a
contract. Let’s keep things fully professional. And perhaps friendly, if we get
that far.”
Mason
smiled slightly as she wrapped up her argument. “Spoken like a lawyer. But I
agree. I want a clean relationship, with no emotional entanglements. So your
limitations work for me, and I'm happy to hear you voice them. Very well. Let’s
drink to a detached affiliation.”
Emma
laughed then. “Detached affiliation?”
“An
unemotional relationship. Same thing. To us, Emma.”
Emma
raised her glass. “To us.”
“With
that settled, shall we have some dinner?” he asked.
“Yes,
please. I’m starving. Leon fed me mixed nuts, but they only take a girl so
far.”
“Leon
again?”
“Yes.
I may leave you for him some day, Mason. He feeds me and places wine in front
of me. He sets the bar pretty high.”
Mason
chuckled, then helped her off her stool. Motioning to the hostess to indicate
that they were ready to be seated, he stood to the side and waited for her to
lead them to their table.
“You
must come here often,” she observed after they were seated with menus in front
of them. “They know you well.”
“Fairly
often. Mostly for business lunches, I’m afraid.” Nodding at the wine that they
were sharing, he added, “So I haven’t paid much attention to their wine list.”
“Too
bad,” Emma observed. “It’s a nice mix.”
“Then
we’ll explore it together,” Mason said. “Thanks for coming this evening.”
Emma
nodded seriously. “I realized that I have a lot to learn about you too.”
“Did
you get questions at work today?”
“No.
I moved the ring to my other hand and stayed in my office. But I’m sure that
word will get out at some point. Particularly once I let my secretary know of
my change in address,” she added dryly.
“You’re
right. Word will get out. I’d actually like to host a reception soon, Emma.
People will want to meet you once they find out that we've married.”
“Same
on my end. But we’ll need some semblance of a story, Mason, unless you want to
tell people that we met for the first time two days ago.”
“Do
you have a story in mind?” he asked.
“The
truth is always simplest. My sister introduced us.”
Mason
took a sip of wine. “That works as well as anything. I first met Jen five
months ago at a charity event. So you and I met shortly after that. The only
person who can refute that is Jen, and she probably won’t be putting in an
appearance any time in the near future.”
Emma
twirled the stem of her wineglass between her fingers as she thought about it.
“It’s still a whirlwind courtship,” she pointed out, looking up at Mason over
the top of her glass.
He
shrugged. “Five months is better than five days.”
“True.
But people will likely want more details.”
He
shrugged. “Tell them what you want to.”
“Before
then, we need to get a few important issues out of the way. Like Chaos. And my
parents. And my grandmother. I’m not lying to them, Mason. I can cope with
telling them a partial truth, but I’m not telling them
Similar Books
