him.
“I’m sorry about the kitchen run-in. I seem to rub you the wrong way, don’t I?”
“It appears you go out of your way to do so, Mr. Anderson.”
“That’s not my intent,” he admitted. “Miss Dixon, would you do me a favor?”
Milán lowered herself into a chair across from him. “It depends. What is it?”
“Would you please call me Adrian? You’re killing me with the Mr. Anderson thing. It’s starting to make me feel as old as my father.”
She stared at him a few seconds before she conceded to his request. “Fine.”
Their eyes locked. He raised an eyebrow after a few moments and waited.
“Adrian.” She smirked.
“Thank you.” His eyes twinkled with mischief. “Was that so hard?”
“Evidently not.” She studied him, suspiciously. “So, were you really just in the neighborhood?”
“Here.” He retrieved his cell phone from his pants pocket. He pulled up the calendar and held it out. “See for yourself.”
Milán saw his calendar and the entry listing that afternoon’s appointment for a showing.
“Fair enough,” she capitulated.
He put the phone away. “So you believe me when I say this was strictly a coincidence?”
“Yes, Mr. A—Adrian,” Milán corrected. “I believe you had an appointment, not that you coming over was a coincidence.”
A smile enveloped his face. “Well, it’s a start.”
“So your mother sets you up with Sabrina and she ends up falling for Justin instead. That’s quite a story.” Milán’s hand eased up to her mouth to hide her smile.
A moan escaped his lips. “We aren’t going to go over that again—are we? Didn’t I get painted with a slanted brush enough for one evening?”
Milán arched an eyebrow. “You did that job justice all by yourself.”
Adrian looked skeptical. “Really? When?”
“The day we met.”
“Touché. Our first meeting was a verifiable disaster. I fully admit that I was a consummate ass that day. You’d be happy to know it got progressively worse from there. See, I apologized for all to hear.”
Milán’s gaze traveled around the deck and back to him. “It appears we’re alone. How convenient for you.”
“I promise you the next time there are more people in the room I will openly admit that I made a fool of myself. Trust me. I’d take this concession if I were you. It doesn’t happen too often.”
Chapter 7
M ilán stared at Adrian with avid curiosity. “What? You admitting that you made a fool of yourself? Or that you were dead wrong?”
A devilish glint appeared in his eyes. “Take your pick. Neither one is a regular occurrence.”
“You’re very cocky, you know.”
“So you’ve told me. I admit I’ve got a healthy appreciation for my abilities. What’s the harm in that?”
“In small doses nothing, but you seem to think all women share your opinion.”
Adrian couldn’t contain his lazy smile. “Let’s just say that’s more rule than exception.”
“Careful, your narcissistic side is showing again.”
His laughter ricocheted around the small space. “You know I hate when that happens.”
This time Milán couldn’t keep the laughter at bay. She chuckled right along with him. When their gazes locked, she cleared her throat. “During the discussion at dinner I realized that your behavior the day we met may have been...warranted.”
Adrian rested his elbows squarely on his knees. “Still, regardless of what my mother did, I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. How about we start over? We didn’t get off on the best foot. I’d like to correct that.”
“Since your mother and I are friends, I think it would be better if you and I weren’t at odds with each other all the time, so, yes.” She smiled. “Let’s start over.”
Adrian visibly relaxed. “Great. So, how goes the job search?”
Milán shrugged. “It’s fine. There’ve been a few prospects. I have another interview Friday.”
“I’m sure it’ll go well. Though I wish you’d reconsider and come to
“I’m sorry about the kitchen run-in. I seem to rub you the wrong way, don’t I?”
“It appears you go out of your way to do so, Mr. Anderson.”
“That’s not my intent,” he admitted. “Miss Dixon, would you do me a favor?”
Milán lowered herself into a chair across from him. “It depends. What is it?”
“Would you please call me Adrian? You’re killing me with the Mr. Anderson thing. It’s starting to make me feel as old as my father.”
She stared at him a few seconds before she conceded to his request. “Fine.”
Their eyes locked. He raised an eyebrow after a few moments and waited.
“Adrian.” She smirked.
“Thank you.” His eyes twinkled with mischief. “Was that so hard?”
“Evidently not.” She studied him, suspiciously. “So, were you really just in the neighborhood?”
“Here.” He retrieved his cell phone from his pants pocket. He pulled up the calendar and held it out. “See for yourself.”
Milán saw his calendar and the entry listing that afternoon’s appointment for a showing.
“Fair enough,” she capitulated.
He put the phone away. “So you believe me when I say this was strictly a coincidence?”
“Yes, Mr. A—Adrian,” Milán corrected. “I believe you had an appointment, not that you coming over was a coincidence.”
A smile enveloped his face. “Well, it’s a start.”
“So your mother sets you up with Sabrina and she ends up falling for Justin instead. That’s quite a story.” Milán’s hand eased up to her mouth to hide her smile.
A moan escaped his lips. “We aren’t going to go over that again—are we? Didn’t I get painted with a slanted brush enough for one evening?”
Milán arched an eyebrow. “You did that job justice all by yourself.”
Adrian looked skeptical. “Really? When?”
“The day we met.”
“Touché. Our first meeting was a verifiable disaster. I fully admit that I was a consummate ass that day. You’d be happy to know it got progressively worse from there. See, I apologized for all to hear.”
Milán’s gaze traveled around the deck and back to him. “It appears we’re alone. How convenient for you.”
“I promise you the next time there are more people in the room I will openly admit that I made a fool of myself. Trust me. I’d take this concession if I were you. It doesn’t happen too often.”
Chapter 7
M ilán stared at Adrian with avid curiosity. “What? You admitting that you made a fool of yourself? Or that you were dead wrong?”
A devilish glint appeared in his eyes. “Take your pick. Neither one is a regular occurrence.”
“You’re very cocky, you know.”
“So you’ve told me. I admit I’ve got a healthy appreciation for my abilities. What’s the harm in that?”
“In small doses nothing, but you seem to think all women share your opinion.”
Adrian couldn’t contain his lazy smile. “Let’s just say that’s more rule than exception.”
“Careful, your narcissistic side is showing again.”
His laughter ricocheted around the small space. “You know I hate when that happens.”
This time Milán couldn’t keep the laughter at bay. She chuckled right along with him. When their gazes locked, she cleared her throat. “During the discussion at dinner I realized that your behavior the day we met may have been...warranted.”
Adrian rested his elbows squarely on his knees. “Still, regardless of what my mother did, I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. How about we start over? We didn’t get off on the best foot. I’d like to correct that.”
“Since your mother and I are friends, I think it would be better if you and I weren’t at odds with each other all the time, so, yes.” She smiled. “Let’s start over.”
Adrian visibly relaxed. “Great. So, how goes the job search?”
Milán shrugged. “It’s fine. There’ve been a few prospects. I have another interview Friday.”
“I’m sure it’ll go well. Though I wish you’d reconsider and come to
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