thinking her terribly cute. He noticed that even though she wasn't a pound overweight, she also wasn't sporting that skinny-as-a-stick look girls seemed to find so attractive these days. "I like a woman who eats," he confided in her. "A lot of the girls I've dated recently are the types who order a salad, no dressing, then watch me eat a huge steak. It makes for a pretty boring meal. I like to eat with someone."
Penny grinned. "I know what you mean. I don't mind eating alone, but if I'm sharing a meal with somebody, I want to really share the meal."
Ryan nodded his agreement, surprised she actually understood what he was talking about, since he'd never really thought about it before.
"So what brings you to Cincinnati from a bustling place like Chicago?"
"Just felt like I needed a new start," he said, keeping it simple. It was one thing to confide your eating quirks to someone, but another entirely to admit a history of job failures, especially considering the circumstances of their own relationship so far. "Martin made me a good offer and I liked what I saw in the company."
Penny nodded, and Ryan was sure he'd just imagined her disconcerted look at the mention of Martin's name. "Martin's a good boss, and a good businessman. I'm sure you'll be very happy with him."
"Can I ask you something?" he asked, after a moment. Part of him knew he shouldn't keep taking them back to that night, yet they were getting along so well he didn't think it was unreasonable to seek clarification on this.
She looked a little worried, but said, "Okay."
"About you and Martin. Did you, uh, tell me you were engaged? I … missed some of the details when we were discussing it."
Penny pushed back a lock of stray hair, dropped her gaze, then said, "No, we're not engaged, at least not yet. He's proposed, but I haven't given him an answer."
He nodded. "I see." He'd thought that was what she'd said, but hadn't been sure, and he'd wanted to know how deeply he'd encroached.
"And speaking of Martin, that reminds me—" she lifted one finger to her bottom lip "—he once showed me a program for another restaurant that had this nifty feature where you click on the item someone orders and all the little options pop up beside it, so no matter what someone wants or doesn't want on their food, the server doesn't have to let anyone know anything special because it's all right there in the extra menus." Then her pretty laughter washed over him. "Do you have any idea at all what I'm talking about?"
Swallowing the bite of baked potato in his mouth, he grinned. "Believe it or not, I do. It's a pop-up option box that displays a list of all the possible choices. There are several ways it can be programmed, and I've got some templates for it loaded on the laptop, so I can let you take a look at them before I leave."
"Great," she said, and they shared another smile.
Unfortunately, though, Ryan had the scary feeling that maybe these were getting to be more than just normal, professional smiles. Especially this one, because their gazes locked for a long time. He felt the connection in his gut, and he couldn't help noticing how deep the blue of her eyes shone in the dim lighting of the kitchen as the sun started dipping behind the trees outside.
"Well…" she said, suddenly sounding nervous again.
"Dinner was great," he said, taking over for her. "Thanks a lot. Now I'd better show you those templates, then get out of your way for the evening."
He rose to his feet as Penny nodded in agreement, then wasted no time making his way back to the living room to his laptop. Taking a seat, he used the built-in mouse to maneuver his way to the windows he wanted to show her.
When she dropped into the chair next to him, he kept his eyes on the computer. "This screen shows the most common way to display the options," he said, then clicked to open another window, adding, "and this layout takes up less space on the monitor, but it's a little harder to see. There's a third
Penny grinned. "I know what you mean. I don't mind eating alone, but if I'm sharing a meal with somebody, I want to really share the meal."
Ryan nodded his agreement, surprised she actually understood what he was talking about, since he'd never really thought about it before.
"So what brings you to Cincinnati from a bustling place like Chicago?"
"Just felt like I needed a new start," he said, keeping it simple. It was one thing to confide your eating quirks to someone, but another entirely to admit a history of job failures, especially considering the circumstances of their own relationship so far. "Martin made me a good offer and I liked what I saw in the company."
Penny nodded, and Ryan was sure he'd just imagined her disconcerted look at the mention of Martin's name. "Martin's a good boss, and a good businessman. I'm sure you'll be very happy with him."
"Can I ask you something?" he asked, after a moment. Part of him knew he shouldn't keep taking them back to that night, yet they were getting along so well he didn't think it was unreasonable to seek clarification on this.
She looked a little worried, but said, "Okay."
"About you and Martin. Did you, uh, tell me you were engaged? I … missed some of the details when we were discussing it."
Penny pushed back a lock of stray hair, dropped her gaze, then said, "No, we're not engaged, at least not yet. He's proposed, but I haven't given him an answer."
He nodded. "I see." He'd thought that was what she'd said, but hadn't been sure, and he'd wanted to know how deeply he'd encroached.
"And speaking of Martin, that reminds me—" she lifted one finger to her bottom lip "—he once showed me a program for another restaurant that had this nifty feature where you click on the item someone orders and all the little options pop up beside it, so no matter what someone wants or doesn't want on their food, the server doesn't have to let anyone know anything special because it's all right there in the extra menus." Then her pretty laughter washed over him. "Do you have any idea at all what I'm talking about?"
Swallowing the bite of baked potato in his mouth, he grinned. "Believe it or not, I do. It's a pop-up option box that displays a list of all the possible choices. There are several ways it can be programmed, and I've got some templates for it loaded on the laptop, so I can let you take a look at them before I leave."
"Great," she said, and they shared another smile.
Unfortunately, though, Ryan had the scary feeling that maybe these were getting to be more than just normal, professional smiles. Especially this one, because their gazes locked for a long time. He felt the connection in his gut, and he couldn't help noticing how deep the blue of her eyes shone in the dim lighting of the kitchen as the sun started dipping behind the trees outside.
"Well…" she said, suddenly sounding nervous again.
"Dinner was great," he said, taking over for her. "Thanks a lot. Now I'd better show you those templates, then get out of your way for the evening."
He rose to his feet as Penny nodded in agreement, then wasted no time making his way back to the living room to his laptop. Taking a seat, he used the built-in mouse to maneuver his way to the windows he wanted to show her.
When she dropped into the chair next to him, he kept his eyes on the computer. "This screen shows the most common way to display the options," he said, then clicked to open another window, adding, "and this layout takes up less space on the monitor, but it's a little harder to see. There's a third
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