behind him as he left, but what she heard was Gary— talking to the customers.
"I'm going to take Rosemary Wickum out to dinner tonight, but before I do, I think everyone should know that despite what I want, she has no intentions of sleeping with me. Ever. And while I think that's a big mistake, it is her choice. Now, I know that you don't know who I am or where I come from, but just for the record, I would never force myself on a woman." He bowed his head humbly. "I'm a good looking, sensitive type of guy, and to tell you the truth, I don't have any trouble getting women into the sack, if that's all I want." He glanced over his shoulder, knowing that Rose was listening. Her goggle-eyed expression was priceless.
"The thing is," he said, turning back to the stunned luncheoneers, "getting Rosemary into bed isn't all I want. Now, I do want to make love with her, I'm not denying that," he said, holding up one hand.
"Will you stop?"
"But I've always found sex a much more enjoyable experience if both parties are cooperating. Haven't you found this to be true?" he asked the four ladies, who ranged in age from thirty to fifty-six. They nodded, then glanced at one another self-consciously before agreeing with him again. "So, if Rosemary has no plans to cooperate with me, and if I'm too much of a gentleman to force myself on her, wouldn't you think she'd feel safe in going out with me tonight?"
"He seems okay to me, Rosie," Danny O'Brian said. He did, after all, own the hardware store, where these types of small-town judgments were decided.
"Thank you," Gary said, very man-to-man. He turned to her. "What do you say, Rosie? Won't you give me a chance to show you that I'm not such a bad guy?"
A bad guy? She was far more concerned with the fact that the man clearly didn't have both oars in the water.
However, that's not how he appeared to her neighbors. To those five apostles, who would go forth among the limited masses of Redgrove' and preach the gospel truth according to Gary Albright, he looked refreshingly forthright, lovable, and sincere.
It did cross her mind to stand fast and heed her better judgment, but Lu chose that moment to return from the bank. Lu—who took to anything in pants like jelly to peanut butter, like ketchup to french fries, like syrup to waffles, like . . . well, you get the picture – was the straw that would break her back. Rose might have been able to disregard five favorable opinions, but with Lu to make the sixth, it was a lost cause.
"All right," she said finally, noting her employer's keen interest in Gary. "Dinner. Six-thirty."
"And dancing," he said, smiling. To her infuriated gasp, he shrugged and said, "You give me happy feet."
She disappeared from the window for a split second, coming out of the kitchen to meet him face-to-face behind the counter. She opened her mouth to give him fifty lashes with her sharp tongue, but nothing happened. He grinned at her.
He was the most exasperating man, yet his eyes were wondrous and full of awe when he murmured, "God, you're pretty."
What could she say?
"Oh, for pity's sake. Fine. Dinner and dancing. Now, will you please go?" she asked, pushing lightly on his chest. Under her breath she muttered, "I can't believe you just did that—and don't ever do it again."
"What?"
"Embarrass me like this."
"Then don't provoke me," he said simply.
"Provoke you?"
"I want to go out with you. I was desperate."
She sighed heavily, despairingly. "Will you please leave?"
"Aren't you forgetting something?"
"What?" she asked, her hands out as if imploring him.
He leaned forward and her heart stopped cold. Judas priest! He was going to kiss her! Right there in front of everybody! She braced herself—resisting would only make the scene worse. Her eyes grew wide and dark—in dread, of course.
Gary couldn't believe what he was seeing. He moved his face closer to hers and her lips parted in anticipation, her breath coming warm, sweet, and rapid against his.
"I'm going to take Rosemary Wickum out to dinner tonight, but before I do, I think everyone should know that despite what I want, she has no intentions of sleeping with me. Ever. And while I think that's a big mistake, it is her choice. Now, I know that you don't know who I am or where I come from, but just for the record, I would never force myself on a woman." He bowed his head humbly. "I'm a good looking, sensitive type of guy, and to tell you the truth, I don't have any trouble getting women into the sack, if that's all I want." He glanced over his shoulder, knowing that Rose was listening. Her goggle-eyed expression was priceless.
"The thing is," he said, turning back to the stunned luncheoneers, "getting Rosemary into bed isn't all I want. Now, I do want to make love with her, I'm not denying that," he said, holding up one hand.
"Will you stop?"
"But I've always found sex a much more enjoyable experience if both parties are cooperating. Haven't you found this to be true?" he asked the four ladies, who ranged in age from thirty to fifty-six. They nodded, then glanced at one another self-consciously before agreeing with him again. "So, if Rosemary has no plans to cooperate with me, and if I'm too much of a gentleman to force myself on her, wouldn't you think she'd feel safe in going out with me tonight?"
"He seems okay to me, Rosie," Danny O'Brian said. He did, after all, own the hardware store, where these types of small-town judgments were decided.
"Thank you," Gary said, very man-to-man. He turned to her. "What do you say, Rosie? Won't you give me a chance to show you that I'm not such a bad guy?"
A bad guy? She was far more concerned with the fact that the man clearly didn't have both oars in the water.
However, that's not how he appeared to her neighbors. To those five apostles, who would go forth among the limited masses of Redgrove' and preach the gospel truth according to Gary Albright, he looked refreshingly forthright, lovable, and sincere.
It did cross her mind to stand fast and heed her better judgment, but Lu chose that moment to return from the bank. Lu—who took to anything in pants like jelly to peanut butter, like ketchup to french fries, like syrup to waffles, like . . . well, you get the picture – was the straw that would break her back. Rose might have been able to disregard five favorable opinions, but with Lu to make the sixth, it was a lost cause.
"All right," she said finally, noting her employer's keen interest in Gary. "Dinner. Six-thirty."
"And dancing," he said, smiling. To her infuriated gasp, he shrugged and said, "You give me happy feet."
She disappeared from the window for a split second, coming out of the kitchen to meet him face-to-face behind the counter. She opened her mouth to give him fifty lashes with her sharp tongue, but nothing happened. He grinned at her.
He was the most exasperating man, yet his eyes were wondrous and full of awe when he murmured, "God, you're pretty."
What could she say?
"Oh, for pity's sake. Fine. Dinner and dancing. Now, will you please go?" she asked, pushing lightly on his chest. Under her breath she muttered, "I can't believe you just did that—and don't ever do it again."
"What?"
"Embarrass me like this."
"Then don't provoke me," he said simply.
"Provoke you?"
"I want to go out with you. I was desperate."
She sighed heavily, despairingly. "Will you please leave?"
"Aren't you forgetting something?"
"What?" she asked, her hands out as if imploring him.
He leaned forward and her heart stopped cold. Judas priest! He was going to kiss her! Right there in front of everybody! She braced herself—resisting would only make the scene worse. Her eyes grew wide and dark—in dread, of course.
Gary couldn't believe what he was seeing. He moved his face closer to hers and her lips parted in anticipation, her breath coming warm, sweet, and rapid against his.
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