“Elissa’s Law?”
“Yeah, Murphy’s Law, but happening to a beautiful woman.”
The flush ran up her chest and her neck, then settled on her cheeks. They burned with the compliment. She wasn’t usually this affected when men complimented her looks.
“That’s not real.”
“Could be.” He grinned. “Okay, now a boring question, because I have to know. What do you do for a living?”
“That’s what you’re going with for a follow-up?”
“Listen, I have theories about you, and I have to know if they’re right.”
“Theories? Like what?” She absently ran her finger along the rim of her wineglass.
“Answer my question, and maybe I’ll tell you.”
“Maybe you’ll tell me?”
“Depends if I’m right or not.”
She sipped the wine, considering carefully. She liked how he challenged her, liked the mischievous glint in his eyes. Liked how his smile lit her up.
“I’m an accountant. I earned my CPA over a year ago and work for a great firm that does a lot of work with local businesses.”
He blinked at her slowly, and his dark lashes stayed closed for an instant longer than needed. Elissa knew what had to be going through his head. It was the same thing that went through almost everyone’s mind when she told them what she did for a living. She was too pretty to be a numbers nerd. The little flame of hope flickered and smoked, dying a little.
“What?” She didn’t let him speak once he opened his eyes. “Don’t think a woman can handle numbers?”
Ryan gave her a lazy smile. “No, that’s not what I was thinking. You could give me a chance to tell you what I do think. I’ll be honest with you.”
Honesty. She liked it. Some said she was far too honest, and she often had to remind herself to sugarcoat the truth. “Fine. What do you think?”
“I think you have to be pretty smart to be a CPA so soon.”
Dammit, he complimented her brain. She’d learned to brush off compliments on her looks, but a thrill shimmied along her spine whenever someone mentioned how smart she was. It was the only way anyone could manipulate her. Tell her she was intelligent, and she was mere putty in their hands.
The flame of hope roared to life, crackling with fresh fuel and warming her from head to toe. She attempted to cover her delight by asking the same question.
“What do you do?”
His lips cocked into a wry smile before he answered. “Seriously?”
Of course, seriously. All she knew about him was his name and the fact their mothers knew each other.
“You said you’d be honest with me.”
“True, but you didn’t like that question. Why don’t we play a game and you guess? I don’t want this to be too easy.”
His warm brown eyes still sparked with whatever emotion he wasn’t sharing with her. Probably annoyance, but the way he’d smiled at her earlier threw some doubt into the mix.
“I hate guessing games.” Elissa’s arms seemed to cross her chest of their own accord, and her face flushed with frustration.
“Then you’ll never find out.”
Ryan was definitely teasing her. She’d show him.
“Fine!” Elissa inspected him from head to toe and thought back to how he smelled and the contours of his hand in hers. A wicked grin spread on her lips as she noticed his pupils dilate in reaction to her examination. “Mechanic.”
