“Why aren’t you married with kids already?” A nosy question, but hey, she’d started it, andhe wanted to know.
“I haven’t found the right man yet.”
“Really? I find that hard to believe.”
“It’s true. The men I’ve dated have either wanted one thing from me, which they aren’t getting until I’m ready for that.” A warning he couldn’t miss. “Or they want too much too soon. Someday I’d like to marry and have kids, but not after a few dates. Intimacy takes time, commitment.”
“I agree.”
“It takes a person being there to develop that commitment.”
He nodded. “Yes, which is why I hadn’t asked you out until now. And for the record, I didn’t do it because Deacon asked first.”
She raised a brow.
“Don’t give me the annoyed teacher look,” he warned. “Okay, Deacon asking you out, right in front of me, was a little off-putting. But I never doanything I don’t want. I asked you to dinner to spend time with you.”
She seemed thoughtful. “So you don’t want to have sex with me?”
He hadn’t expected such frank talk, but he appreciated her not playing games. “Hell no. I’dlovethat. But I agree that kind of development takes time.”See, this I understand.Noel liked to make plans, to do things on a time table.
“How muchtime? Is this where you ask me for a second date and then demand sex?”
He stared at her, his brown eyes so dark they looked black. “Do you talk to all your dates like this?”
Because if you do,I understand why you’re still single,went unsaid.
Addy didn’t know what had gotten into her tonight, but she wanted to see the real Noel again. For a while, he’d been there withher. Then it felt like he’d gone into his head and hadn’t come back out. He spoke and curled his lips into the semblance of a grin, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.
He had a clinical way of dissecting conversation, and an almost pregnant pause before he spoke, as if measuring what he gave away. She had seen him blush when she’d mentioned sex, which astounded her. She’d never have peggedNoel to be embarrassed by anything she could say or do. He seemed so controlled and self-assured.
She felt reckless, teetering between wanting to end this debacle or continuing until she took him to bed. One way or the other, she wanted to put an end to her hopeless fascination with the man.
The baby wasn’t his? Of course it wasn’t. Practical Noel Cavanaugh, financier extraordinaire,would never forget to wear a condom or practice safe sex. He was too buttoned-down to walk on the wild side.
And what a shame, because with a face and seething cauldron of energy like his, Noel had been made to live life on the edge.
He turned the conversation to his many journeys abroad, and she enjoyed the remainder of her safe, if disappointing evening. He certainly had been well-traveled.From Mexico to Iceland to Russia, he’d bounced around the globe working for some investment firm she’d never heard of.
The meal came to an end and Noel paid the tab. She would have offered, but he’d subtly slipped the waiter his card before she could.
“Thank you.”
He smiled, yet his eyes remained flat. Did he really think she couldn’t tell he wasn’t all here? Why bother askingher out in the first place?
After the waiter brought back his card, Noel drove them to her place, pulling all the way up her driveway to her front door. The night sky had a full moon and bright, twinkling stars. A surprisingly clear night for Bainbridge, and the ideal backdrop for romance had her companion—or she—been so inclined.
She glanced toward his house while they stood onher porch, aware of the thick trees and fence that kept his privacy. Like the man himself, walled off and unavailable unless she scaled his barriers.
If she even wanted to anymore. Solene was right. Men were such a pain in the ass. Too much work.
They climbed the stairs to her front porch and stood in front of her door. No more sexual tension. No awkwardness between them, becauseshe’d have to feel some kind of emotional investment or attraction from her date to get that. And the icy male seemed oblivious to her presence. Like always.
She sighed.
“Good sigh or bad sigh?” he asked, not appearing to care either way. Once again, the man who rarely let an emotion show remained in control.
For her own sanity, she decided to draw the line with him. “Youknow, I’m just going to be honest with you.”
