Chapter Four
Alexander spentthe whole day cursing his honesty. He wanted Elizabeth like he had wanted no other woman. But despite his desire to see her lovingly restrained, he wanted her mind evenmore.
She was smart, funny, and unassuming. She said what she meant, not what he wanted to hear and he couldn’t wait to return to Boston, if for no other reason than he would be in the same city as this delightful, infuriating, and beautiful woman he’d found himself fascinatedwith.
“You are distracted, Alexander,” his mother chided after the third time he’d asked her to repeatherself.
Heat crept up his neck and flushed his cheeks. Suddenly he was ten years old again. Only his mother could bring about that reaction. “Apologies. Please forgive me. What did you askme?”
“This woman you’re so taken with,” Margaret mused. “She must be quite something to put you in such a state.” His mother’s blue eyes danced under her wrinkled brows. She might’ve been getting up there in years, but her mind was as sharp as atack.
“She’s brilliant. Harvard-educated, beautiful. And completely maddening. She refuses to believe I could be interested in her. I intend to prove it to her when I get back.” Alexander ran a hand through his wavy black hair. “Her name isElizabeth.”
“Does she know what you need in alover?”
“Mother!” The last thing he wanted to do was discuss his bedroom proclivities with hismum.
“Your lifestyle hasn’t been a secret for some time. Nor has your brother’s. I do not care what either of you does in the bedroom as long as it doesn’t besmirch my name or our company. But you did not answer myquestion.”
“She knows a bit. But this discussion is premature. We’ve not been on a single successfuldate.”
“Well, get on itthen.”
He smiled. “I intendto.”
Thomas drove Alexander to Elizabeth’s neighborhood late the next morning. The harsh tone of her buzzer set him further onedge.
“Yes?” she answered, her toneweary.
“Elizabeth, may I take you tobreakfast?”
“Oh God. Alexander, what the hell are you doing here? I told you, I’m not interested in arelationship.”
“A meal does not make a relationship. I have a favor to ask of you, and I’m peckish. I thought we might revisit the Thinking Cup with better results. Or if you’d like something more substantial, I have a diner inmind.”
“I’m not even dressedyet.”
“It is nearly ten. Are youill?”
A long pause.“No. I...haven’t been sleeping muchlately.”
“Elizabeth, I’m worried about you now. This is hardly the way to get me to leave.” Alexander entered the code he’d memorized the day they’d first met, and the door clicked open. “I’m comingup.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” she said and severed theconnection.
By the time he’d climbed the stairs to her floor, she was dressed in a pair of worn jeans and a green sweater. The dark smudges under her eyes alarmed him, as did herpallor.
Even so, she took his breath away. The subtle swells of her breasts filled out the sweater nicely, and her feet were bare and slim, with deliciously red toenails. He dragged his gaze away from her with some difficulty and stared pasther.
From what little he could see, her flat was a mess. Papers were strewn about her coffee table, her laptop was on the floor, and a blanket lay crumpled next to the couch. A clutter of mugs spoke of hours or even days spent without abreak.
“Working?” he finallyasked.
Following his gaze to the mess in her living room, she blushed. “I’m trying to get organized. You’ve been out of town less than a week. I haven’t found a job if that’s what you’reasking.”
“Relax, Elizabeth. I was only trying to make conversation.” Alexander stepped forward and touched her cheek. Her eyes fluttered closed for a single breath, and she leaned into his palm. Too soon, she stepped back. He tried not to let his disappointment show. “You look knackered. When was the last time you had a decentmeal?”
“I had a grilled cheese last night,” she said defensively. “And you’re not mymother.”
