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Authors: Fayrene Preston
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yet.”
“Midnight Blues. It’s a brand-new blues club down in Deep Ellum.”
“Blues—okay. Then there’s one more thing. Please, please , tell me we won’t run into anyone we know there.”
“We won’t run into anyone we know there.”
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously on him. “Are you sure?”
Amusement glinted in his eyes. “I have to admit, I don’t know where all our friends and acquaintances are spending this evening, but the club is new, andmost people haven’t caught on to it yet.” The amusement vanished as his gaze darkened and heated. “Besides, what’s the worst thing that can happen? That they see you looking like an incredibly desirable woman?” He put his hands on her shoulders, and when she started to pull away, his hold tightened. “Relax, Jill,” he said, his voice soft. “You look more beautiful than I’ve ever seen you look.”
“Don’t touch that door handle.”
Confused, she glanced around at Colin. “Why?”
He strolled up with that almost irresistible lazy smile of his, all signs of heat gone from his eyes. “Because, Jill, a woman always waits for her date to open the car door for her.”
An objection formed in her mouth, but she swallowed it. Politely, she stood aside while he opened the door for her; then she slid in. He tucked the excess of her skirt inside the car, then shut it.
As he circled the car, settled his long frame inside and drove out of her driveway toward downtown, she reflected that she was beginning to understand how the women he dated felt. When he concentrated all his attention on a woman, as he had on her for the past hour or so, he was incredibly sexy.
He glanced at her. “Allowing me to open the door for you wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“Of course not. But since most women are as able as a man to open a door, it’s a silly custom.” She held up her hand in a pacifying gesture. “But if that little gesture helps to build up a man’s ego, then I’ll do it—though, as I said before, it’s silly.”
He chuckled. “You sound as if you’re suffering.”
“Sorry. It’s just that you’re asking me to turn onehundred and eighty degrees on how I think and dress, which must mean that a man, or rather Des, values a woman’s looks over a woman’s brain. It’s rather disheartening.”
“Maybe at first a man is drawn to a woman because of the way she looks. But to keep him beside her without anything else going for her but her looks is a whole different story.”
“Really?” She’d never thought about it before.
He nodded. “So what I’m trying to do is soften you, Jill, and to teach you to accept attention from a man, any man you want—Des, if it turns out he’s your heart’s desire.”
Des? Heart’s desire? What a funny way of putting it, she reflected. Not only funny, but wrong, all wrong. “And you’re going to teach me how to attract a man, right? I mean, Des.”
He nodded. “And keep his attention once it’s on you. Let’s face it, you’re a formidable woman who lets all men know, right off the bat, that you’re not interested in them—unless, of course, they have something you want for your business.”
“Am I really that bad?”
He smiled gently. “Pretty much.”
She mulled over what he had said. “Did you mean it when you said I looked like a very desirable woman?”
He glanced over at her. “Honey, believe me, that was an understatement.”
A thrill shot through her. She should remind him not to call her honey, but at the moment it was beyond her. She felt desirable, she realized with a start, and it had nothing to do with the dress. Surprisingly, it had everything to do with Colin. She wondered if heknew it, then decided he did. It was all part and parcel of the little indoctrination program he was putting her through.
She picked at the hot-pink silk of her skirt in the same way she would pick at lint. “How did you know how this dress would look on me? It probably didn’t look like much on a
“Midnight Blues. It’s a brand-new blues club down in Deep Ellum.”
“Blues—okay. Then there’s one more thing. Please, please , tell me we won’t run into anyone we know there.”
“We won’t run into anyone we know there.”
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously on him. “Are you sure?”
Amusement glinted in his eyes. “I have to admit, I don’t know where all our friends and acquaintances are spending this evening, but the club is new, andmost people haven’t caught on to it yet.” The amusement vanished as his gaze darkened and heated. “Besides, what’s the worst thing that can happen? That they see you looking like an incredibly desirable woman?” He put his hands on her shoulders, and when she started to pull away, his hold tightened. “Relax, Jill,” he said, his voice soft. “You look more beautiful than I’ve ever seen you look.”
“Don’t touch that door handle.”
Confused, she glanced around at Colin. “Why?”
He strolled up with that almost irresistible lazy smile of his, all signs of heat gone from his eyes. “Because, Jill, a woman always waits for her date to open the car door for her.”
An objection formed in her mouth, but she swallowed it. Politely, she stood aside while he opened the door for her; then she slid in. He tucked the excess of her skirt inside the car, then shut it.
As he circled the car, settled his long frame inside and drove out of her driveway toward downtown, she reflected that she was beginning to understand how the women he dated felt. When he concentrated all his attention on a woman, as he had on her for the past hour or so, he was incredibly sexy.
He glanced at her. “Allowing me to open the door for you wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“Of course not. But since most women are as able as a man to open a door, it’s a silly custom.” She held up her hand in a pacifying gesture. “But if that little gesture helps to build up a man’s ego, then I’ll do it—though, as I said before, it’s silly.”
He chuckled. “You sound as if you’re suffering.”
“Sorry. It’s just that you’re asking me to turn onehundred and eighty degrees on how I think and dress, which must mean that a man, or rather Des, values a woman’s looks over a woman’s brain. It’s rather disheartening.”
“Maybe at first a man is drawn to a woman because of the way she looks. But to keep him beside her without anything else going for her but her looks is a whole different story.”
“Really?” She’d never thought about it before.
He nodded. “So what I’m trying to do is soften you, Jill, and to teach you to accept attention from a man, any man you want—Des, if it turns out he’s your heart’s desire.”
Des? Heart’s desire? What a funny way of putting it, she reflected. Not only funny, but wrong, all wrong. “And you’re going to teach me how to attract a man, right? I mean, Des.”
He nodded. “And keep his attention once it’s on you. Let’s face it, you’re a formidable woman who lets all men know, right off the bat, that you’re not interested in them—unless, of course, they have something you want for your business.”
“Am I really that bad?”
He smiled gently. “Pretty much.”
She mulled over what he had said. “Did you mean it when you said I looked like a very desirable woman?”
He glanced over at her. “Honey, believe me, that was an understatement.”
A thrill shot through her. She should remind him not to call her honey, but at the moment it was beyond her. She felt desirable, she realized with a start, and it had nothing to do with the dress. Surprisingly, it had everything to do with Colin. She wondered if heknew it, then decided he did. It was all part and parcel of the little indoctrination program he was putting her through.
She picked at the hot-pink silk of her skirt in the same way she would pick at lint. “How did you know how this dress would look on me? It probably didn’t look like much on a
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