She didn’t shrug out of her coat. She didn’t want to stay here any longer than she had to. Just looking at the table made her chest hurt.
“This is all very nice.” She forced her voice to be steady. “You went to a lot of trouble. Who’s your date?”
He came up behind her and slipped her coat off her shoulders. His breath brushed against the back of her neck. “You are.”
The world seemed to still as she processed those words. “I’m your date?”
He tossed her coat onto the couch. “Yes.”
His brilliant blue gaze remained firmly on her. “I told you I wanted to talk to you. You agreed. I just thought it would be nice if we talked over dinner.” He sauntered over to the table and pulled out a chair for her. “You heard Kathy. She’ll be up soon with the food.”
Riley took hesitant steps toward the table but didn’t sit down. This conversation still didn’t make sense. “Why did Kathy think you were having someone else to dinner?”
“I didn’t tell her who was eating with me because if you shot me down, I didn’t want her to feel like she had to takesides. While we’re working, we should keep our relationship professional.” The corner of his lips tilted up into a grin. “Kissing in the kitchen when no one is around is still fine, though.”
Was it? All of this felt like emotional whiplash. She wasn’t sure what he wanted from her and needed to know before her heart rushed into places it shouldn’t. “Um, a few minutes ago, weren’t you just yelling at me for not following your orders? Now you want to set up kissing terms?”
He sighed, abandoned his position at the chair, and came around to face her. He took hold of her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. “I spoke to you sharply because the scariest part of the evening was when I looked over, saw you standing there, and realized you could’ve gotten hurt. That’s the last thing I want.” His thumb glided over the back of her hand. “The very last thing.” The smile returned to his lips. “Plus, as you pointed out, it was an expensive lamp.”
He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles.
The warmth of that touch raced through her body, stealing her breath and all rational thought. He didn’t let go of her hand, and she didn’t let go of his. “So, is this part of the kissing terms?” she asked.
He turned her hand over and kissed her wrist, his head bent, eyes shut like a supplicant in prayer. She watched him, mesmerized, captured. Any walls she’d built up between them had toppled. She had no ability to resist.
He took her hands, put them on his shoulders, and slid his hands around her waist.
Every nerve was buzzing. Her body, acting on its own accord, leaned into him. “Is this your way of saying you want me back?”
His voice went soft and intense. His hands moved from her waist to her back. “This is my way of saying I never should’ve let you go.”
He was lowering his head to kiss her when a knock sounded on the door. He straightened. “There’s Kathy.”
He went to the door, opened it, and took the food tray from her. His movements were easy enough, but Riley felt like she’d been transformed into a quivering mass.
Kathy craned around him and spotted Riley. “Oh,” she said knowingly. “Are you the one who’s having dinner with Mr. Clark?”
Lucas nodded. “We’re working on our trust-building exercises.”
“Oh,” Kathy said, still knowingly.
Lucas told her goodbye, shut the door, and brought the tray to the table. It held salads and a chicken dish with asparagus draped over it. “JoAnn made this especially for us.”
“Did she know she was cooking it for me?”
“I’m sure she will by tomorrow.” Lucas set the dishes on the table.
Riley’s stomach fluttered with nerves, with anticipation. She’d completely fallen back under Lucas’s charm. She was going to forgive him for the past, agree to any kissing terms he suggested, and hope she wasn’t tearfully telling a therapist about this moment someday.Yes, there were red flags along the way, but Lucas was handsome and funny, and the way he could disarm a criminal in under a minute was hot. What was I to do?
What she did now was glide to her seat, to Lucas, like a moth to the flame. The food smelled amazing.
He picked up a box of matches from the counter, struck one, and lit the candles. Then he dimmed the lights and sat across from her.
She noticed an envelope on the table with her name written on the front. “What’s this?”
She reached for it, but he put his hand over the envelope, stopping her. “Not yet.”
She withdrew her hand, intrigued. “Please tell me it’s a letter from Carson saying he found a new architect.” She was only half joking about that.