His skin was the tone of tree bark, but smooth and alluring. His lips were of medium thickness and probably very kissable.
Shaking her head, she resisted closing her eyes to get the visual out of her mind. “No, you presume too much. If you wanted me to go to your family dinner you would’ve asked me and hoped I’d say yes. Instead, you tell me that I’m going like it’s already been settled. Presumptuous.”
He laughed. His head tilted and a deep, full-bodied sound filled her kitchen. She was certain that had never happened before.
“You’ve always been so intense. Every question has an answer, every answer an explanation. Sometimes things just are, Victoria.”
“Not without a reason,” she added shaking her head. “So, what’s your reason for being so presumptuous? You came over here tonight expecting to what, get lucky?”
“Whoa?” His brow raised. “Where did that come from?”
“I’m just getting the small talk out of the way. I mean, you’ve been here for almost forty-five minutes now. You’ve eaten, I’ve eaten, we’re talking. So, what’s next? I have to ask since I know you think you know the next step.”
He shook his head. “I came here to check on you. This dinner was an added bonus and I’ll be sending your mother a bouquet of her favorite flowers tomorrow to thank her.”
“You don’t know her favorite flower,” she said sarcastically.
“Touché, but I was going to ask you before I left. And just for the record, I knowyourfavorite flower.”
“You do not.”
“Gerber daisies,” he said, not bothering to look up at her.
She would never let him know how sweet those two words sounded to her. No man had ever paid that much attention to her. Instead, she asked, “How?”
“No, it’s not a presumption as you would like to think. You have a vase full of colorful Gerber daisies sitting right there. I just made a logical conclusion.”
She looked at said vase, wanted to frown, with disappointment. Had she really been hoping he’d done research that deeply on her? Wouldn’t that have been beyond creepy? If so, maybe she was starting to like creepy? She drummed her fingers on the table, an act that normally annoyed the hell out of her when Roxanne did it at work. Now, it soothed her nerves that had quickly become frazzled.
“How did you know what they were called? You don’t strike me as the flower kind of guy.”
“I should be calling you presumptuous since you seem to think you know all about me. My mother likes flowers so I make it a point to send her favorites at least once a month. Calling the florist on a monthly basis puts you smack dab in the middle of the flower business.”
“And your mother likes Gerber daisies?”
“No. Tulips. But they’re not in season all year so sometimes I have to switch it up. That’s how I know what Gerber daisies are. She likes them too, said they’re very cheerful.”
“They are and I’m not having sex with you.”
He’d been just finishing the tea and choked just a little.
“No,” he said when he put his glass down. “You’re not. At least not tonight. You’re tired, I’m tired after all this good food and you need time to recuperate.”
“I mean ever, Ben. I’m not sleeping with you ever.”
He waited a beat, seemed to contemplate her words, then nodded. “Okay.”
“Is that it?” she asked and wanted to bite her tongue.
“Yes. That’s it. Thank you for dinner,” he said and stood to walk his plate to the sink. “I can wash these before I go.”
She stood too. “No, thanks. I’ll put them in the dishwasher.”
“Good. I want you to get to bed as soon as possible.” He breezed right by her and was on his way into the kitchen when she finally stood from the dining room table to follow him.
“Are you angry?”
He turned and she bumped right into him since she’d walked fast to catch up with him. “I’m not a child, Victoria. Something else to scratch off your list of misconceptions about me.”
