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It had to do with that look in her eyes he had seen the night before. The same look he could see in them now. Awareness. Yes. Desire. Yes. But where before there had been irritation and annoyance, now there was understanding. It made him very uneasy. Unfortunately, that still didn’t stop him from wanting to drag her into his arms and muss up that pretty hairdo.
‘Monroe?’
He’d been staring at her blankly for almost a minute, looking d
azed. It was so unlike the cool, confident guy she knew. It worried her. She could see then what she’d seen yesterday evening; the confusion in his eyes.
‘Right, the painting, sure.’ He gave it a quick glance. ‘It’s too flat.’
She looked past him at it and saw he was exactly right. The oils had been expertly applied but failed to capture the churning magnificence of the sea in full storm mode. ‘Gosh, you’re right, it’s rather cheesy, isn’t it?’ Jessie turned back to him. ‘Monroe, you’re staring at me again. What’s wrong?’
‘Nothing, nothing at—’ He stopped, seemed to collect himself. ‘I’ve been invited to a six-year-old’s birthday party.’
Jessie grinned. ‘You’re going to come?’
‘Ali didn’t give me a choice.’ He sounded a little annoyed, she thought, and grinned some more.
‘We don’t call her the stormtrooper for nothing.’
‘It’s just that—’ he pinned her with his eyes ‘—I don’t know what to get Emmy. For a present, I mean.’
‘You don’t have to get her anything, Monroe.’
His gaze sharpened. ‘Yeah, I do.’
It occurred to Jessie, even if he was down to his last dollar, he would get Emmy a present. And she had once accused him of being a deadbeat. How wrong could a person be?
‘There’s a lovely little toy shop on Main Street,’ she said, feeling guilty, desperate to make amends. ‘You’re bound to find something perfect in there.’
He gave a furtive glance round, took a step closer. ‘No way am I going in there alone.’ The words came out on a strained whisper.
‘Let me get this straight,’ Jessie said, enjoying the look of horror in his eyes. ‘A big, bad guy like you is scared of going into a toy shop?’
‘Right down to my toes.’ He gave a mock shudder. ‘When do you get off here?’
Jessie looked at the clock on the gallery’s wall. ‘In about half an hour.’
‘Great, I’ll meet you over at the diner. Don’t even think about skipping out on me. I’ll hunt you down.’
Jessie couldn’t imagine why the threat excited her. ‘Okay, but you’ll owe me.’
‘No sweat.’ Monroe tapped his finger on her nose. ‘See you later, Red.’ He sauntered out of the shop.
Jessie grinned, already anticipating an afternoon of toy shopping with the most intriguing, desirable man she’d ever met.
She’d revised her opinion somewhat, ninety frustrating minutes later.
‘What is this? A severed head?’ Monroe grumbled.
Jessie grabbed the hair and styling doll out of his hands and put it carefully back on the shelf. ‘Shh. It’s a hair-dressing kit. What about these dolls? She loves them.’
‘What the hell?’ He stared at the gaudy toys a moment. ‘I’m not buying a little kid a doll that looks like a hooker.’
Jessie tried to quell her irritation. After all, it was touching that he would want to get Emmy something really special—but also that he would worry that he might get it wrong. She wondered if he knew how hard he’d fallen for the little girl.
‘Don’t worry, Monroe.’ She laid a hand on his arm. ‘We’ll get the right gift, even if it takes us all afternoon.’
He dragged his fingers through his hair. ‘Thanks. It’s important.’
