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“Celeste, I’m not sure where to begin, but maybe we should be talking—”

But she held an elegantly manicured hand up to stop him. “Please, Reid. If it’s just as well with you, I’d like to focus on the here and now. I need to if I’m going to be effective in what I’m trying to do here tonight.”

All right. He would have to respect her wishes if that’s the way she wanted to play things.

He sighed and took the slightest sip of his drink. “If that’s what you’d prefer. But we’re going to run out of small talk at some point. And you can only do so much observation and analysis.”

She leaned over the table, resting her elbows on the surface. “Let’s discuss some fun things then,” she suggested.

“Fun?”

She nodded with enthusiasm. “What does the man I’m working for do to have fun?”

The man she was working for. He wanted to correct her description of him. He’d been so much more than that the other night, hadn’t he? But again, he would respect her wishes. He would play her small-talk game.

“What do you do outside of work, Reid? Do you have any hobbies? What happens when you finally have some free time and want to enjoy yourself?” She paused to take a sip of her drink. “And who do you spend that free time with?”

So, that’s what this was about. She was asking if there was a woman in his life. Celeste wasn’t as unaffected by their mutual attraction as she pretended. A selfish part of him couldn’t help but feel pleased. And if that didn’t make him self-centered, he didn’t know what would.

He took another swig of his rum and focused his gaze on her face. “Celeste, I believe you’re asking me if I’m attached to anyone. Do I have that right?”

* * *

Celeste wanted to kick herself. She was usually much more subtle. In her defense, she hadn’t realized that she planned to ask him that question. It had just come blurting out of her lips. Now it was too late to take it back.

“Just trying to learn more about you, that’s all.”

He flashed her a knowing smile. “All right, I’ll bite,” he stated. “I don’t have much time for hobbies. But when I can get away, I enjoy a good getaway to the mountains for downhill skiing. In warmer climates, I’m an avid scuba enthusiast. Been certified since my teens. It’s one of the reasons I started looking into the Caribbean as an investment opportunity.”

So he was going to start with the less loaded questions. Then again, maybe he wouldn’t answer her last question at all. Served her right. His personal life was none of her business, not really.

What did it matter that they’d lost control with each other on a couple different occasions? They’d simply both been carried away by the romantic setting and the adrenaline rush afforded by all the activities they’d done together. The strong possibility was that he probably had several girlfriends. He probably dated someone different in every city he traveled to. That was the impression she’d first gotten of him when they’d met three years ago at Jack’s introduction. As a matter of fact, she distinctly remembered a conversation about which lucky lady Reid would bring to the wedding as his companion. Her bridesmaids had certainly fallen over each other trying to get his attention. She’d thought it rather amusing at the time. Not so much now. Now that he could also count her as one of the many females who had a thing for him.

They were interrupted by another server who appeared with a platter of cold shellfish. Everything from oysters, to clams, to chilled lobster garnished with lemons and capers sat on a bed of ice. Simultaneously, a sommelier appeared with a bottle of red wine and handed the cork to Reid. He simply nodded at the man after taking a small sniff. Another bottle of white wine was also placed alongside the table in a standing silver bucket sweaty with condensation.

Good thing she hadn’t eaten all day. This was only the first course. Not that she had much of an appetite. Her frazzled nerves were wreaking havoc on her stomach.

Think of this as a straightforward business meeting.

Her own words mocked her. The way Reid looked in his suit and the romantic mood of the setting made that darn near impossible.

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