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He forced himself to step back and regretted it as soon as he saw the puzzled look on her face.
“Don’t for one second think that I don’t want you. You have to know that I do.” He cocked an eyebrow and was relieved when she smiled and nodded.
“I don’t even feel presumptuous admitting that I know you want me as much as I want you,” she said with a smile. “It just feels … undeniable. So, if you don’t want to ravage me the moment you step through the door, what would you rather do instead?” she asked with a laugh.
He had to laugh with her. “I think you already know that I would love to ravage you the second I walked through the door but …” His smile faded. “I want us to be about more than that. Weareabout more than that, aren’t we?”
“I hope so. I know that was all it was supposed to be about. For you, and for me.” She rested her hand in the middle of his chest and smiled up at him. “You know, it’s exactly a week since the moment we first saw each other.”
He checked his watch. “It is. I have to tell you, I kicked myself all the way down the rest of the stairs after I saw you. I thought about trying to strike up a conversation with you, but I was convinced that a woman like you wouldn’t be there alone.”
“That’s hilarious! I thought you were hot, but I didn’t even think about trying to talk to you. I figured I wouldn’t even know how to talk to a guy like you.”
“What does that mean, a guy like me?”
She laughed. “You know. You’re all …”
He raised his eyebrows and waited as she struggled with what to say. “I’m all what?”
Her hand that still rested on his chest gripped his shirt and gave him a little shake, making him laugh. “You know. You’re all … Bentley DuPont. You look all sophisticated and … I don’t know, out of my league.”
His smile faded at that. “No. I’m not buying that. We’re in the same league.” It bothered him that she should say that.
He felt the tension leave his shoulders when she laughed and said, “I know that now. I’m just saying, the impression you gave as we passed each other on the stairs. The impression you give in general. You’re like this young, wealthy, man about town.”
“And you’re this young, successful, woman about town. I’d say we’re a good match.”
She nodded happily. “It looks that way, doesn’t it?”
“It does. Do you want to put those in water?”
She looked at the flowers that she was still holding and nodded. “I do and thank you again, they’re beautiful.”
Bentley looked around her apartment while she went to get a vase for the roses. It was a decent place. In a way, it made him envious. He’d lived in the family home almost his whole life. Granted, he had his own wing these days. But other than his time at college, he’d never struck out by himself and lived in an apartment.
He smiled to himself when she opened the cabinet under the sink and then straightened up with a frown on her face.
“Hm. I should have thought about that.”
“About what?” he asked, trying not to laugh.
“Everything’s packed up. I don’t have a vase – at least, I don’t have one out.” She pointed at a stack of boxes. “They’re in one of those.”
Bentley went to the overnight bag that he’d dropped by the door as soon as he came in. He took out the vase he’d bought when he got the roses and held it out to her with a smile.
“I figured that you’d have everything packed away, so I brought you one – just in case.”
She laughed as she took it from him. “Aww, thank you so much! That’s so thoughtful of you.”
Once she’d put the roses in water, she set the vase on the coffee table. “There, they can have pride of place for tonight.”
“Only for tonight?”
She laughed. “Yes. Everything is moving in the morning, remember?”
He felt dumb. He hadn’t exactly forgotten – he’d just been focused on how happy she looked about the flowers – and the vase. “Is there anything you still need to do to get ready? Anything I can do to help?”
“No, thanks. I’m as ready as I’m going to get. I’m one of those people who has everything packed a week in advance, even to go on vacation for a couple of days.”
