“Mmm-hmm.” As naturally as if they’d known each other for a long time, she reached up to take Adrienne’s hand again as they moved into the hallway. “I don’t think Gideon’s used to being around kids.”
Adrienne was intrigued by Isabelle’s mannerisms. She was such a tiny little thing, yet her self-possession seemed years ahead of her age. Adrienne suspected she’d spent a great deal of time with adults. “You don’t think he’s used to kids? Don’t you know?”
“I haven’t known him very long,” Isabelle confided, then pulled Adrienne into an airy kitchen, where Gideon was peering into an oven.
The little girl seemed to find the sight amusing. “Hedwig’s not in the oven, Gideon. He’s right here.”
Closing the oven door, Gideon turned to stare at the child who had transformed from tearful to cheery. “Where was it?”
“We found him in the clothes hamper. She, um, what’s your name?” Isabelle suddenly thought to ask Adrienne.
“I’m Adrienne Corley.”
Isabelle nodded gravely and turned back to Gideon. “Miss Corley found him.”
Gideon released a pent-up breath. “Good. Now why don’t you and Hagar go watch TV or something while Ms. Corley and I talk a few minutes?”
“It’s not Hagar, it’s Hedwig,” Adrienne corrected him before Isabelle could do so. “From Harry Potter, right?”
Isabelle smiled and nodded, then skipped out of the room with her owl. Adrienne watched her leave, then turned to find Gideon looking at her questioningly.
“I’m in publishing,” she informed him. “I know about Harry Potter.”
“You want some coffee or something? I could use some myself. Actually, a couple of shots of bourbon sound pretty good right now, but since I’m baby-sitting, I guess I’d better st
ick with coffee.”
“Coffee sounds good. Thanks.”
He waved her to one of the four chairs grouped around a round oak pedestal table. “Have a seat. Want something to eat? I’ve got some lemon pound cake I bought at the bakery yesterday.”
“That sounds great,” she said, realizing only then how hungry she was. She’d missed dinner during her travel adventures.
A few minutes later she found herself sitting across the table from Gideon, cake and coffee in front of them. It was somewhat disconcerting to be facing him that way, after the unexpected chaos surrounding her arrival. The search for Hedwig had certainly been an ice-breaker, but now she was having a bit of trouble getting her mind back to business.
She couldn’t stop thinking about how attractive he was, with those amazing green eyes and that brooding mouth, and his thick, dark hair. She noted only as an objective observer, she assured herself—someone who had reason to imagine his photograph on the back of a book jacket.
As for anything more than that, she still wasn’t even sure she liked the guy.
Chapter Two
Gideon studied the woman sitting across his kitchen table. She didn’t look exactly the way he’d pictured her during their telephone conversations. She was younger, for one thing, no older than his own thirty years, if that. And prettier, with glossy auburn hair and dark-chocolate eyes set in a creamy heart-shaped face. Nice figure, too, the type he referred to as “society sleek.” Small bust, narrow waist, slender hips, long legs—all nicely toned.
Definitely a big-city girl, as out of place here in rural Mississippi as he would have been in the juice bar of her trendy health club. “So why are you here? We didn’t have an appointment or anything, did we?”
Apparently savoring every bite of her cake, she shook her head. “I’ve been unable to reach you to set up an appointment. And I have tried,” she added, a touch of accusation in her tone.
He shrugged without apology. “I haven’t had a chance to check the mail in a while.”
“Or e-mail, apparently. And you don’t have an answering machine. I sent two registered letters—both of which you signed for—but you never replied. I didn’t know what else to do except come here myself.”
He supposed maybe he should express a little regret at her inconvenience. “Sorry. I tend to ignore the rest of the world when I near the end of a book. I’ve been told it’s not a particularly admirable trait.”
“So you are nearing the end of the book?”
“Is that why you’re here?” he asked instead of answering. “To find out how the book’s going?”
“That’s one of the reasons. Since your deadline was three weeks ago and I haven’t heard from you, I thought there might be a problem. I have some other business to discuss with you, also. Since I wasn’t able to give you advance notice of my arrival, I certainly understand if this is an inconvenient time for you. I would be glad to make an appointment with you for a later date—either a telephone conference or another face-to-face meeting.”