Though he didn’t look particularly pleased, he nodded. “If that’s what you want. But there’s no reason we shouldn’t go together, is there? I’ve given you lifts to parties before.”
“I...think it will be better if we go separately.” She wasn’t confident enough about her acting abilities to risk walking in at Shane’s side and pretending there was nothing unusual between them.
“I’m surprised you’re not suggesting we take other dates to really throw people off,” he muttered.
She winced at his unwitting referral to her earlier thought. Even for the sake of their deception, she didn’t like the thought of Shane having a date with another woman. “I don’t think that will be necessary.”
“Damn right,” he growled, looking suddenly fierce. “If you think I’m going to stand back and watch you spend the evening with some other guy...”
“Promise you’ll treat me the way you always do,” she said urgently, covering his hands with hers. “Promise no one will know...”
He scowled, but nodded. “If it’s that important to you, I’ll try.”
“Thank you.”
“I still don’t understand why it’s so important,” he added in a mutter.
“I just want to keep this to ourselves for now,” she said again. “I think I’ve explained my reasons.”
He shoved a hand through his hair. She noted that his hand was steadier now, as was his breathing. But there was still a glint of hunger in his eyes, still a very faint flush of heat on his lean, tanned cheeks. He was holding himself under tighter control than his rather casual tone indicated, she realized in wonder.
He wanted her. Shane Walker wanted her, Kelly Morrison. She still found it hard to comprehend. How could he not understand why she was so reluctant to share this amazing development with anyone else?
“We never talked about your father tonight,” he said as if the thought had suddenly occurred to him. “I still don’t know what you’ve decided.”
“That’s because I haven’t decided anything,” she replied with a shrug. “I really don’t know if I want to see him or not.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“We’ve said all there is to say about it, I think. I just have to decide what I want to do.” She smiled a bit sheepishly. “To be honest, I haven’t given it as much thought as I should. I’ve, er, had someone else on my mind.”
He liked that. He grinned, reminding her that his ego didn’t need too many strokes. “Good,” he said, reaching out to touch her lower lip with the tip of a finger. “Keep thinking about me.”
“I didn’t say you were the one I was thinking about.”
Shane’s smile only broadened. “I’d better go. Still have that hour-long drive ahead of me. Unless you want me to stay, of course.”
She couldn’t quite tell if he was serious. She hoped he couldn’t tell how tempted she was to ask him to stay when she said, “You’d better go,”
He sighed heavily, but rose, extending a hand to boost her to her feet beside him. She walked him to the door, where he kissed her lingeringly.
“I’d say our first date went very well, wouldn’t you?” His tone was just a bit smug.
“It wasn’t a catastrophe,” she agreed, deciding his healthy ego had been inflated enough for one evening.
Shane laughed and kissed her quickly again before opening the door. “See you at the party tomorrow—pal,” he added, his teasing tone indicating that he’d accepted her request to keep their new relationship secret. For now.
She was smiling when she closed the door behind him. The evening really had gone well, she thought cautiously, studying the small tree in one corner of her living room. If that had been a first date with anyone but Shane, she knew she would be practically dancing around her apartment, eager to call her friends and tell them all about the exciting new man in her life.
Unfortunately, she still found herself bracing for disaster, still worried that this whole, reckless “experiment,” and the comfortable life she’d built for herself during the past year and a half, would inevitably come crashing down around her.
Balanced securely in a pair of strong male arms, Kelly reached out to carefully position a porcelain angel at the top of her tree. She took a moment to arrange the angel’s long lace skirts and delicate feather wings. And then she said, “Okay, you can put me down now.”
Dr. Joe D’Alessandro grinned up at her. “Oh, I don’t know. I kind of like this.”
She frowned sternly. “Behave yourself, Doc, or I’ll tell your wife.”
Brynn looked up from the candle-and-greenery arrangement she was creating on Kelly’s coffee table. “No need. His wife is keeping a very close eye on him.”