“Staci. Damn it…Breathe.”
She sucked in a breath and then blurted, “Oh, my God!” Tears filled her eyes. “We’re having dinner in Paris on Valentine’s Day.”
Evan grinned, monumentally relieved she didn’t pass out—and that she was clearly excited or moved by the plan.
“So I’ll make all of the arrangements,” he told her in a low, unassuming voice, just so that he didn’t startle her or send her into shock. “But we’ll probably need Jean to help us with the dinner reservation.”
“Le Jules Verne in the Eiffel Tower,” she said, still a bit breathy. “It’s an Alain Ducasse restaurant. Absolutely stunning views—the best views—of Paris. And the food is to die for. Only Jean could get us in.”
“I’ll do whatever I have to in order to make that happen. I’ll wash dishes in Jean’s kitchen for a month if I have to.”
“Evan…” Tears crested the rims of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks, wetting his hands. He brushed them from her face.
“Don’t make a joke, sweetheart,” he said. “Understand that I’m deadly serious about this.”
Her head tilted to the side as she regarded him. “How did you know that I needed to make a joke?”
“It’s what you do.” He kissed her. Then added, “And I really like it. Except…” He groaned. “You kind of broke my heart when you said this bathroom setup was the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for you. Goddamn, Staci. You are…so incredible. You deserve the moon and the stars. And for some insane, inexplicable reason, I want to be the one to give them to you.”
She let out a half laugh. “Was there a compliment somewhere in that convoluted statement?”
Evan couldn’t help the guffaw. “You couldn’t resist, could you?”
“No.”
“That’s okay. Because I seriously cannot resist you.”
He scooped her into his arms and took her to the bed. He placed her gently on the mattress and said, “Let me blow out the candles and drain the tub. Then I’m going to make love to you.”
A few more fat teardrops fell. But she smiled through them. “You can still fuck me. We don’t have to go totally overboard in the romance area.”
God, the woman was a dream come true. He bent toward her and kissed her. “You’re perfect.”
“Hardly,” she scoffed.
“Perfect for me.” What a surreal realization, especially since he’d been avoiding her for almost two weeks.
When he returned to the bedroom, he found her snuggled under the thick down covers. He climbed in beside her and ran his fingers through her silky hair. Held her to him. She was naked. Precisely the way he preferred her.
“I’m able to free up my schedule tomorrow,” he told her. “No surgeries or appointments. Can you stay an extra day in New York?”
“Sure. I planned a whole wardrobe around you evading me.”
He grimaced. “I didn’t mean to upset your applecart. I understand you have a company to run.”
“I’m fortunate to have incredible people who do their jobs and manage daily operations so that I can look to the future. However…” She curled against his side when he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him. “If you happen to know someone who has a large warehouse or other industrial building for lease or for sale, I need a larger facility for manufacturing and distribution. Our sales have been astronomical with a recent ad campaign and the rollout of this new line of shoes.”
“I’ll give it some thought. Make some calls.” He considered all of this, then said, “Really, Staci. It’s so impressive that you built that company from the ground up. I apologize again for being such a heel.”
She laughed. “Ha, ha. Shoe humor. You’re very funny, Dr. Hart.”
“Anyway, I thought you were trying to play up some of my recent articles, specifically on Regina Hines’s surgeries.”
“Did you operate on her this morning?”
“Yes. She had nerve damage.”
“Will she be okay?”