“Possibly. What difference does it make?”
“I was just wondering if you’ll be wearing a nightie tonight. Or do you always sleep sans raiment like you did last night?”
“Parker—”
“What’ll you talk about?”
“None of your damn business.”
“That good, huh? Or that bad?”
She drew a deep breath and said tightly, “I’ll tell him that I’ve discovered an extremely talented writer who—”
“Please, I’m blushing.”
“Who is also the crudest, rudest, most obnoxious man I’ve ever met.”
He grinned. “Well, that would be the truth.” Then his smile gradually faded. Giving the wheels of his chair a small push, he rolled another inch or two nearer to her. “I bet you won’t tell him I kissed you,” he said in low voice. “I bet you omit that part.”
She stood up hastily, knocking the crate over backward. She tried going around him, but he moved equally fast and used his chair to block her path. “Get out of my way, Parker. I’m going back to the house now.”
“It’s raining.”
“I won’t melt.”
“Melt down, maybe. You’re angry. Or afraid.”
“I’m not afraid of you.”
“Then sit back down.” When she failed to move, he motioned toward the door. “Fine. Go. Get drenched. Which will mean making explanations to Mike. It’ll get messy, but if that’s what you want…”
She glanced outside at the downpour, then reluctantly upturned the crate and resumed her seat on it, primly and looking pissed.
“Tell me how you met your husband, Maris.”
“Why?”
“I want to know.”
“What for?”
“Call it creative curiosity.”
“Call it nosiness.”
“You’re right. Euphemisms are a crutch. I’m nosy.”
Gauging her expression, he expected her to clam up and refuse to continue their conversation, but she folded her arms across her middle—no doubt to hide her navel—and said, “Noah came to work at Matherly Press. But long before that, I knew him by reputation as the brains behind a rival publishing house. When he joined us, I was thrilled at the opportunity to be working with him. Over time, however, I realized that my feelings ran much deeper than admiration for a colleague. I was in love with him.
“At first my father was concerned about my entering into an office romance. He was also worried that Noah is ten years older than I. He encouraged me to date other men and even dabbled in some blatant matchmaking with sons and nephews of his friends and associates. But Noah was the one I wanted. Luckily he felt the same. We married.” She bobbed her head for punctuation. “There. Satisfied?”
“How long have you been married?”
“Almost two years.”
“Children?”
“No.”