“No. It was me. I was putting in sixteen-hour days and collapsing at night. Too tired to answer any form of communication. My mother is so angry at me that I have to take her to lunch on Sunday. Somewhere very expensive.”
“So why all the work?”
“I completed what I needed to move my business here. Well, not here in Lachlan, but into a high-rise downtown on Broward.”
“Ooooh. Big city. Why not Miami?”
Alastair held his fingers up in a cross. “Don’t hex me with that name. Fort Lauderdale and Miami don’t mix.”
“I didn’t know. I’ve been learning that Fort Lauderdale and Lachlan are separate.”
“True. We just share utilities, taxes, public transportation and schools with them.”
Kate finished her second glass of wine, while Alastair had barely touched his. “And we can’t forget the Broward County Sheriff’s Department that rules us both.”
“With its state-of-the-art forensics department.”
“Really?” she asked.
“Yes. Fort Lauderdale Police Department uses it.”
“Wish they’d use Sheriff Flynn,” she said under her breath.
“I wondered how you were getting along with him. Too bad you aren’t a Kirkwood.” He grinned. “Or a Stewart. Hey! Let’s elope tonight and tomorrow you’ll be a Stewart. That’s one up from a Kirkwood. Ol’ Sheriff Flynn will be kissing your rings.”
Kate had already drunk enough wine that it seemed like a hilarious proposition and she laughed hard. “You’re my third marriage proposal.”
He picked up a table knife. “If one of them was from Jack Wyatt, I’ll stab myself in the heart now.”
“Jack? Not a chance. He’s more like my brother than a...than a...”
Alastair held the wine bottle over her glass. “Say he’s not like me and I’ll buy a hundred-dollar bottle of their finest.”
“He’s not at all like you,” she said.
Alastair signaled the waiter and ordered a second bottle. “Now, seriously, Kate, my lovely, I need a house here in Lachlan. Can you find me one?”
“Oh, yes. Definitely. What are you looking for? Acreage? Old house? New? Something to remodel? Water view? In town so you can walk to the shops?”
He was grinning at her. “I like this Kate. Do you wear suits and high heels? Carry a briefcase?”
The way he said the words was so sexy that she felt herself sliding down in the chair. “I’m prim on the outside but I love lacy underwear.”
He raised an eyebrow. “From that catalog?”
“The one teenage boys like so much?”
“And mature adults. How about something chocolate for dessert?”
“Too many calories.”
“But also a reward for all the work you’ve been doing. Besides, we need time to talk about the house you’re going to find for me. I’ve only lived in Granddad’s house and in glass-walled apartments. I need something in between.” He ordered the dessert. “I think it’s time I settled down. What about you? Any plans for the future in the way of a family?”
“Two kids,” she said. “Maybe another one later when the others become obnoxious teenagers. I like babies.”
“Sounds like we agree on that. What kind of house do you like?”
“Regional,” she said. “I like houses that look like where they’ve been planted.”