If only she had a little more experience at interacting socially with men. But wishing couldn’t change the facts. Her mirror might tell her that she was slender, but in her mind she still felt fat. Fat and unattractive. When a man tried to make small talk with her, she froze. She mumbled awkward comments at random and the man invariably drifted away to find someone easier to talk to.
But how was she supposed to go about getting experience talking to men? she wondered in despair. Most women learned the skill in junior high school. She turned left as the light changed.
What she really needed was a brother who could give her good advice on what men liked and didn’t like. But she didn’t have a brother. Or even a cousin. But there was Joe, she thought, as the memory of his championship of her during their school years came to mind. He had been very kind to her back then. But was he still kind? Kindness and big business seemed an unlikely combination.
Besides, he was a very busy man. That much had been obvious from her brief visit this morning. Why should he take the time to help her learn how to relate to men?
Because he wanted to buy her property! The need wasn’t all on her side. Joe wanted something too. He wanted her land and, while she really didn’t want to sell, Kathy was right. It was selfish of her to hang on to the past when so many people could benefit by her letting go.
She could offer to sell him the house if he would help her learn the skills necessary to get a husband. If Joe agreed... A surge of excitement filled her. It was certainly worth a try. After all, the worst thing that could happen would be that he’d say no.
Two
“Do you have a reservation, sir?” The hostess eyed Joe as if he were a particularly appetizing entrée.
“Yes. Barrington.” Joe glanced around the crowded restaurant looking for Addy, oblivious of the hostess’s interest. “I’m meeting a Miss Edson.”
“She hasn’t arrived yet.” The hostess became businesslike at the mention of another woman. “Should I show you to your table now or would you prefer to wait in the bar?”
“The table, please.” Joe followed the woman through the busy restaurant to a secluded table for two in one corner.
“Thank you.” Joe sat down facing the doorway and checked his watch. Addy had said she’d meet him here at eight, and it was just after that now. So where was she? Could she have changed her mind? He certainly hoped not. He needed her property, and he needed it now. But then his need had never been in question. Only her willingness to sell.
So what inducement could he offer her to part with it? He didn’t have a clue. Everyone else he knew responded to money. Offer them enough cash, and they caved in and did exactly what you wanted.
But Addy didn’t fit the normal mold. Money didn’t appear to hold the slightest fascination for her. According to what Hodkins over at the bank had told him, she hadn’t even touched the substantial amount that her parents had left her. Not even the interest on it. And her rushing off to Africa to do good works was further proof that she simply wasn’t motivated by conventional things. The women he knew were totally preoccupied with their own interests, not those of starving kids half a world away. No, Addy was definitely different.
He absently drummed his fingers on the pristine white tablecloth as he considered the situation. But that didn’t mean that there wasn’t something that she wanted. It simply meant that it would be harder to figure out.
Unconsciously, his lips lifted in a reminiscent smile as the memory of her clutching a doll to her pudgy chest and smiling at him through her tears when he’d routed her tormentors all those years ago flickered through his mind. Poor Addy. She may have had loving parents, but in a lot of respects her childhood hadn’t been much happier than his.
She’d borne the brunt of her peers’ teasing because her body hadn’t conformed to what society said it should, while he’d been tarnished by his mother’s drinking. Not that it was his mother’s fault. Joe’s features momentarily hardened. It had been her lover’s fault. But the day of reckoning was coming, he promised himself. Very soon.
His eyes narrowed as a redheaded woman entered the restaurant, and Joe felt a curious sense of pride twist through him when he recognized Addy. Pride that Addy had turned out so well. So very well. The silky, emerald material of her dress clung lovingly to her slender curves, hinting at what it covered. His eyes lingered on the tantalizing swell of her breasts.
It was strange that she could look so overwhelmingly sexy without really revealing anything. Her neckline didn’t expose her breasts, nor was her skirt short. And yet, despite the lack of specifics, he could feel himself getting hard just looking at her.
With a monumental effort, he blocked out his response as he got to his feet. Addy was a friend, he reminded himself.
Addy felt herself tense as she noticed Joe’s expression. Was he annoyed that she’d asked him to meet her here for dinner? Had he had other plans that her request had interfered with? Such as a previous date? But if that had been the case, he probably would have said so, she decided. Joe had never been the least bit reticent about saying what he thought before.
“Good evening, Addy.” He held a chair for her, and she sank down into it.
“May I get you a drink?” the waitress offered.
“Addy?” Joe asked.
“A glass of iced tea,” she said, wanting to keep her wits about her. She was nervous enough about what she was going to ask Joe. It wouldn’t help anything if she were to muddle up her thoughts with alcohol.
Joe’s dark eyebrows shot up at her choice, but to her relief he didn’t say anything. He merely ordered Scotch and water.
When the waitress left, he turned to Addy and said, “The message you left said that you wanted to discuss my offer?”
Addy gave him a rueful grin. Whoever had said that nothing ever changed must have had Joe in mind. He was exactly the same as he always had been. No small talk. Just go right to the heart of the matter. Would he make love like that? The unexpected thought popped full-blown into her mind. Would he be a physical lover without spending a lot of time on talk? Would he...
Stop it! She hauled her imagination up short. It was no business of hers what kind of lover Joe was. And she didn’t want it to be, she assured herself. She had no desire to engage in casual sex and, while she was certain that sex with Joe wouldn’t be the least bit casual, it would be a disaster. At least for her. She hadn’t really needed Kathy to tell her that Joe was not a man who was interested in marriage. It was written all over him. Even someone as inexperienced as she was could tell that Business was Joe’s love. A woman would come in a poor second.
“Here you are.” The cheerful voice of the waitress as she delivered their drinks interrupted Addy’s thoughts, and she let them fade away.
“Well, you were saying?” Joe persisted when the waitress left.
“I wasn’t saying anything. You were demanding.”
“You were the one who asked me to meet you here. Why?”
Addy took a deep breath and mentally scrambled to marshal her thoughts. She was pretty certain that his first reaction was going to be negative. Nervously, she studied the firm line of his dean-shaven jaw. Very negative. Which was why she had asked him to meet her here. She’d figured that no matter how negative Joe felt about her proposal, he wouldn’t yell at her in a public place. Nor was he likely to get up and leave. Here, she at least had a chance of getting him to consider her proposal seriously instead of automatically rejecting it.
Joe studied the curious play of emotions flitting across her face.