“Begs the question, doesn’t it? What do you do to unwind?” Daniel asked casually while Scarlet, her mind gone blank, clasped her hands in her lap.
To unwind? “Well … I, er, like to ski.”
“Me, too.” Daniel laughed. “On the water, though, not in Aspen.”
Scarlet didn’t allow herself to imagine him in bathing shorts. Those shoulders, that chest … Lord, she might hyperventilate.
“I like to read and go to the theater,” she added.
Daniel considered that, then asked, “How about bikes?”
“I own a bike,” she replied, “but I don’t get out near enough. Peddling around is good exercise, though.”
“I mean motorbikes.”
“As long as I’ve known him,” Max said, “Daniel has loved belting down a highway on two wheels.”
Scarlet forced a polite smile. “I’m afraid I’ve never been on that kind of a bike.”
“You should try it.” Daniel tipped a fraction closer and his intoxicating masculine scent drifted into her system. “I could take you out. Bet you’d like it.”
She pinned him with a warning look. “Bet I wouldn’t.”
“Maybe we should call that cab now,” Max pitched in.
Scarlet glanced across. “What cab?”
“When Max showed up with Daniel,” Cara said, “and I told them I was expecting you, he suggested we all go out to grab a bite.”
Daniel looked at her innocently. “Would you like to come out to dinner?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Thank you, no.”
“Scarlet, are you feeling all right?”
At the concerned note in Cara’s voice, Scarlet preened back her ruffled feathers and remembered where she was, who she was with. She made it a point never to be rude. That only revealed weakness. A lack of self-control.
“I’m fine,” she said evenly. “I’m just … not dressed to go out.”
Cara waved the excuse away. “You look fabulous, as always.”
Cornered, Scarlet took a good long sip of champagne. Cara might not have picked up on the thrust and parry game she and Daniel were playing but, from the gleam in his eye, Daniel McNeal wanted Scarlet to know he was intent on pursuing her. She ought to tell him here and now she was unavailable. In fact, what was stopping her? She didn’t need to be gauche and slap him around the head with it. Perhaps if she happened to mention that she was missing Everett.
Even if that wasn’t strictly true. Everett hadn’t been gone twenty-four hours, and she’d had a pile of other stuff filling her head.
“Scarlet was very helpful today,” Daniel was saying.
Her chin tucked in. “I was?”
“When you agreed to work with me on some ideas I’d like to contribute to the wedding,” he reminded her.
“I said I’d look over your ideas.”
“What kind of ideas?” Cara asked.
“A couple of small things,” he said, “that won’t clash with etiquette or good taste.”
Daniel sent Scarlet a mischievous “proud of me?” grin while Cara’s eyes shone with affection.
“I’m not the least surprised she made herself available,” Cara said. “Scarlet’s not only a great friend, she’s the best wedding planner around.”
Scarlet burned to speak up. Yes, she was Cara’s friend and would do anything in her power to make certain her big day was everything it should be, and more. But that didn’t equate to spending time with Daniel. He made her feel uncomfortable. Restless. Or was that reckless?
Not herself at all.
Cara pushed to her feet. “I’ll just go get my bag.”
“Wait for me. I’ll grab my wallet and cell phone.” Following Cara, Max apologized to his guests, “We won’t be long.”
Daniel reassured him. “Take your time.”
When they were alone, he sat back and simply waited. Eventually, over the lump of irritation building in her throat, Scarlet managed to speak.
“I received your flowers,” she told him. “I admit the kangaroo was a novel touch.”
“The florist thought so, too.”
“By the card, the florist is the woman you met today. Katie. She owns the shop a couple of doors down from DC Affairs.”
“Right. Now it makes sense. On the phone she seemed particularly pleased with the order.”
Scarlet bristled. Enough.
“You need to know.” She set her flute down. “I’m seeing someone.”
His forehead creased. “Does your florist friend know?”
“She does now.”
“I don’t see any ring on your finger.” When she inhaled a shocked breath, the ruthless slant of his mouth faded and his shoulders rolled back. “So, go ahead and tell me. Are you serious about this guy? And before you answer, I want you to know that I think you’re a beautiful, intriguing, slightly priggish woman, who I am thankful has finally agreed to come out this evening.”
“I did not agree to go out with you.” She blinked. “Did you say priggish?”
“Don’t take it as an insult. Prim is highly attractive on you. Although I can’t help but want to see more of your less guarded side.”
“I’m not guarded.” Crossing her legs, she refolded her hands on her lap. “I’m careful.”
His voice lowered. “I think you should come for a ride with me. I sense there’s a whole lot more to Scarlet Anders and I want the chance to get to know every bit of her.”
As his gaze roamed her face and her throat, a dangerous fizzy feeling sailed through her body, calling her, drawing her, and as if tugged by an invisible string she tipped a fraction closer, too. Then one corner of his mouth curved up and, appalled by her behavior—at her craving—she jerked back again.
“Don’t look at me like that. You’re too …” She emptied her lungs, took another shallow breath. “You’re too close.”
“It’s going to be difficult,” he said. “Sitting beside you all night. Telling myself that I shouldn’t.”
“Shouldn’t what?”
In that deep drugging voice, he murmured, “Kiss you, of course.”
Watching the color and emotion in Scarlet’s eyes deepen and grow, Daniel followed the instinct that told him to lean in. He’d thought about her surrender—about this moment—all day long. Now he was a heartbeat away from claiming that much anticipated kiss.
Then a familiar voice rang out.
“Did we interrupt something?”
Driving down an audible breath, Scarlet sat ramrod straight as they both glanced up to where Cara stood in the adjoining doorway, her expression tinged with curiosity. A second later, she released an understanding grin.
“Are you two going over those ideas of Daniel’s?” Cara moved forward. “I cannot wait to hear what they are.”
Looking a little unsteady, Scarlet got to her feet. When her leg bumped