“And you intend to make things difficult, Hunter?”
A smile touched her lips. “I intend to make things impossible, Tyson.”
“Nothing is impossible.”
He stood and she couldn’t help but admire how sexily his body eased out of the chair. “And since you won’t have dinner with me, how about lunch tomorrow?”
“Give me one good reason why I should.”
“Because I’m a potential client who merely wants to discuss ideas about the kind of country home I want you to design for me.”
Hunter stared at him. Was he really serious about wanting her to design his home? There was only one way to find out. “Lunch tomorrow will be fine. Make an appointment with Pauline on your way out.”
“No, I’m making one with you now. Put me on your calendar for tomorrow. Noon. At Gabriel’s. I’ll meet you there.”
He headed for the door. When he reached it, he turned around and smiled. “And you look good today, by the way. Good enough to eat.”
And then he opened the door and left.
Hunter was convinced she should have her head examined when she arrived at Gabriel’s the next day at noon. Meeting Tyson for lunch wasn’t a smart move. So why was she here? Even if Tyson wanted her to design his country home there were ulterior motives behind it. He had been up front about his plans for her. It was all about seduction. Plain and simple. But he would discover there wasn’t anything plain or simple about it.
The last thing she needed was to get mixed up with Tyson, or any man for that matter. She had put her divorce behind her, moved to be closer to her family and start over in her business. Hard work lay ahead of her and she had very little time to indulge in an affair. Besides, hadn’t a failed eight-year marriage proved she was lousy at relationships?
“May I help you, madam?”
“Yes,” she said, glancing around. “I’m meeting Tyson Steele for lunch.”
The maître d’ smiled. “Yes. Dr. Steele arrived a few moments ago and requested one of our private rooms in the back. I’ll lead the way.”
“Thanks,” she said, following behind the man. A private room? In the back? She didn’t like the sound of that and had a mind to turn around and walk out. But Tyson was a client. And so far, he was the only one she had. She kept telling herself that once the advertisements she’d approved finally ran, business would pick up. She certainly hoped so.
The maître d’ opened the door then stepped aside for her to enter. She looked around and saw Tyson. He stood and she could feel the air between them sizzle. She knew he felt it as well when she saw heat smoldering in the depths of his green eyes.
He must have come straight from the hospital since he was still wearing his physician jacket. Tightening her hand on her briefcase, she moved forward and tried to fight the attraction she felt toward him. “Tyson.”
“Hunter. Glad you could join me.” As if only realizing his attire, he took off his white coat. “Sorry, an emergency detained me.”
No need to say she hoped it wasn’t anything serious, because he was a heart surgeon, so anything he did was serious. “No problem. I know your time is valuable so we can go ahead and—”
“You look good again today.”
“Thanks.” Knowing they would be meeting for lunch, she had worn a pantsuit. The way he had checked out her legs yesterday had been too unnerving. “As I said yesterday, usually a client has purchased property, but since—”
“We’ll discuss business later. Let’s order first. I’m starving. I’ve been in surgery all morning and missed breakfast.”
“Oh. Of course.” She glanced down at the menu and tried ignoring the tingles of awareness going through her. It wasn’t easy sitting across the table from such a sexy man. So far he seemed all business and hadn’t said anything she considered inappropriate. She wouldn’t hold that compliment on how she looked against him. In fact she appreciated him making the observation. Carter had stopped telling her how good she looked even when she’d gone out of her way to please him.
“I already know what I want.”
She glanced up and swallowed deeply at the look she saw in his eyes. She wasn’t imagining the sizzling undercurrents flowing between them. “Do you?”
“Yes.”
She held his gaze and the sexual tension surrounding them began mounting. He had been referring to what he wanted off the menu, hadn’t he? With Tyson, one could never be sure. She’d discovered that often his words had a double meaning. “That was fast,” she said, breaking his gaze to look back down at her menu.
“I’ve never been accused of being slow, Hunter.”
She glanced back up at him again. “And what did you decide to get?”
“The pork chops. That’s what I usually get whenever I come here.”
She nodded. He had been talking about what was on the menu, after all. “The pork chops sound good.”
“They are and that’s what I want for now. What I really want I’ll put on the back burner until...”
She glanced up to find his focus totally on her, making the undercurrents between them sizzle even more. “Until what?”
“I can bring you around to my way of thinking.”
Hunter couldn’t help but chuckle.
“And what do you find amusing, Hunter?”
She leaned forward in her chair. “For a minute there I thought this would be one of those rare times that you would be good.”
“I am good. Always.”
His words flowed through her and with supreme effort she tried not to imagine just how good he would be. “I was referring to your behavior.”
“Now, that, not always. According to my mother I can push the envelope at times.”
She bet. Hunter was glad the waiter returned and with the amount of food Tyson ordered it was apparent he hadn’t lied about being hungry. She wondered where he would put it all.
As if reading her thoughts, he said, “I plan to work it off later.”
“I don’t doubt that you will.”
He reached across the table and his fingers caressed her hand. “I don’t mean with another woman, Hunter. I have a membership at the gym.”
She wondered what had given away her thoughts and figured it must have been her tone. Why had the thought of him sleeping with a woman bothered her? And why did him caressing her hand send shivers of desire through her? “You don’t owe me an explanation. What you do and with whom is your business, Tyson. And need I remind you,” she said, pulling her hand back, “that this is a business meeting?”
“Duly reminded,” he said, smiling. “Temptation got the best of me.”
Although she wouldn’t admit to it, temptation had almost gotten the best of her, as well. She had loved the feel of his touch and could still feel the imprint of his hand on her skin. It was becoming pretty clear that this attraction between her and Tyson could lead to big trouble if she wasn’t careful. Deciding to break up the sexual tension flowing between them, she steered the conversation to an innocuous topic. “So how are your niece and nephew?”
He