Chance rolled his eyes, grinning. “Look who’s talking.”
It was a couple of hours later that Chance arrived back in his office. A part of him was still obsessed with hearing Kylie’s voice. Deciding not to fight it any longer, he pulled out his wallet to find the business card she had given him the other day at the café. He picked up the phone, then put it back down. Damn, he wanted to do more than talk to her. He wanted to see her.
He reached for the phone and punched in the number to connect with his secretary. “Ms. Cabot, I’m leaving early today. If an emergency comes up you can reach me on my cell phone.”
Strategy and tact were the methods he’d mentioned to Kylie for bringing their children around. Little did she know he was about to apply that same technique on her.
KYLIE TURNED AT THE SOUND of the shop door opening with a smile of greeting on her lips. The smile quickly faded when she saw it was the one man who had invaded her dreams last night.
She took a calming breath, remembering her reaction the first time she’d seen him when he’d walked through her door two days ago. Nothing had changed. Dressed in another powerhouse business suit, he looked drop-dead gorgeous.
She tried not to stare at him like a love-struck teenager, but found she was helpless in doing so. Chance Steele wasn’t just any man. He was the one man who had started her blood circulating again in some very intimate places. He was definitely a man who was the very epitome of everything male.
“Hi,” she said, deciding to break the silence when they just stood there staring at each other.
“Hi.” He then glanced around. “You’re not busy.”
“No, the lunch crowd has come and gone.”
“Oh. Would you like to go out?”
She raised a brow. “Out where?”
“To lunch.”
Surprise flickered in the depths of Kylie’s dark eyes. “To lunch?”
“Yes,” he said, giving her a smile that made her stomach clench. “Would you go to lunch with me?”
“Why? Do we need to talk about the kids again?”
“No.”
That single word sent her mind into a spin. He wanted to take her out but not to talk about the kids. Then what on earth would they talk about?
Chance must have seen the question in her eyes because he said, “I discovered something very important yesterday at the café, Kylie.”
“What?”
“I enjoyed your company a lot. A whole lot.” Then as an afterthought, he added, “I don’t date often.”
His confession was the same as Tiffany had said that very morning. Although she knew it probably wasn’t good manners, Kylie couldn’t help asking, “Why?”
He shrugged. “For a number of reasons, but I can probably sum it up in one rationale.”
“Which is?”
“Lack of interest.”
Kylie knew all about lack of interest. She’d been dealing with it for over fifteen years. She hadn’t wanted the drama of getting into a hot and heavy relationship with someone, nor had she wanted to expose Tiffany to the drama, either. “Oh, I see.”
“Do you?”
Nervously, Kylie stared down at her hands, confused by a lot of questions, the main one being why she was more attracted to Chance than any other man. She lifted her head. “Then maybe I don’t see after all.”
Her heart began racing when he started crossing the room. When he came to a stop directly in front of her, he placed his finger under her chin, lifting her gaze to meet his. “In that case, for us to go to lunch together is a rather good idea.”
She was warmed by his touch. “Why would you think that?”
“Because it would make things easier for us on Sunday if we were honest with ourselves about a few things now.”