If Reid was able to rationalize his way out of his dilemma about Kendra, she had no such success, but admitted her strong attraction to him and the trouble in which it would one day land her, and figured that she would have no choice but to take it on the chin when it came. She hoped he’d be worth the price she had to pay.

She looked through her closet and pushed aside the sedate business suits and tailored dresses she wore to work until she found the red silk sheath that fit snugly until it passed her hips and then flared out sassy and flirtatious. Its low-cut bodice promised a delicious tidbit if she let him get that far. She looked at herself in the mirror and frowned. What was she thinking when she bought that advertisement for sex? No wonder she’d never worn it.

What the heck? He wants me, and I want him. Might as well be an adult about it. She combed out her hair and brushed it until it curved under at her shoulder, put on a pair of gold hoops, dabbed perfume in strategic places and took a deep breath. Did she dare wear those spike-heel sandals in weather that was below freezing? And could she drive while wearing them? I can kick off the right one, she said to herself and slipped her feet into the shoes just as the doorbell rang.

She opened the door and, to her delight, his eyes lit up and his long, sharp whistle made her heart sing. He stepped inside, closed the door with his foot, and she’d never seen a happier look on a man’s face than when he gazed down at her. She felt her tongue rim her lips, and then his big hands were on her seconds before he lowered his head and she rose on her toes to meet his mouth. He came down hard on her, but she didn’t care because she felt his need of her.

“Open up to me, sweetheart. Let me feel myself inside you.”

She parted her lips, took him into her mouth and as he began to dance and twirl inside her, one of his hands moved down to her hips and the other locked around her bare shoulders. Oh, the feel of his hands on her naked flesh. She sucked him deeper into her mouth, holding him, caressing him while her nerves began to riot and the blood sizzled in her veins as it raced to her vagina. She heard her moans, but didn’t care. She wanted him as she’d never wanted anything in her life.

He stopped kissing her and looked down at her. “Sweetheart, if we don’t cut this out, we’ll never get anything to eat.”

Frustrated and not bothering to hide it, she poked his chest. “You shouldn’t have started it. I opened the door, and you didn’t even say hi, just like you never bother to say goodbye to me.” His grin settled around his eyes, and it was all she could do to stop herself from putting her arms around him and hugging him. “Would you mind driving? I don’t think I should unless I take off these shoes.”

He looked down at her feet. “No wonder you seem taller. I’ll drive.”

When he handed her a red rose, she kissed his cheek. “You’re such a sweet man,” she said and turned away, intending to get a vase and water for the rose, but he grabbed her arm.

“Do you think I’m sweet, or were you making small talk?”

“Yes, I think you’re sweet, Reid, and I’d…We’d better leave it at that.”

“You haven’t asked where we’re going,” Reid said as they headed out of Queenstown. “Aren’t you concerned?”

“Not really. As long as I can eat when I get hungry, I’ll be happy. Besides, a really sweet man will do whatever he can to make me comfortable.”

“Let’s see. You told me that you’re almost forty. Haven’t you ever misplaced your trust?”

“I did once, and thereafter I protected myself, but while I was protecting myself, life passed me by. Do you get my drift?”

“Yeah. Are you saying you’re willing to take a chance with me?”

“If you want the truth, Reid, I have not let myself face that question. In fact, I have skated all around it, and very skillfully, I might say.”

“That’s two of us. There’re a lot of reasons why we should avoid each other, and you know all of them. But that’s what I think when I’m being logical. The rest of the time, I want what you gave me when I walked into your house this evening.” He drove into a roadside restaurant, parked and turned to her. “I want that and more, and I know that wanting you has nothing to do with the number of women I’m acquainted with in Queenstown. I would want you if I lived in Baltimore, where I know a slew of people, male and female, or for that matter, if I lived in Paris.”

This man was telling her that she should take him seriously; that he wanted her and was bold enough to go after what he wanted. Taken aback by his bluntness, she stammered, “Oh…I think you’re ahead of me.”

“And if I did what I want to do right now, I’d take you in my arms and kiss you until I’m drunker off you than I was forty minutes ago.”

She wanted him as badly as he wanted her, but she didn’t want that to be the basis of their relationship and she decided to tell him so. “Do you think you can slow down, Reid? I confess that I want you, but I am not going to allow that to be the basis of a relationship with you. I need more. I need friendship, companionship and…and…okay, I’ll say it…and love. I need caring and affection, and I’m dying to give all that in return. I want to make love with you in the worst way, but I’ve learned how to deny myself, so…let’s go eat.”

He gazed at her until she began to wonder at his mood. Suddenly, he said, “I’ll buy that.” His face transformed itself into a smile, and she wondered whether she’d be able to handle him if she ever needed to. He held her hand as they walked into the restaurant, a large but cozy room with hanging chandeliers, upholstered chairs, tables spaced far apart and the sound of soft, easy-listening music flowing around them.

“It’s beautiful, Reid. How did you find it?”

“I saw it when I drove to Caution Point this morning and noticed that it was used for wedding parties, so I figured it would be nice. I called and made a reservation.”

“Yes, it’s beautiful,” she repeated, “and so are you. You clean up real good, as they say.”

His smile told her that he appreciated her compliment, but he added, “Thank you, Kendra. I’m beginning to feel like my old self, but when I look at you, knowing who and what you are, I’m humbled. You are so beautiful. I love you in that dress.”

She nearly lost her breath, although she knew there had to be more to that sentence. The maître d’ seated them in a corner near a fireplace, one of several in the room. The place was bound to be expensive, but she didn’t intend to insult him by suggesting that they split the bill. She ordered white wine, and he asked for a wine and club soda spritzer. “I’m driving,” he told the sommelier when the man looked at him disparagingly.

A waiter took their order, and she noted the frown on Reid’s face when the man allowed his gaze to linger on her cleavage.

Reid raised his glass. “Here’s to the loveliest of women.”

“And here’s to the nicest, sweetest man I know.”

“Okay,” he said. “I won’t push you. You don’t have to say anything about my…er…charm and—”

“Then, I won’t. Did you rent a car today?”

“My boss let me use a company car.” He leaned forward. “Kendra, I have so much to tell you. The day got better by the hour.” He told her about his visit with Marcus, of Marcus’s request that he design a building for him, about his boss’s agreement allowing him to do it.

“Kendra, Jack invited me to lunch. He loved the sketch I did for the airport terminal in Caution Point, and another one that he thinks he can use for a deal he’s trying to make. But, Kendra, even before he saw my ideas for that airport terminal, he and Connerly, the junior partner, had decided to raise me from assistant to full architect with double the pay. Do you—”

She interrupted him. “I think I’m going to cry. I—”