An Irresistible Bachelor(71)

"What were you thinking about?'

He fingered some of the broken crystal in his palm. "How different you are."

"Oh." She was hardly encouraged, considering he'd ended up throwing something.

"Did you know that I once had a woman ask me to buy her a car?"

Callie shook her head and went back to picking up the glass. She really didn't want to hear about one of his former lovers. "Doesn't surprise me."

"She wanted it to go shopping in. We were in Italy and she couldn't stomach a rental. It was too close to public transportation for her."

Callie smiled a little though she had a pit in her stomach thinking about him on some romantic getaway. "And let me guess. We're not talking about a Ford Escort, are we?"

He shook his head. "A Ferrari. She wanted a yellow one."

She cocked an eyebrow. "To match her hair, of course. What did you do?"

"I bought it."

"That must have pleased her." When she heard the disapproval in her own voice, she said, "What I mean is—”

"It did make her happy, but not because she really wanted the car. It was a test, an absurd request to figure out how far I was willing to go." Jack shrugged. " And I showed her exactly where my limits were with pleasure. I knew she'd never forget the car that made no difference to me, especially if I allowed her to use it for a day. I bought the Ferrari, put a big red bow around it, and told her to have a ball. That night, after she got home, I informed her I didn't need to see her again and drove off in it. She called me for months afterward."

Callie got to her feet and emptied her hand in the wastepaper basket. That kind of hardball, on both sides, was way out of her league. "Are you sure it was a test? Maybe she was sincere."

"She used it to go see her other lover. No doubt to try and have him match the competition.''


"Oh."

"My point is, that's something you would never do."

She laughed. "You got that right."

Jack put the shards he was holding into the trash. "This morning I sat in bed and realized I want things from you. Things I've never asked any other woman for."

"Like what?" She held her breath.

"I've had a lot of relationships that looked good from the outside," he paused, smiling coldly, "probably because we were wearing evening clothes most of the time. What went on behind closed doors, though, was just some athletic sex and not much else. Even with Blair, who I respected, there was something missing. With you," his eyes locked on hers, "I know there is more and I want it all. I know you're looking at this as a fling, but I don't want you only in my bed. I want you in my life, too. I want to wake up in the morning and see your face. I want to come home at noontime just because I'm impatient to see you and I know you're here. I want you to trust me. And I want to earn that trust."

He threw his hands up and rolled his eyes before she could speak. "I know, I know. This coming from a man who last night reminded you he wasn't a good bet for a relationship. But I've really thought about this. Hell, I've been thinking about you nonstop for weeks now."

Believing in him and seeing a future with him was enticing. But Callie tried to remind herself that considering him as a casual lover was still the smart thing to do. They had talked a little about feelings and had a wonderful night together, but it was way too early to predict how a relationship between them would turn out.

"It's going to take time, Jack."

"I know. And I'm willing to put in the investment, if you are."

She studied him closely. "I am."

"Good." He kissed her hard on the mouth and then went over to the desk and pulled open a drawer.

"Jack?"

He looked up.

"Just so you know, I'm perfectly fine with public transportation. But that doesn't mean I want you to buy me a bus to prove your affection, okay?"

He was laughing as he took out a long envelope. "It's a deal."

The single sheet of paper he slid free was the same pale brown color as the one she'd discovered but much smaller. "This is a letter fragment I found five years ago when we were cleaning out my father's things."

She came over as Jack read from it aloud. "My dearest heart, surely I wanted to come unto you. It was fear, not a failing of love, that kept me away. To risk all for one look upon your face seems a paltry exchange, but he would find our love as a forsaken betrayal. Your friendship, long as son to father and father to son, would be devastated. And how, thereafter, could you fight under his command? But after Concord we shall meet again at—” He looked up. "That's all there is."