An Irresistible Bachelor(73)

Jack came up behind her and she felt his hands settle on her shoulders. When he spoke, his voice was right next to her ear.

^Ih$ye something for you."

She looked up, feeling anticipation thicken her blood. But instead of kissing her, he put a glossy bag with satin handles down on her desk.

She tensed when she saw the Carder name. "What's this?"


"just a small present. Go on. See what's inside."

She took out a sizable red leather box, and when she got it open, she shook her head. Inside was a gold watch.

"Jack, I can't accept this."

"Why not?" He reached over and took the beautiful timepiece out of its satin bed. "You need a watch."

"Yeah, well, not one like this." It had probably cost ten or twenty thousand dollars.

"Try it on."

He slipped it over her hand and on to her wrist. It was heavy and felt altogether foreign.

"Fits perfectly," he said with satisfaction.

"Jack, it's too much."

Impatience flickered across his face. "The thing tells time. That's all you need to worry about."

"But so does a Timex."

Jack frowned. "Why can't I buy you a gift? People give them and receive them all the time. It's the basis of our retail economy as a matter of fact."

She got up from the chair. "You can. But... your version of a gift and the rest of the world's are very different."

"I don't care about the rest of the world."

"Fine. My version of a gift, then." She faced him. "Jack, I've got to be honest with you. I don't have a dime to my name, other than what you're going to

pay me at the end of this job. That place in Chelsea? That's where I live. The Chanel suit? It's a friend of mine's. I'm not from your world. Not even close."

"I know."

She narrowed her eyes.

Of course he would, she thought. He wasn't stupid.

Jack crossed his arms over his chest. "And I know where you're headed with all this, so let me just say, I don't care where you're from. Not in the slightest."

Callie studied his face closely and then looked down at the watch. "I'm not going to change, you realize. No matter what you buy me, I'm never going to be a socialite who's into dresses and shoes and parties. First of all, I hate shopping."

"So don't shop."

"And I have ridiculously wide feet so those Sex and the City-type shoes would never fit me anyway."

"Which means you're stable on an incline. A tremendous virtue," he said with a straight face.

She rolled her eyes. "And I hate big crowds. To be honest, I'm on the benevolent side of antisocial. I don't mind people, but I'd prefer not to have a lot of them around."

"So there'll be no going to Times Square to see the ball drop? Oh, the disappointment."

The expression of horror on his face had her laughing. "I can't believe you don't care."

"Well, I'm a little shook up there's no New Year's Rockin’' Eve with Dick Clark in our future, but there's

Jack was smiling as he reached out and pulled her against him. He dropped a kiss on her mouth.

"I like you just as you come." He nodded down at her wrist. "If you really hate the watch, I'll take it back provided you promise to eat lunch every day. But it is a gift from me to you and I hope you'll at least try it out."

She put her arms around his shoulders. "Fine, I'll give it a go. And thank you."

Jack nuzzled the sensitive skin of her neck. "God, you smell good. What is that perfume?"

"Eau de isopropanol."

He pulled back. "What the hell is that?"

"The solvent I'm using to remove the oxidized soft resin varnish from your painting."

"Oh, right. I thought I recognized it." He took her earlobe gently between his teeth. "Now how about we say hello again?"

In a flash, they were on the couch. With impatient hands, clothes were thrown on the floor, shoes kicked off. As he settled between her legs, he hesitated, his eyes heated but worried.

"Are you sure you... is this going to be okay?" he asked.

His awkward concern made her smile.

"There's only one way to find out," she murmured, moving her hips against his.