possessive move without being pushy or domineering. Perfect.
“I was thinking that we might like to, well, continue to see each other.”
“Ah,” he said.
“But not in the traditional sense. What I want to propose is something a little more unique.”
His hand came off her neck, and she missed it. Looking up at his face, she knew she had to explain fast because his eyebrows had furrowed something fierce.
“Hear me out before you decide.” She shifted so she could see him more clearly. “It’s been, I think you’ll agree, a most remarkable week. It’s obvious that the two of us have a special connection, that we mesh, sexually. We both have busy lives, we’re both independent and not at all needy.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying I think we should get together a few times a year. I was actually thinking four times a year. For a week each time. We’d go somewhere no one knows us. Make love until we drop. No muss, no fuss. Just fun and sex and the delicious anticipation of doing it again in another three months.”
“I see.”
“You’re not looking like this is a wonderful idea.”
“No, no. I can certainly see where it would be quite advantageous.”
“You hate it.”
“Not at all. It makes sense. For you.”
“But not for you.”
He smiled, but the expression was more sad than anything else. “You know what my question was going to be?”
She shook her head, even though she was pretty sure she did.
“I want you to marry me, Jess. Not immediately, but not years away, either. I love you.”
“You do?”
He nodded.
“But it’s only been four days.”
“I know. Doesn’t matter.”
“How can it not matter?”
“I’ve never experienced anything like what happens when the two of us are together. The reason, aside from my complete distraction, that I haven’t asked you more questions, is that for the first time in my life, I prefer the mystery. I like not being able to second-guess you. It’s not frustrating at all, which I never would have believed. On the contrary, not knowing every little thing about you makes the days fascinating. I can’t think of a better tomorrow and tomorrow than to unravel the mystery of you.”
Hot tears sprang to her eyes, and she blinked them back, turning her head away so he couldn’t see. His words confused her more than any flat refusal. He wanted to marry her? It was everything she was afraid of, yet she was touched in a way that stunned her.
The idea was crazy, of course, but also kind of wonderful. “Dan, that’s crazy.”
“I know.”
“The whole reason I hired you was because I didn’t want any kind of commitment. Now that Owen’s sure to be fired, it’s all the more important that I stay clearheaded and focused. When I’m with you, I can’t be all work. It’s almost impossible to be any work at all.”
“But that would change once we knew it was forever.”
“Oh, really? Is that a promise?”
He looked at her for a long moment. “No. The truth is, I imagine you’ll distract me forever. Not that I won’t get anything done. It’s just that you’ll be there, too. You’ll be there first.”
“Which is just what I can’t give you. Please, Dan, I swore I wouldn’t put myself in a position where I had to choose between work and love. Don’t make me go there. Take me up on my offer, okay? At least try it. We can meet in exactly three months. You pick the place and I’ll be there. Whatever deal I get, I’ll negotiate time away that week.”
She touched his hand as the carriage pulled to a stop in front of their hotel. “Please, Dan?”
He took her by the shoulders and kissed her once, briefly. “I’ll think about it.”
“You’re coming up tonight, right?”
“Yes, of course.”
She exhaled with relief. She really didn’t want to spend the night alone. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to ask. You need me, I’m there.”
She smiled, afraid to ask if he meant just for tonight, or for always. Surely he could see that it was not only premature to talk of marriage, but that marriage itself implied that the relationship was the most important thing in the world, which she couldn’t, just couldn’t agree to. Not when she was this close.
The doorman helped her down from the carriage. She hurried to the hansom driver to pay him before Dan climbed down. The tip was excessively large, but she didn’t care. The deed was done by the time Dan joined her.
He smiled again, that strange edgy smile that made her nervous, but she didn’t press him. If she just gave him time…
They walked hand in hand to the elevator, and she tried to read his expression in his reflection on the elevator door, but she couldn’t.
Once in the room, he walked right over to the couch, pulling it out to make the bed.
Her heart sank. If he wasn’t going to make love to her, then he certainly wasn’t going to agree to her plan. She’d been crazy to hope.
“You don’t really have to stay tonight,” she said, passing him on her way to the bedroom. “If you’d rather be in your own bed, I understand.”
“No, I’d like to stay. You had a rough day.”
“Thank you,” she said.
“What’s on the agenda for tomorrow?”
“I have the feeling I’m going to be discussing the New Dawn account with the president of the company. Then there’s the cocktail party here at the hotel.”
“That’s right. You’d better hurry then, get to bed. Best be on your toes when they start offering you the farm.”
“I wish.”
“They will,” he said, his voice filled with confidence. “You’re everything a company could ask for. They’d be insane not to give you the position.”
“Thank you, Dan. That means a lot to me.”
“It’s simply the truth.”
She turned, walked over to him, stood on her toes, and kissed him on the lips. “You’re welcome in there,” she whispered, nodding toward the bedroom.
“And for that, I’m most thankful, but it’s probably better that you get some sleep. We don’t tend to do that when I’m in there.”
She sighed. “You’re right. I’ll be done in the bathroom soon.”
“Take your time.”
She wanted to say more, to add to her pitch, but she held back. Tomorrow. She was one hell of a marketing executive. He was only one man. She could change his mind. She had to.
DAN LAY AWAKE hour after hour, thinking about what Jessica had proposed. The plan was stunning in its simplicity, and on the face of it, the idea made perfect sense.
Oddly he hadn’t considered the possibility at all, not even once.
So much about this week had been strange. His distraction, his attraction to a woman he’d barely spent time with, and yet it was all strangely familiar.
Because, he realized with a jolt, it reminded him so much of his parents.
They’d been with each other two days before they’d known. Actually, his mother had known the moment she met his father that they were going to be married. His father had taken an extra day because it was the night of an
