First of all, they’d rarely gone out alone. Even when they’d started the evening with a romantic dinner, inevitably the meal was merely a prelude for the main event, a gathering of friends at one of the local bars or the yacht club. Most of the time when they’d gone out, it was to attend a party or charity event. Sometimes it had seemed like the only time he and London were alone was when they were in bed.
While the low-key meal had given him an opportunity to get to know Claire better, he still sensed there was more to her that she didn’t want to share. In the year since he’d hired her as his housekeeper, he’d held a picture of her in his head as sweet, earnest and haunted by her husband’s death. Tonight’s conversation had added dimensions to her personality and raised more questions than it had answered. She wasn’t as uncomplicated as he’d thought.
“This was nice,” Claire said as he eased the car out of the parking spot and headed for the exit. She sounded relaxed and a bit dreamy. “Thank you for dinner.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” He had as well. So much, in fact, that he wanted to repeat it. “We should make a habit of it.”
They were stopped, waiting for cars to pass so he could merge onto the main road. She turned her head so that she was no longer staring out the passenger window. Her eyes locked on him and he was besieged by the urge to slide his hand under her thick brown hair and draw her closer. Imagining the softness of her full lips yielding beneath a passionate kiss sent a flare of heat through his body.
“I’m sure you’d much rather be spending your time with your friends,” she said and then yawned.
Despite his heightened awareness of the curve of her breasts barely outlined beneath the thin cotton of her sundress, he forced a light laugh. “Am I boring you?”
She covered her mouth and said, “Of course not. I’m just so full. I don’t remember when I’ve eaten so much.”
“It was a lot of food.”
He tightened his hands on the wheel and told himself to relax. At an opening in the traffic, he sent the car surging forward. When the car was settled into the flow, he glanced at her and noticed her eyes were closed.
“As for spending time with my friends,” he continued, “I get more than enough of their company. They like to go out, hit the bars and pick up women. It gets old. One thing I realized about myself after being with London is that I’m looking to settle down and have a family.”
In fact, the escalating desire to become a dad had been one of the reasons he’d ended things with London. She’d been very clear that with her event-planning business starting to pick up, she didn’t want to disrupt the momentum by starting a family.
“I think that will make your mother very happy,” Claire said.
She was right, but he refrained from adding that he had to choose the right woman. And if his relationship with London had taught him anything, it was that making everyone happy was impossible. Dating London had made his mother miserable. His mother’s not-so-subtle digs at London’s “off” status had irritated him. Having the women in his life at odds was the furthest thing from peaceful. The question he had yet to settle was could he succeed in being happy if he married someone his mother was dead set against?
That was why this attraction he felt for Claire was eating him up. If he pursued her and desire turned to lasting love, there was no way his mother could ever accept that he married not just an outsider, but a penniless one as well. Claire lacked London’s confidence and sophistication. Charleston society would eat her alive.
“What my mother doesn’t realize is that I’m not interested in any of the women she might choose for me,” Linc said.
“Don’t underestimate her.”
“Charleston has a limited number of old families, and I know nearly all of their eligible daughters.”
“Don’t forget you’ve been off the market for several years. Isn’t it possible that someone new may have come on the scene? Someone who was previously unavailable?”
“I suppose.” Although he wasn’t feeling particularly hopeful. “But it’s a long shot, don’t you think?”
“With that attitude, you’re probably right.”
“Is that criticism I hear?”
“Of course not. I wouldn’t presume...” she trailed off and stared at him with worried eyes.
“Relax. I’m not going to take offense,” he told her. “I like to think you and I have become friends. And as such, I hope you feel comfortable telling me the truth.”
“Sometimes I don’t know how to be around you,” she grumbled. “We laugh and get along so well, but in the end, I am your live-in housekeeper. You pay my salary and I don’t want to step across a line.”
“I’d never fire you because you said something I needed to hear. I’m not like that.”
“Well, then, I guess I get to be more blunt.” She shot him a wry smile, but her eyes remained cautious. “Just out of curiosity, what would it take for you to fire me?”
“If you were stealing from me.”
“I’d never do that.”
“Disloyalty.” He noticed her confusion and elaborated. “Like if you decided to write a tell-all.”
“I’m not sure there’d be any money in it. I think you’re an open book. That’s one of the things I admire the most about you. Despite the fact that you’re a huge celebrity, you don’t have any skeletons or dirty laundry in your closet. And I should know, since I clean your house.” Her self-deprecating smile faded. “Since we’re on the subject of public awareness, I should probably mention something that happened to me earlier today.”
“What?”
“I met a woman at the grocery
