“So what’s your family business?”
Eduardo grinned at the way she took charge of conversation when she felt vulnerable. Good for her. Even if it wasn’t a topic he wanted to pursue. “We have a couple of stores.”
“What kind of stores?”
“Department stores, but they mainly specialize in interiors. Furnishings.”
She nodded but didn’t press for more information. He was glad. He didn’t want her to be impressed by the family wealth. Though that was a stupid qualm when he’d been the one to put a giant diamond ring on her finger. But that was different. That was just a crazy impulse, a joke as much as anything. She understood that was what tonight was all about.
“Tell me about your work.” She turned to him.
On second thought, he’d rather talk about the family business. “What’s to tell?”
“You don’t solve cold cases.”
“No,” he chuckled. “I’m not a forensic pathologist.”
“What do you do?”
“Hematology.”
“Oh.”
He watched her thinking.
“So like, leukemia patients and stuff?”
“Yes and hemophilia and many other different blood diseases.” But his main specialization was oncology—the cancers.
“Do you work in labs or with patients?”
“Both.”
“You didn’t correct me earlier.”
“I couldn’t in front of those friends of yours. Not without blowing our story.” He toyed with the spoon. “Have you been wondering if I’ve spent the day dissecting gruesome discoveries?”
“Do you think that would bother me?”
“You don’t think it’s a strange kind of person who does that?”
“Not strange,” she disagreed. “Courageous. Strong. Brilliant.”
Television dramas and novels had glamorized a tough job. But his was different and he knew from past experience that talking about helping terminal cancer patients made people uncomfortable. “My work doesn’t make for great conversation.” He smiled. “Whereas talking about how beautiful you look? That’s great conversation.”
“Flatterer.” She put her glass down. “Don’t change the subject. I really want to know more about what you do.”
No. He didn’t want to go there. Not this week, when he felt like he didn’t do nearly enough. Anyway, in his life, work and women didn’t fit together. Work had and always would come first for him, and no woman would ever be okay with that. So he avoided the talk. “And I really want to have a night off.”
She inclined her head, her eyes sharply assessing. “All right, that’s fair enough.” A coy smile appeared on her lips. “So are you going to take me dancing?”
His skin tightened in anticipation. “You mean at a club?”
There was a pause, a widening of her eyes as she registered where else he might take her… dancing.
“Of course.” She batted her lashes at him.
But he’d seen the flush of heat staining her skin. It struck him she was more innocent than she liked to let on. She was hotter too—he still couldn’t think about that kiss earlier without getting harder than he’d ever been in his life. He shook his head.
“You don’t dance?” She teased now.
Of course he did. But he couldn’t dance with her in public, he’d get them arrested for lewd behavior within two minutes. He had to hold off long enough to get them in a private place. Home. And soon.
“Eduardo,” she challenged, her vivacious eyes sparkling. “You don’t want to make a fool of yourself in public?”
“I don’t want to make everyone else feel insecure about their dance moves,” he drawled with deliberate slowness.
“Oh, so you’re doing them a favor by not showing them up?” She so clearly didn’t believe him.
“That’s right.” He looked wickedly right back at her.
“So considerate of you.” She glanced across the room, her amusement dying. “Are you sure you don’t want to go and talk to Gabi? I won’t mind. She’s very beautiful.”
“I’m not so impolite I’d leave you alone and go talk to another woman.”
He saw the flare of disbelief in her eyes. Her esteem was too low. Jerk fiancé. Didn’t she understand how attractive she was? “Gabi and I are friends and we understand each other. I don’t need to spend time with her. Especially not when I’m already with the most intriguing woman in the room.”
She laughed and that flush colored her cheekbones again. “Why aren’t you engaged for real?”
Now he laughed.
“I’m serious.” She leaned closer. “You have everything going for you. You should have been caught long before now.”
Eduardo looked into her deep blue eyes. “I don’t smile enough.”
“You smile lots,” she said, surprised.
Tonight he had. Around her. But actually he spent so long locked in labs and on his rounds, he hadn’t socialized properly in eons. There was little point. No woman could cope with the hours and the intensity of his job. He’d tried once, but it had failed horrendously. In the end, his ex had detonated a jealousy-fueled bomb.
Since then, there’d only been occasional, brief flings. And he didn’t think it fair to enter into a relationship when he had no intention of doing the kids thing. “I get bored really easily,” he said, in partial honesty. “And I’m quite boring.”
“I don’t think you’re boring.”
That was because she was the kind of person who found something interesting in everything.
After Graciela and Gabi returned to their table, Eduardo had a hard time concentrating. He wanted to leave. He should have taken Nina back to his apartment after the pub and skipped dinner altogether. Except watching her delight in all those courses had been more pleasurable for him than the meal itself. And that meal had deserved its three stars. But now his body seemed to have bulked up—his muscles bunched too big for his skin, his heart pounded too hard against his ribs. He wanted to be alone with her. In her.
Thank heavens Gabi finally stood, insisting that she accompany Graciela to her hotel.
Eduardo caught his old childhood playmate’s eye. “Thank you,” he mouthed to her. He and Gabi had always understood each other. If his parents had ever managed to have the second child that they’d so badly wanted, he’d
