“Why don’t we go to lunch and talk,” she suggested with a sense of desperation. Why did she find him so damned ir- resistible?
As they stood in an electrifying silence, Cal studied her, wanting to pull her into his arms again. He wanted to hold her every time he was around her now. He looked forward to the day ending, to getting home from work to her. The first evening he had found himself trying to wind up an ap- pointment and clear his desk and get home, he was shocked. He had always lost himself in his work. His practice had been the focus of his life, totally absorbing him until he’d met Juliana. Even when he was engaged to Andrea, his practice had been all-important. That was when he was get- ting started, scrambling to obtain clients and to win his cases. Now, without warning, like lightning slicing across the sky, he was zapped by Juliana and acting like an ado- lescent. And it annoyed the hell out of him that the whole thing was due to Elnora’s meddling.
Inhaling deeply, he stepped back, walking away from Ju- liana and get control, letting his body cool, wishing he could disentangle his emotions as quickly. “Sure, let’s go. There’s a restaurant a block from here that has good salads, some- thing you seem to like, or there’s Mack’s Deli and Burgers that I can drive us to.”
“I’ll opt for the salad and the walk.”
Turning around, he watched her fasten the last buttons on her blouse. Her head was bent, her attention on her clothes. He clenched his fists to keep from going right back to her. How had she gotten to his heart so swiftly?
She looked up and their gazes locked and he felt his body tighten again. With a silent curse, he turned to open the door.
Juliana walked past him and down the hallway to the an- teroom. She felt her cheeks flush with heat as she looked at Sandy and wondered if the receptionist could tell they had been kissing behind his closed door.
As soon as they left his office, she glanced at him. He turned, his eyebrows arching. “What is it? Checking to see if I have your lipstick smeared on my face?”
“As a matter of fact, yes.”
He grinned. “And do I?”
“No, you don’t, but what about my face?”
He stopped her, turning her to face him and holding her chin with his hand while he studied her. She was aware of people glancing at them as they passed. “Never mind,” she said, trying to pull away from his grasp. “I thought you’d just look, not make a big production out of it.”
“Let’s see, big blue eyes, aristocratic nose, a mouth that has slightly smeared makeup or may just be red from kissing—”
“Am I really messed?”
“Impossible. Delectable is the right word.”
“You are irrepressible,” she said in exasperation, walk- ing again while he fell into step beside her.
“Only with you,” Cal answered with a lightness he didn’t feel.
The sunshine was hot, the sidewalk sparkling in the bright light as they walked the block to the tiny restaurant that had a green awning over the front, a sign proclaiming Celia’s Kitchen and a short line of customers waiting inside the door. The place was crowded and noisy, but in minutes they were seated at a round wooden table away from the door.
As soon as they had ordered salads, Cal looked at her. “I should have told you about the horse. I thought I might surprise all of you.”
“You did surprise me. We don’t have a place for a horse.”
“I was going to announce it and then I was going to re- cruit the boys to help build a corral. That would be a good experience for them.”
She stared at him, feeling a mixture of consternation and pleasure. “You’re impossible,” she finally announced. “I don’t know that I want the responsibility of a horse, and it would also be incredibly dangerous for the boys—”
“A horse? Incredibly dangerous?”
“They can get kicked, stepped on—”
“Those kids will do all kinds of things that are danger- ous, Juliana. They’re boys and you can’t keep them in a bubble. A horse isn’t any more risky than a lot of other things. In a few years, Chris will be old enough to drive. That’s more dangerous than riding a horse.”
“I’ll have to get accustomed to the idea.”
“And I should have told you about calling Whittaker’s, but it didn’t seem like a big deal to me. I think the house and garage need repairs. We need a place for a horse and the carriage house isn’t the place. I think it’s a hazard and I’ve told the boys to stay out of it.”
“You see, you just take charge without thinking. It’s your nature.”
“I think it’s your nature, too, and that’s why we’re hav- ing a clash. I don’t see that it’s so terrible. I’m not going to usurp your place with your nephews.”
“I’m not afraid of that.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“The problem is, you made me a promise and you didn’t keep it. It’s something called trust.”
Something flickered in the depths of his eyes and his gaze slid away. For an instant, she had seen what truly looked like guilt. “Sorry, Juliana,” he said after a moment. “Now you know about my calling Whittaker’s. Want me to cancel the repairs?”
“No, of course not. The carriage house is a hazard and the boys will resist going in there only so long and then they’ll climb all over it.”
“They already have. That’s when I told them to stay out of it and I called Whittaker’s.”
“I feel like I’m losing my control.”
“No, you aren’t. I’m just outside more than you are and I saw them out there.”
“They’re going to love you so much, and you’ll just smash their hearts in the end.”
Again she got a swift look of guilt that sobered her. He wanted to make responsible choices for the boys, but he didn’t want them permanently. He
