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blushed furiously. “I am not!”

      “I think you’re charming, Eleanor Whitman,” he said with an intent stare. “A nice person as well as a sexy lady, and I like you. I really didn’t come to appraise the furniture,” he added with a grin.

      “Sorry,” she murmured with downcast eyes. “I guess I’m a little uneasy about it, that’s all.”

      “Stop worrying about the differences, and let’s concentrate on the things we have in common. Over dinner. Tomorrow night.”

      She hestitated.

      “Come on, sweet thing, you know you want to,” he teased, bending to kiss her soft mouth gently. “Come on, go out with me, Ellie.”

      He made the hated nickname sound special and sweet, and she smiled dreamily up at him. He was handsome, she thought. A nice, lovely, ordinary man, despite his wealth and prominence.

      “All right,” she agreed.

      “Good girl.” He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her again, breaking the line of her lips this time. He was adept at lovemaking—it showed in the sensuous deliberation of his warm mouth. And if some spark was missing, Eleanor ignored it. It was very pleasant to kiss him. She relaxed and gave him her mouth, smiling when he finally drew back.

      “Whew!” He whistled, looking breathless. “Sweetheart, you’re delicious.”

      She laughed at the warmth in his eyes. He made her feel special, womanly.

      “So innocent,” he murmured. He drew her closer, nuzzling his chin against her forehead. “I like that. I like being with an innocent woman for a change. It’s exciting.”

      He thought her inexperienced, and in a sense she was. But he was obviously making assumptions about her innocence that were false, and she didn’t know how to correct him. She drew back, looking up at him, and her eyes were worried.

      “Such a frown,” he murmured. “Don’t. I’m not that much a wolf, Little Red Riding Hood. I’ll take care of you. I’ll give you plenty of time. Now go back inside, it’s chilly out here. I’ll call you tomorrow, all right?”

      She beamed. “All right.”

      “I enjoyed dinner,” he murmured. “But dessert was the best course.” Bending, he drew her completely against him and kissed her hungrily.

      She should have told him. But there would be time for that, later. And she might never have to tell him. She wasn’t planning on having an affair with him, and she was sure that wasn’t what he had in mind, either. He seemed to be serious. That would make a nice change. She might enjoy letting him be serious about her. She kissed him back, sighing when he released her. If only she could forget how it had felt when Keegan had kissed her….

      “Good night, darling,” he said in a shaky whisper, and ran down the steps to his Mercedes convertible. He started up the engine and waved, his dark hair ruffling in the night breeze as he turned the car and sped away.

      Eleanor drifted back inside, feeling a little removed from reality. It hadn’t been a total loss, this evening. Something wonderful might come of it.

      “He’s a nice man,” her father said kindly. “Is it serious?”

      “Serious!” she burst out, throwing up her hands. “One date, and you’re wording wedding invitations!”

      “So I’m anxious to see you happily settled,” he grumbled, and glared at her. “Get married. Have children! I’m not getting any younger!”

      “At the rate you’re going, you’ll outlive me!” she threw back.

      He made a rough sound under his breath, got out his copy of Thucydides and began reading, deliberately ignoring her. She laughed as she went into the kitchen to wash up.

      * * *

      She was off the next day, having worked nine days in a row to compensate for a personnel shortage following a viral outbreak. Wade called early and had to break their dinner date because of business. He was going to be busy until the weekend, he said, but could she go to a party with him Saturday night at a nearby estate?

      Eleanor held her breath, trying to figure out whom she could swap duty with to make it. Yes, she said finally, she’d work it out somehow. He told her when to expect him and rang off.

      Immediately, Eleanor dialed her friend Darcy at the hospital. Darcy would take over for her, she knew, if she agreed to work Friday for Darcy.

      “Can you cover for me Saturday night if I cover for you Friday night?” she asked breathlessly when her friend answered the phone. “I’ve got this really hot date.”

      “You, with a hot date?” Darcy gasped. “My gosh, I’d get up off my deathbed to cover for you if you’re really going out with a man! It is a man?” she asked. “Not some sweet old gentleman you’re taking pity on?”

      “It is a man. It’s Wade.” She sighed.

      Darcy paused. “Honey, I hope you know what you’re doing. That isn’t a man, it’s a ladykiller.”

      “I’m a big girl now.”

      “A babe in the woods.”

      “Not quite,” Eleanor said gently. “Not at all anymore.”

      Darcy sighed. “Well, I should be shot for agreeing, but I will. Where are you going?”

      “To a cocktail party at the Blake estate.”

      “The Blakes own half of Fayette County!”

      “Yes, I know. I’m so nervous. I thought I’d wear that little black cocktail dress I wore to our Christmas party….”

      “You will not! It’s three years old! I have a strappy little gray silk number, you’ll wear that. It will just fit you. And I have an evening bag and shoes to match. No arguments. I’m not sending you to the Blakes’ looking like something out of a Salvation Army charity store!”

      That cut, because it was how Wade had made her feel. She hesitated, then gave in gracefully. She really did want to go to the party with Wade, to get a taste of that luxurious other world. And her little black dress would only embarrass him.

      “Okay,” she told Darcy. “You’re a pal. I wish I could do something for you.”

      “You are,” came the smug reply. “You’re filling in for me Friday so that I can see that new picture with Arnold. Come over Saturday morning and we’ll fix you up.”

      “I’ll be there at nine, with coffee and biscuits from the Red Barn, how’s that for true friendship?” She laughed.

      “That’s true friendship,” Darcy agreed. “See you then.”

      Eleanor excitedly told her father about her plans for Saturday, then went back into the kitchen to wash the breakfast dishes, frowning when she heard a car drive up in front. She peeked into the living room, and her heart leaped as Keegan walked into it, frowning and looking worried. He sat down and started talking to her father, fortunately not glancing toward the kitchen. She quickly drew back inside.

      She was too far away to hear what was being said, but she had a terrible feeling it had something to do with her. Well, let them talk, it wouldn’t stop her. She liked Wade, she’d been in a state of hibernation for over a year, and she was tired of her own company. She wanted to get out and live a little before she turned into a vegetable or an old maid. And if Keegan didn’t like it, that was too bad. She didn’t care about his opinion. She didn’t care about him, either.

      The kitchen door opened, and the object of her dark thoughts came into the room, hands rammed into the pockets of his pale slacks. She glanced at him and then concentrated on her dishes.

      “Can I help you?” she asked carelessly.

      “Your father says you’re going to a party

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