LITMIR.BIZ

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      Elise said thanks, but she looked away.

      “Are you upset that we joined them?”

      “No, of course not,” she hurriedly said, and smiled at him.

      But it wasn’t her best smile.

      “I figured once you met them, you’d want to get to know them better,” she said.

      He stared at her. “Are you implying I’m more interested in them than I am in you?” He couldn’t believe she’d think that.

      “It doesn’t matter. We’re pretending, remember? I need to excuse myself. I’ll be back in a minute.”

      James stared after her, confused.

      “YOU IDIOT!” Elise addressed herself in the mirror. “You’re the one who keeps forgetting. How could you let him know that you’re jealous.”

      She powdered her nose and tried to get up the courage to return to the table. It had been an enlightening evening. For her. She’d discovered James had an infinite capacity for charm. And that she was way too interested in him.

      What was she going to do now? Start over?

      “Oh, yeah, I can see me telling James he won’t do.”

      “I beg your pardon?” said a young woman who’d just come out of one of the stalls.

      “Sorry, I was talking to myself.” She rushed from the ladies’ room, embarrassed by her foolishness.

      No, she couldn’t back out now. Besides, James was perfect for the role. And she didn’t really have any interest in him. All the reasons for not choosing him for Daisy applied to Elise, too.

      If she ever did consider marriage, it would be to a man who centered his world around her. Not the opposite. Actors were notoriously egotistical.

      Which had been Richard’s strong suit, too.

      She reached the table, but she didn’t bother to sit down. “Are you ready? I need to get home. I have some papers to grade.”

      “Sure. But I’m waiting for George to bring back my credit card.”

      Rather than just stand there like an idiot, she sat. “Okay.”

      George instantly appeared, and James signed the ticket.

      She popped up like a jack-in-the-box as soon as he finished writing.

      “You are in a hurry, aren’t you,” he said, frowning.

      “I have an early class tomorrow.” And a faulty resistance system for handsome men, apparently.

      “Okay. So our next date—I mean, research meeting, should be Friday night, so you can sleep late the next morning.”

      “But today is Wednesday. We don’t need to meet that often, do we?” she asked, hoping she was hiding her concern.

      “Only if you want to convince your sisters. We still have a lot to learn about each other.”

      She supposed that was true. It seemed to her he’d spent most of his time talking to her friends, so she didn’t think it was her fault they had to go out more often.

      When they got in the car and he’d backed out into traffic, she said, “What’s your favorite color?”

      He looked at her, surprise on his face. Then, with a smile, he said, “Green.”

      She turned bright red since she was wearing green and he was staring at her sweater. “Oh. I didn’t know.”

      “And yours?”

      Her favorite color was green, too, but she didn’t want to say that now. He’d think she was just saying that to agree with him.

      “Red,” she said firmly. “Red is my favorite color.”

      “I’m not surprised. It matches your cheeks,” he pointed out, a grin on his lips.

      She hoped he didn’t remember Daisy’s comment about her lies.

      “Are you a morning person, or a night person?” she asked, hoping a change of subject would help her equilibrium.

      “Do I have to be one or the other?”

      That response startled her. “Isn’t everyone?”

      “I guess I’m more night than morning, but I don’t like to sleep late. I don’t need a lot of sleep.”

      “And I suppose you think people who do are lazy?”

      He took his gaze off the road, frowning at her. “Are you trying to pick a fight with me?”

      “No! I just— People who— Never mind.” She crossed her arms over her chest and said nothing more.

      They finished the drive in silence. Fortunately it wasn’t a long drive.

      After killing the motor, he partially turned toward her. “I take it you require a lot of sleep?”

      “I need eight hours, like normal people.”

      “That means you’re a night person, right? You stay up too late and then have trouble getting up. So we’ll tell your sisters our being together works well because I can get you out of bed in the mornings,” he said with a smile.

      Elise stared at him in horror. “We’ll do nothing of the sort!”

      “Why? Surely you don’t think they’ll believe we’re not sleeping with each other. We’re not exactly teenagers.”

      “I suppose you think sex should be a part of dating?” She tried to keep her outrage under control.

      “If there’s no sexual attraction, there won’t be an engagement. If they’re going to believe us, they have to think I can’t keep my hands off you.”

      “I’m not sure you’re that good an actor,” she snapped.

      His chuckle surprised her, and she glared at him.

      “Sweetheart, that part doesn’t require any acting.”

      “What do you mean?”

      “You’re a beautiful woman. I’m a man. We men are drawn to beautiful women. And you look damn good in jeans.”

      “I don’t— They’re old.”

      “And fit you like a glove. It was a pure pleasure to follow you around tonight.”

      She wasn’t sure she believed him, but she knew she’d be so self-conscious when she got out of the car, she’d scarcely be able to walk.

      “Is sex all you ever think about?” she asked, hoping to stop this conversation.

      “Nope. But it’s nice to consider.”

      “There are other things more important. Like…” She thought desperately. “Like, are you a Republican or a Democrat?”

      “You choose your men based on their political preferences?” he asked, incredulity in his voice.

      “No! But it’s something I should know.”

      “Okay. I’m neither. I vote based upon the candidate, not the political party.” He smiled. “How about you?”

      “Me? Uh, I’m—” What could she say? She did the same. “Me, too,” she mumbled.

      “What a relief. We can check that one off the list. What else?”

      “Why do I have to come up with all the questions? You should ask me about things that are important to you.” Anything to get herself off the hook. Because her mind was a blank.

      “Okay. Do you want children?”

      She almost choked. She wouldn’t have expected that question

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