LITMIR.BIZ

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of the hospital.”

      “Really?” Darcy looked concerned. “Did the agents chase him?”

      “Only to the front lobby. He was gone by then.”

      Darcy took a while to respond, thinking it all through. “Do you think he was trying to get close to your mother?”

      “That’s what it looked like.”

      “That’s strange. Why go out in the open like that?”

      Why, indeed.

      * * *

      Lucy had fun getting ready for her date. She showered and took her time making herself pretty, drinking a glass of wine with some upbeat music playing. She’d told Cam she’d meet him at the restaurant. Safety first. She didn’t know him and wouldn’t risk being trapped in his car. He’d tried to get her to change her mind, but she had steadfast rules on dating. She wasn’t ready to let him pick her up at her house. On their first date they’d met for coffee. On the second date, they’d met for lunch. Now it was dinner. The serious date.

      Her stomach was full of butterflies all the way to the restaurant, an upscale seafood place that had excellent reviews. She’d only been here once before with her family.

      Cam was waiting for her outside. She loved that he did that rather than get a table.

      He smiled when he saw her, appreciating her little black dress with his brown eyes. He was a little taller than her and had short blond hair. Handsome in a clean, businessman way. It made her feel funny. Thad’s face popped into her head at that moment.

      Why would she think of Thad now? He drove her insane. And he was a bad choice for her.

      “You look beautiful,” Cam said, stepping forward and offering his arm.

      She looped hers with his, her butterflies becoming listless. Why was she having this unexcited reaction to him?

      Inside the restaurant, they were led to a table that he already had waiting for them.

      “You plan ahead.” That normally would have thrilled her. Why didn’t it now?

      He smiled as he held the chair for her and scooted it in when she sat.

      Was she having some sort of bad-boy episode? The bad boy attracted her more than the sure, stable type? Did her heart crave a challenge?

      “Are you going to let me pick you up next time?” he asked.

      “Maybe,” she answered in a light, teasing tone.

      His eyes showed annoyance, just a little, before he caught her teasing and smiled.

      “I was thinking we could go to a movie tomorrow night,” he said after a bit.

      Tomorrow? So soon? She didn’t like how fast he was moving this. Calling every day showed his interest but so many dates in one week might be too much. Luckily, she had plans.

      “I’m going to my parents’ house for dinner tomorrow night.”

      He looked disappointed. “What about the next night?”

      “I work until nine.”

      “And the night after that?” He wasn’t going to give up.

      “I volunteer at the Westside Literacy Group. Sorry.”

      More disappointment intensified his expression. “Do you have to go to your parents’ tomorrow night?” He removed the silverware from the napkin on the table.

      “No, I don’t have to.” She tried to keep this light. “I want to.” She wasn’t kidding when she’d told Thad she was close to her father. She was close to everyone in her family.

      His hand curled around the knife as the waitress appeared and took their drink order.

      When the waitress left, he said, “Why don’t you meet your parents another time? Go out with me. Besides, if you’re tied up the next three nights, that means I won’t see you for almost a week.”

      “I can’t reschedule. If I reschedule that means I won’t see my family for almost a week.”

      He didn’t like that answer. She saw it in his eyes. They went hard and he didn’t say anything, just fidgeted with the knife, which gave her an uneasy feeling.

      She was beginning to change her mind about this one. Was he a control freak?

      “Your family is very important to you,” he finally said, the intensity softening from his eyes.

      “Very. I love them. We do things together all the time.”

      The waitress dropped off their drinks and took their food order.

      “Do you want kids?” Cam asked after she left.

      She didn’t hide her enthusiasm. “Do I ever. Three.”

      He smiled and the Cam she’d first met returned. “Me, too. I don’t care about the number, but I want a family.”

      “And one wife?” she joked.

      He laughed. “Yes. I’m a faithful man.”

      “Then you’re perfect.”

      He seemed to take that to heart. The way he looked at her, his brown eyes warming to almost a creepy degree, unnerved her.

      “What about work?” he asked.

      “I would still work.” Aside from liking her job, she needed to prove to herself and everyone else that she was capable without her father’s influence. She respected him and his well deserved reputation, but she’d work for her own, on her own.

      “Wouldn’t you rather stay at home with the kids?”

      “And be worthless if my husband ever left me for another woman?” She laughed at her own teasing, which he didn’t find funny. “I like my job,” she verbalized her thoughts.

      “I want my wife to stay at home. I want to provide for her and my kids.”

      His kids?

      “I would stay home after delivery. Maybe for about six months or a year, but after that I would be itching to get back to work. I like to stay busy.”

      “You don’t think kids would keep you busy?”

      “Oh, I’m sure they would. But I need adult busy. Brain challenge. Catch my meaning?”

      His smile faded and his eyes got that offended look again.

      “Why do you want your wife to stay at home?” To control her and everything in the household?

      “It’s just my idea of an ideal family. I make a lot of money. My wife shouldn’t have to work. And I don’t want my kids being raised by strangers.”

      “That’s understandable. My nursing job could be flexible. I wouldn’t have to work full-time.” And maybe she wouldn’t want to. She didn’t know yet.

      When she realized it felt as though she were arguing with Cam and that he’d push the issue if he were ever in a position to have a say on the matter, all-out dread brewed in her.

      This was not going to work.

      Their food arrived, and Lucy was no longer hungry or excited about this evening.

      “Part-time would be all right with me,” he made it worse by saying.

      “It wouldn’t be up to you,” she said.

      This time he covered his dislike. And he did dislike her response. She could feel it in the energy between them, in the way his eyes shifted from his food to her.

      “You wouldn’t take your husband’s wishes into consideration?” he finally asked.

      “Would you take your wife’s into yours?” She was not putting up with this.

      He

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