Page 2 of Desired

“No, not yet. Have you been here before?”

“Many times.”

“Same.” I can’t help but smile at him. He has honest eyes. And they’re so gorgeous. What it is about a man with nice eyes, I don’t know, but he’s doing things to me with just a quick glance as he speaks. “So, tell me, are you really as rich as the state of North Carolina thinks you are?” I ask comically, testing the waters.

“My business is money. We’re like a giant game of Monopoly, only we use thousand-dollar bills as notes.” He answers, playing along.

I have the grace to chuckle. “My business is...lady parts.”

"Well, that’s quite a noble business. Money is dirty.”

I scoff. “Make no mistake, lady parts can be dirty, too.”

Now he has the grace to chuckle. “I bet they can.” We order our meals, and the waitress brings Declan a water, as he tips his head in thanks. “So, I’m not sure if we’re being stiffed here, or what. Maverick was the one that called this lunch meeting, and now it seems like he’s a no-show.”

Just as he says this, I hear my phone beep with a text message. I glance at it. “And Stephanie is stuck in a meeting.” I lift a brow. “She usually pulls out all the stops for our lunch dates. This is so unlike her.”

“Maybe she’s got a big project on the go?”

I frown. “She would have told me about it.”

That’s when Declan’s phone beeps as well. He looks at it and scoffs, smiling. “It seems like my brother is tied up, too.” Tipping his head, he stuffs his phone back into his pocket. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think we were being set up.”

“That’s impossible. Stephanie and Maverick don’t know each other, do they?”

Now he frowns. “Dunno, lass. But how they would have put us together, if this is a set-up, now that’s a mystery.”

“Unless...” I trail off.

He’s intrigued. “Unless what?”

God, I can’t stop looking into his eyes. They’re mesmerizing. And the way he searches my eyes as I speak...I could just kiss him right now...but I won’t. “Well, I think your brother...Maverick, is it? The one with Trudy.”

He nods. “Aye, yes. They’re together. Even though they won’t own up to it.” He adds with a soft chuckle that sounds so sexy I can feel my body heat.

“Well, he was alluding to the fact that you looked a little...distracted...shall we say...when we met last.” His shy smile lights a fire inside me that I can’t hide. The tone in my voice changes unconsciously. I sound like something from a late-night radio talk show. “Maybe word got around that you have a little crush on me?”

He’s catching on. His expression changes. It becomes softer, more like we should be at a candlelit table, rather than this one with paper napkins on it. “I might have. You’re a....bonnie lass, if you don’t me saying so.”

“I don’t mind at all. You are...very handsome.” I bite my lip.

The waitress interrupts our moment as she brings the food, and I check myself, almost grateful for the distraction. I worry that I was starting to come off like some harlot, like some love-starved whore, when truthfully, it’s been more than two years since I’ve been with a man, and even then, it was only a two-week stint, and he learned my secret, and headed for the hills, so to speak.

I think we both realize how far off on that tangent we got, so we start eating, giving each other the odd wink or smile in between bites. “This is delicious. How is yours?” He asks me.

“Very good.” I decide to change tack. “So, is your business strictly for billionaires?”

He swallows. “Why do you ask? Are you interested in making an investment? I’m sure you make a decent income in your field.”

The truth is that I have a lot of money. Not just because of my profession, but because of an inheritance. One that has caused a lot of problems for me since it came my way. “I do. I’ve been thinking about investing some of it.” It’s high time I did. Before something happens to it.

“Well, I’d be happy to look at some options for you. But if it’s all the same to you I prefer to discuss that in private.”

I wave. “Absolutely.”

Then he says something that makes my inner brow raise. “Perhaps after lunch? Would you like to come back to my office or even my home office and we can chat about it?”

My stomach does a flip. I try to convince myself that this is strictly business, but the look in his eyes betrays him. “Sure. I don’t have any appointments until later today.”

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