Page 43 of Bedroom Therapy

Seeing her eye the purchases, he said, “I didn’t have anything to wear to the Plantation, so I bought something.”

“We could have gone somewhere a lot less fancy,” she answered.

“I know. But there’s a good discount mall down here, and I decided to try one of the men’s stores.”

“That’s where you were—at the mall?” she asked. “I thought men hated to shop.”

His face took on an expression she couldn’t quite read. “Sometimes it’s a necessary evil.”

“Was shopping the only thing you did?”

“Some other stuff. We’ll talk about it at dinner.”

She nodded, thinking that she could start getting ready. Feeling like a high school girl going out on an important date, she took a leisurely shower, fussed with her hair and makeup, then selected a cream-colored, summer-weight pants outfit that she knew made her look taller and slimmer.

She accented the neckline with some onyx beads, slipped into white sandals, and studied the effect in the full-length mirror on the back of the closet door.

When she stepped into the living room, Zach was standing with his back to the room, gazing out at Turtle Creek. He turned—then stopped short, his gaze going warm as he inspected her outfit.

“Very nice,” he murmured. “A very nice change from shorts and a tee shirt.”

Some women might have bristled at the remark. But in fact, she’d gotten dressed up for him, and she was pleased that he liked the effect.

She liked the effect she was seeing as well. “You clean up pretty good yourself,” she answered, because it was true. They’d only seen each other in the most casual of outfits. But his dark good looks were set off very nicely by the navy sports jacket, a white dress shirt, his chinos, and a pair of brown loafers.

“Let’s go,” he said. When she’d climbed into the passenger seat of the car, he opened his door and stuck his head inside. “I forgot something in the house. Be right back,” he said.

He went back in and returned quickly, looking like a little boy who’d been naughty and was hoping he wouldn’t get caught.

He was up to something, but she wasn’t going to ask what it was.

They didn’t have much to say to each other on the way to the inn, and she began to wonder what they would talk about at dinner.

As he found a parking space in one of the shrubbery-screened lots near the inn, she turned to look at the building. She’d heard about the Plantation, of course. But she’d considered it outside her price range.

It had started life as a manor house. But a series of additions had enlarged the building to accommodate overnight guests. There were also a number of guesthouses dotted around the grounds.

In the front hall, a hostess confirmed their reservation, then led them to one of several dining rooms. Their table was by a window with a nice view of well-tended gardens and a boat dock where several pleasure craft were moored. Apparently you could come here by water if you wanted.

The table was set with crisp linen, flower patterned china, and gleaming cutlery.

“It’s strange to find a place like this in a small, out-of-the-way town,” Amanda commented as they took their seats.

“Well, the area has a very mixed economy. There are the watermen and farmers whose families made their living from the bay and the land for years. And there are the wealthy people who have come down here to escape from the city.”

“You seem to know more about it than I do.”

“Part of my research,” he said.

They both looked up as a server approached the table and asked, “Can I get you something to drink?”

Zach glanced at her. “How about some wine?”

Amanda was about to ask what they had by the glass when he requested the wine list.

She’d pegged him more as the beer type, but he studied the leather-bound folder carefully, asked her opinion, then ordered a Merlot, which the waiter brought to the table and uncorked.

“Where did you learn about wine?” she asked as she sipped the dark, rich wine. It was excellent.

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