Page 23 of Second to None
She hung the coat and turned to find him watching her. “You look beautiful,” he said, his eyes dark pools in the dim light. She had to tilt her head up to meet his gaze.
“So do you,” she said, her voice holding a husky edge that she couldn’t quell.
“Mommy, guys don’t like to be called beautiful.” Izzy’s voice dispersed the charged atmosphere surrounding them.
Max squatted so he was on Izzy’s eye level. “I don’t mind it at all.” He held out the flowers. “Your mom said you like bright colors.”
“I got flowers?” Izzy practically squeaked as she accepted the bouquet and buried her nose in it. “They smell good, too. Thank you, Mr. Varela.”
“You’re—” He straightened abruptly and took a step back. “—welcome.”
Emily tried to figure out what had made him react so strangely, but all she saw was Izzy sniffing her posies and Windy standing beside her, watching the stranger with interest.
“I guess I should introduce you to Windy,” Emily said. “She was my aunt Ruthie’s dog, but she allowed us to adopt her.”
“She’s ... very pretty,” he said, but he made no attempt to pet the collie mix. Instead, he picked up the wine tote and held it in front of him. “As promised, I brought wine.”
Still puzzled by his response to Windy, Emily reached out. “I’ll take it.”
“It’s heavy,” he said, keeping a firm grip on the tote. “I’ll carry it wherever you want it.”
Emily scooped up her flowers from the steps and led the way into the living room, preceded by Izzy and the dog. She was halfway to the archway that opened into the dining room when she realized Max had stopped.
He stood in the doorway, scanning the room Emily had inspected fifteen minutes before. “You always make a house into a home,” he said. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. “It even smells like a home.”
Emily felt a little glow at the compliment. “My mother said I was a nester.”
“Now I’m picturing you with twigs sticking out of your mouth,” Max said, his deep voice carrying an undercurrent of amusement.
“It’s been known to happen during intense craft-making sessions.”
Max smiled as he strode across the worn Oriental rug to catch up with her. Deep creases at the corners of his mouth emphasized the sensual fullness of his lower lip. That was another part of him that she wanted to touch, and not just with her fingertip. Would it be wrong to kiss him good night so she could trace his lips with her tongue? A ripple of yearning shimmered through her at the thought.
Yet she needed to remember that he was more than a dinner guest. Despite his insistence that she shouldn’t worry about any conflict of interest, he was the donor who had made a major gift to the center.
“Come on in the kitchen and we’ll get the wine opened and the flowers in a vase,” Emily said more firmly than was necessary. In fact, she was talking to herself to ward off the power of her attraction to Max.
Izzy had already found a pitcher to put her flowers in. “Don’t they look pretty?” she asked, adjusting a rose to a more satisfactory angle.
“It’s good to hear you like them,” Max said, swinging the wine tote onto the counter.
“You have a really dope voice,” Izzy said.
“Awhatvoice?” Emily asked in stern tones.
“I mean a really amazing voice. Sorry, Mommy.”
Max raised his eyebrows. “I’m relieved. I was concerned that I sounded like someone stupid.”
Izzy giggled. “The kids at the center say ‘dope’ when they mean cool. Well, at least when an adult isn’t around. Mommy makes them use good grammar. She says they need to know how to speak properly if they want to get good jobs. But you have this rumbly voice, kind of like Darth Vader, except you’re a good guy.”
“First I’m an idiot and now I’m the greatest villain of all time.” He shook his head, but Emily could see the smile twitching at the corners of his mouth. “I’m not sure I want to stay for dinner.”
“You’re joking, aren’t you?” Izzy asked. Without giving him time to answer, she said, “If you don’t want to eat dinner, you should at least stay for dessert. Violet and I made chocolate pecan pie.”
“You’ve convinced me to suffer through dinner in order to earn the pie.”
“Grown-ups don’t have to eat their vegetables before they can have dessert.” Izzy jumped down from the stool, startling Windy so the dog skittered toward Max.
