Page 53 of Winter Vows

He regarded her solemnly. “Okay, darlin’, we have a choice here. We can stay here and tempt fate or we can go to a movie the way we planned, share some popcorn and drive home.”

“Those are the only choices?”

“That’s the way I see it.”

“I vote we tempt fate.”

He blinked and stared. “Excuse me.”

“You heard me.”

“Trish, do you have any idea what you’re suggesting?”

“I’m not naive,” she assured him. “But I also trust you not to do anything I don’t want you to do.”

Hardy all but groaned. He hated having a woman announce that she trusted him. It tossed all the responsibility for keeping a tight rein on their hormones back into his lap. He scowled at her.

“If you trust me, then believe this, we need to go to a movie. Right now,” he added for emphasis. He beckoned for the waiter and started tossing bills on the table.

“No dessert?” the waiter asked.

“I guess not,” Trish said with apparent regret.

“We have someplace we need to be,” Hardy said, as if he owed the man an explanation.

He hustled Trish out of the restaurant, through the hotel lobby and into the car, before he forgot his good intentions.

Trish glanced over at him, eyes sparkling with mirth. “I guess this means you don’t trust yourself.”

“You’ve got that right.”

She reached over and covered his hand on the steering wheel. “Hardy,” she said softly.

He went absolutely still at her touch. “What?”

“I knew all along I could trust you.”

He faced her and sighed. “Why? How?” he asked, perplexed by her conviction.

“Because I know the kind of man you are.”

“I’m a womanizer,” he reminded her emphatically. He was pretty sure there was a hint of desperation in his tone, as if he were trying to remind himself of that, as well as her.

“You’re kind—”

“A playboy,” he interrupted, since she obviously hadn’t gotten the message.

“And decent,” she continued.

“A rogue,” he added for good measure.

“And thoughtful.”

He tried again. “I’m like Jack the jerk.”

She scowled at him. “You are nothing like Jack the jerk,” she insisted. “Nothing!”

Puzzled by her vehemence, he stared. “You’re the one who made the comparison, after hearing my romantic rap sheet from practically everybody in town.”

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