Page 10 of His Impossible Heir

Then he remembered his problem and stopped, silently cursing his parents. There could be no future with himself and Amanda. None at all!

Still, he couldn’t seem to stop watching her. Emma and Rayed generally stayed in one place with Amanda nearby, but there were several men clamoring for her attention. Some of those attention seekers were married men, he noted with increasing fury.

Before he could embarrass himself, or her, by stomping over and punching out the jerks vying for her attention, the bell rang, indicating that dinner was about to be served. Everyone moveden masseto find their seats. Thankfully, Daniesh had been given a table for himself and whoever he wanted to invite. Rayed and his wife, as well as their guest, were all seated at his table. So, he was relieved and elated to step up to Amanda’s side. Finally!

“May I escort you to our table?” he asked, extending his elbow.

She smiled at him and he felt a jolt. “I’d be delighted,” she replied, and put her hand on his arm. They moved slowly through the crowd, most of whom stepped aside as he walked by. By the time they reached the table, Daniesh was thoroughly sick of the whole stupid evening. All he wanted to do was find a quiet place to sit and talk to this amazing woman who set his blood on fire!

As he pulled out her chair, then pushed it in as she sat down, he was able to admire her magnificent breasts from above. His body responded immediately and he considered taking off his tuxedo jacket so that he could drape it over her shoulders, shield her from other people noticing the same view he had.

But that would still draw attention, he reminded himself. The green, strapless gown fit her like a glove. He should be proud to be sitting beside such a stunning woman.

Still, he wanted Amanda all to himself.

Sitting down next to her, he breathed in her scent. Soft flowers with a hint of lavender. Delicious!

Amanda tried to smile as the waiter set a beautifully arranged salad before her. She tried to eat, but with Daniesh sitting so close to her, she couldn’t help being distracted. She pushed the food around on her plate, far more interested in the man than her dinner.

“You aren’t hungry?” he asked after the main dish of steak and seafood had been cleared.

Amanda glanced up at him, their eyes connecting with a jolt and she wanted to sigh with…with what? With devotion? That was ridiculous. With need and hope and some indefinable yearning for this completely unattainable man?

Yeah. Definitely!

“The night has been just a little…overwhelming,” she finally replied, relieved to be able to tell him the truth. She didn’t admit that he was the most overwhelming aspect of the evening.

“It seems pretty tedious to me,” he countered. The wait staff brought out dessert, a beautiful sugar and raspberry mousse confection that was more art than food.

She picked up her fork, but hesitated to break the lovely sugar design on top of the molded mousse. “You only say that because this is your world.” She glanced at him again, a small smile on her lovely face. “You’ve grown up with this kind of decadence. But if I were back home, I’d be eating a bowl of cereal for dinner tonight. And if I was lucky, there would be a carton of cherry vanilla ice cream in the freezer, waiting for me.” She grimaced. “No, not cherry vanilla. Some other flavor.”

“You don’t like cherry vanilla?” he teased, cracking the spun sugar design with his spoon. The pieces of the sugar shattered over the top of the mouse, looking like tiny pieces of shimmering goodness among the tart raspberry mousse.

She forgot to smother her groan. “I absolutelylovecherry vanilla ice cream. It’s my favorite.”

“But?” he asked, a dark eyebrow lifting in inquiry, prompting her to continue.

She grimaced. “Only the top half of the carton is truly cherry vanilla.”

He was just about to scoop up a bite of the dessert but paused, startled and baffled by her comment. “Why only the top half?”

Amanda paused to shatter her own spun sugar top before answering. “Because the manufacturers of cherry vanilla ice cream only put cherries on the first inch or so of the container. Once you eat those initial cherries and get to the middle or, even worse, the bottom half, the cherries become scarce and they are only bits and pieces of a cherry.” She took a bite, then closed her eyes, sighing at the amazing tart-sweet flavors. “Oh my, this is wonderful!”

“So, you’re saying that the cherry vanilla ice cream makers cheat customers out of cherries?”

She smiled, appreciating that he was teasing her. It was a silly topic, but it still infuriated her every time she got her favorite flavor of ice cream.

She carefully set her spoon down beside the decadent dessert. “I feel as if the manufacturers of ice cream are lying. The top layer is false advertising. If they are going to put big, delicious cherries at the top of the container, there should be a similar number of cherries spread evenly throughout the container. To only put the cherries at the top, and the small crumbs of cherries at the bottom, is lying to the consumer. It sets false expectations.”

His lips quirked in amusement. “So, you don’t buy cherry vanilla ice cream?”

She sighed and made a face. “No. I buy it every time. Because every other flavor leaves me disappointed.”

He shrugged slightly, smothering his laughter now. “So, the manufacturers don’t need to change anything. They can continue to cheat consumers.” He pointed his spoon at her, still teasing her. “Until consumers organize and protest, stop buying cherry vanilla, and demand that the manufacturers evenly distribute cherries throughout the container. Then they’ll get the picture and comply with your demands.”

She laughed, as he’d meant for her to do. “Then we’re risking the manufacturers assuming that cherry vanilla ice cream is no longer a popular flavor. If they completely discontinue the flavor, then what will I do?”

He leaned forward slightly. “I suppose you’re going to have to find a new favorite flavor. Something that leaves you more satisfied. A dessert that satisfies you from the beginning of the experience all the way to the end, as it should.”

---