The Earl's Outrageous Lover Page 0,38

qualities she admired in him the most. “I think a man who accepts responsibilities with ease would be a great asset. My father will be placing a great burden on whoever I marry and he’ll need to manage all of those businesses. So someone who is good in business, who is mindful of the employees and takes care of their welfare and won’t be abusive.”

Okay, that criterion surprised him. It was more selfless than he would have thought of her. And he actually admired her for that. Among many other things, he thought grimly. “Someone who can manage a company. Got it. What else?”

The waitress arrived with their drinks and Jessica took a sip, smiling her thanks before she continued. “I’ve thought about this a great deal and I know that most women want a man who makes them laugh but I really want a man who makes me feel pretty and sexy and someone I can admire. I want someone with an inner strength who will listen to my problems and talk to me about his. Someone who likes who I am and won’t try to change me.”

Edward looked at her and thought those were pretty easy requirements to fulfill. “I don’t think that will be hard to find,” he said softly.

Jessica’s heart stopped when she looked across the table at him. Was that admiration shining back at her from his eyes? Impossible!

She took another sip of her ice water, trying to clear her mind and focus on other characteristics that she would want in a husband. “I want someone who is nice to pets and wants to eventually have children.”

Again, that wouldn’t have been the items he thought she would want. She seemed like the kind of person who didn’t want to be weighed down by the heavy responsibility of children. She appeared to him as one who wanted to have more freedom, so this was a refreshing insight. He liked it, he thought with that same warm feeling that he normally felt when he was around this woman. “How many children do you want?” he asked, curious despite himself.

Jessica smiled and shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t know. I think I’d like to have several, but I won’t know that until I’ve had one or two. I know lots of people want a whole clan of kids, but that gets to be pretty chaotic. But definitely more than one. Being an only child was pretty lonely at times, wasn’t it?”

Edward had to admit that she had a solid idea of what she wanted. “Do you have anyone in mind?”

Jessica hesitated to answer. Since she was staring at the man she wanted to marry, she couldn’t really tell him no. “I think I should ask for professional help,” she finally answered. “You know….after last night…maybe it would be better….” She finished off lamely.

Edward was furious at her response, but tried to hide his reaction. “Can you explain to me why? And what kind of professional help would you obtain?”

She shifted uncomfortably in her chair but had to wait until the waitress put their lunch in front of each of them and left before she could answer him. When they were once again alone, she picked up her fork and stabbed at some of the salad in the bowl in front of her. “There are agencies around that specialize in these kinds of things.”

Edward already started shaking his head even before she finished her statement. “That’s not appropriate, Jessica.”

“Why not?”

It actually was probably a pretty good idea. But that would eliminate her need to see him and he wanted to postpone the elimination of Jessica from his life for as long as possible. That was an odd thought since he’d just met her a few days ago. How had she worked her way into his world so thoroughly in such a short period of time?

Then he looked across the table at her and knew exactly how it had happened. It probably happened to all the men, and women, she ran into. Jessica loved life, and she loved people. That beauty shone out from everything she did and everyone wanted to be a part of her life. She was special, but more to the point, she made everyone else around her feel special.

He grasped at the first thing he could think of to discourage her from going to a professional agency. “Because those social sites are filled with men who are just looking for a woman of your wealth who is