The Father of Her Son - By Kathleen Pickering Page 0,26
the oldest historic restaurants in Manhattan. The low ceilings were reminiscent of colonial times, with dark paneling and snowy linens on the tables. It reminded her of the well-tended ancient buildings found in Dublin and the countryside around it that she loved so much.
While totally enchanted, she couldn’t help feel like she’d been shot from a cannon. Bunny had insisted on dressing her. She now walked beside Evan wearing a black dress and heels she bought a year ago on a whim. Her hair was down and slightly wild from hair products. She’d applied makeup with a nervous hand. Now, with her arm circled around Evan’s, she felt a little breathless.
She had never in her life been on a date. She had no idea how to act and had to keep reminding herself this was no date.
Evan wore a pair of excellently fitted gray pants, slim belt and a tapered white shirt open at the neck beneath a black raw silk blazer. His blue eyes flashed with interest when he looked at her, as if trying to measure her reaction to his choice of restaurant.
Maybe it was the enticement of being alone with him, but Evan looked incredibly appealing right now. His broad shoulders, his open, expressive face with the crooked smile that hinted of his sense of humor had her wishing nothing regrettable hung between them. The smell of his cologne and the warmth of his body as she walked next to him intensified the feel of his strong arm. All these triggers mingled to make this man seem irresistible.
Ugh! Not good thoughts for a woman committed to celibacy. Evan seemed like a modern-day troubadour or some sophisticated artsy type with his debonair style. The ease of his steps and his confident manner hinted that she could depend on him. Over and over again. Which she had, until she lost her temper with him yesterday.
She was glad when he pulled out the chair that faced her toward the room. She didn’t think her knees were going to hold out much longer.
He sat next to her, instead of across the table, as she expected. His leg brushed hers under the table. She moved hers away.
“So, are you pleased with this place?”
She smiled. “Oh, yes. I feel like we’re in Dublin.”
He opened his menu. “There’s that smile. I’m glad.”
She rolled her eyes. “Have I been so ornery?”
He closed the menu to insure he had her full attention. “I’d say you are a woman with a lot of concerns. Sometimes they get the better of you.”
Her mouth snapped shut. That was the last reply she expected to hear. And darn it all if it wasn’t the truth.
He looked amused. “I’ve struck you dumb. This is a first.”
She laughed. “Don’t you dare be telling a soul!”
* * *
EVAN SCANNED HIS menu and glanced at Kelly. Watching her bite that lightly glossed lower lip as she read, he drew on every ounce of strength not to claim her mouth in a searing kiss to match the fire burning in his gut. From the moment she had stepped from her room in that curve-hugging black sheath—which looked both sexy and sophisticated on her incredible body—he felt the earth move beneath his feet. And he hadn’t been able to find solid footing since. When she’d sauntered toward him with an easy stride in a pair of mile-high stilettos he never expected she’d wear, his heart pounded so hard in his chest he thought he’d have heart failure.
If Kelly only knew the power she held just by walking up to him. He’d never felt anything like this for a woman before. Sure, he’d had more than his share of dates. Most of his affairs ended once he discovered a selfish or calculating side, or worse, a complete lack of depth. He could understand how Kelly would be wary of a man with the same traits. His designs on her surprised even him. He was ready to settle down, but every time he laid eyes on Kelly it hammered home how much he was ready to settle down with her.
Kelly was different. Earthy. Honest. Driven by a moral code that matched his own, and she was hot. Hot enough to make him second-guess whether she was real. Before they had left her apartment, the light in those dazzling green eyes, the rising color on her cheeks, the glistening gold hoops in her ears and the way her hair cascaded about her shoulders, all had him thinking that he’d