Her Unexpected Admirer Page 0,10
it be too cold out there?” she asked. The temperatures were forecasted to drop into the forties tonight as winter started to creep into the world.
“No. There’s a fire pit that will keep us warm enough.”
He took her hand and led her out onto the beautiful balcony. And he was right, the stars were out, the sky looked beautiful. They were high enough up that she could see the city laid out like twinkling earth-stars. The Charles River was obvious since it didn’t have any “stars”, just a black band separating the two sides of the city.
“It’s beautiful,” she sighed as he led her to one of the chairs. He pressed a button and, a moment later, a fire flared out of a stone fire pit. Almost instantly, warmth flooded the night, pushing the chilly air away. She smiled as she compared the light of the fire against the lights of the city. “It’s strange,” she said as she leaned back into the comfortable chairs.
“What’s strange?” he asked, handing her a glass of wine.
That startled her because she wasn’t aware of anyone bringing the wine into the suite.
She took the glass and sipped, amazed at the excellent wine. “Oh my! This is really delicious.” She looked up at him as he sat down next to her. “Almost as good as the watermelon martini downstairs,” she teased.
“Bite your tongue, woman,” he said as he laughingly glared at her from across the fire pit. “And tell me what is strange.”
She sighed and curled up even more into the chair. It was large enough that she could tuck her legs up underneath her. “I just think the difference in the fire against the lights all over the city is strange. I wonder if someone looking over here would know that it is a fire or if they would just assume it is a light. And if so, how far away would the person have to be before the light of the fire just looked like another star?” She looked up at the sky and smiled, “Or even how far away the fire can be seen from earth. Do the people on other planets look down at us and wonder why we’re so bright?”
Davis could tell her exactly the distance to answer all of her questions, even how far away in space the fire could be observed. She was a romantic little thing, he thought. And definitely not a seductress, or at least not a conscious seductress. The women in his past would never have tucked their legs up underneath them. They would have displayed their legs as alluringly as possible. But looking across at her, he was more turned on by her position than all his past women’s not-so-subtle ploys. And she didn’t even know what she was doing to him.
Or maybe she did, he thought, and he liked that even more.
He changed the subject, asking her more questions about herself and enjoying her laughter as she told him stories. Some of the stories about her family weren’t funny although she shrugged them off. They were more poignant than humorous. He suspected that was her way of dealing with her past.
Every time she asked him a question, he answered it as honestly and succinctly as possible, then changed the subject back to her. He was fascinated by her and enjoyed just listening to her speak.
He glanced behind her and realized that the suite’s butler was setting up the table for their dinner. With a nod, he dismissed the man, preferring to dine alone tonight.
“Dinner is here,” he told her and stood up, extending his hand to help her up.
Kate sat up straight and looked around, not surprised that she hadn’t heard someone come in and deliver their meal. “Oh, that looks lovely,” she said, noticing the small bouquet of flowers and the candles. “What about if we bring it out here and eat by the fire?” she suggested. “Would that be too weird?”
She saw the strange look in his eyes and quickly shook her head. “Of course that would be too odd. And the table looks beautiful,” she walked over to where a small dining table had been covered with starched linen and flowers, candles flickering in the dim lights and the place settings meticulously set up. “Everything smells delicious,” she told him, feeling silly for even suggesting such a thing.
“You really like sitting outside by the fire?” he asked, his whole body waiting for her response. He remembered being a kid and