Romantic Acquisition Page 0,58
but he still didn’t look up.
“I don’t sleep with someone one night and then meet another man the next day for a liaison. Do you really think that, after last night, I’d have any energy to be with another man today?”
Still no response.
“I guess I should rephrase that so my position is a little clearer,” she said and sat down on the conference room table next to him. Her hip was almost touching his forearm but he didn’t move. “No man has ever made me feel the way you do when you touch me,” she said softly. “I’m not willing to settle for mediocre when I can have something that blows my mind with each touch, each kiss.”
He finally stood up and stared down at her, his feet on either side of hers. He was so close; she could feel his heat through her clothes. “Who was he?”
“His name is Ed. He’s a very nice man but he and I stopped dating about six months ago and have remained friends ever since. He’s now dating a wonderful woman who is more like his own temperament. He is getting ready to propose to her this weekend and wanted my opinion on the ring he’d bought her, since she’s also my friend.”
“Ah,” was his only response.
“Anything else?”
“Sorry for acting like an ass,” he said grudgingly.
“Apology accepted.”
“Anything else?” he tossed back at her. He stood up and placed a hand on either side of her hips, forcing her to look up at him.
“May I go home now?”
“Only if it is my house,” he growled and bent down to kiss her tenderly.
Wrapping her arms around him, she whispered, “I thought you’d never ask.”
They spent the better part of the night making love. It was as if Carlo had to test her words about her reaction to his touch throughout the night. Carlo drove her home the next morning and kissed her passionately before leaving to drive into the office.
Kate met him an hour later, still exhausted but her body was tingling from a night of incredible lovemaking. She smiled as she walked into her office and hung up her coat.
“Late night?” David asked from inside her office.
Kate jumped a foot, not realizing that he’d been in there the whole time. “David! What are you doing waiting for me in here?”
“Where else would I wait for you?” he asked, his eyes slanted as he watched her walk around to her desk.
“Usually you send a summons and order me to your office. It is a rare event when you deign to go into someone else’s office. There must be something wrong.”
“Not wrong,” he said and smiled charmingly. “I just wanted to apologize for the other day. I wasn’t in a very good mood and I wasn’t acting appropriately.”
Kate stared at him. David was apologizing? Something was seriously wrong. “Thank you,” was the only thing she could think of to say.
He stood up and walked out, turning at the door. “You’re doing a great job. Thanks for your help,” he said, then turned and left.
Kate stared at the empty door and a bad feeling formed in the pit of her stomach. Something was very wrong. David had never apologized before. The fact that he had this time meant he was buttering her up for something. She suspected that it was going to be awful.
She took her notebook into the conference room and greeted the three men distractedly.
“What’s wrong?” Carlo asked as she sat down, her notebook ready to take notes on anything they needed that day.
Kate smiled wanly. “Nothing, really.”
Carlo eyed her, knowing she wasn’t telling him the truth. But after last night, he wasn’t going to jump to conclusions. She’d tell him what was on her mind eventually. They all got down to business and the day flew by. Carlo took everyone out to lunch, including Sarah who was thrilled to be included. The due diligence process was nearing an end and everything seemed to be in the right order.
Kate made dinner for him that night at her house, making him a special dinner of chicken parmesan. The chicken had to be battered and breaded, then fried carefully in a skillet while the pasta was cooking. She added capers and lots of fresh herbs to the sauce. She even made brownies for dessert simply because she hadn’t had chocolate in a long time and was suddenly craving something sweet.
Carlo arrived early and Kate rushed to answer the door, eager to see him.
He backed up a step