had softened. “Dinner’s ready.”
She helped him serve, and they began to eat. She practically moaned with pleasure at each perfect bite. The roasted chicken was tender and juicy. The asparagus, slightly burned and garlicky. The baked potato was filled with butter and chives, with firm skin and a soft center. He’d even made dinner rolls with shiny, buttery tops that leaked steam when broken open.
“This is amazing,” she finally managed to say between bites. “You’re not a cook. You’re a chef.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere.”
She laughed and watched him share his food with Lucy with a separate fork. Her little face tipped up, big brown eyes filled with pleading he seemed unable to resist. She ate like an aristocrat, sliding the food carefully from the fork and chewing slowly, sighing in happiness and waiting for the next morsel. “You spoil her.”
“I pamper her,” he corrected. He turned and tilted his head, studying Avery’s face with his searing gaze. “I enjoy pampering my women.”
His husky voice made goose bumps pepper her skin. Her belly tumbled, thinking of all the dark meanings in his words and how badly she wanted them. “Are there many?”
“Many what?”
“Women,” she said lightly. “Women in your past who you’ve pampered.”
His grin told her the question amused him. “Not many. Like you, I’m very involved with my work. My main focus has always been raising and providing stability for Ally. My relationships have been short and far between.”
“Have you ever been in love?”
He paused, placing his fork down on the plate with intention. The clink vibrated in the air. Avery didn’t know why his response was so important. His face grew shadowed. She sucked in her breath at the naked pain she spotted, before the barrier quickly slammed down and his gaze cleared. “No. I don’t believe in love.”
Shock filled her. She blinked, staring into his face. “How can you not believe in love? You adore your sister. Lucy. Certainly there are others you love.”
His expression turned grim. “I should have clarified. I know love exists, and you’re right, I love many people in my life. Friends, family. But I choose not to fall in love and get married. To give myself over to another with the expectation she alone will make me happy and fulfilled. I believe you can have a healthy, happy relationship without the trappings and expectations of romantic love or marriage. Personally, I think it’s dangerous pushing couples to believe in that all-consuming emotion poets and artists and filmmakers write about.”
The room spun as she tried desperately to piece together his words and get the full picture. Impossible. She’d seen the range of emotions within him. How could he choose not to believe? “But your sister is getting married. You’re going to stand beside her as the man of honor and watch her commit to an institution you don’t even believe in?”
He nodded. “I am, because that’s her choice. I don’t have the right to put my beliefs on her, but I’ve seen firsthand how love can ruin lives. It can tear people apart and break them so hard, they can’t be put back together.”
She shook her head and gripped the edge of the table. The evening had been so hopeful, and with his words, she found her hopes shredded in tatters. “What type of life do you expect to lead without the hope of love or marriage?” she whispered.
His voice was gentle, but firm. “An honest one. It doesn’t mean I can’t experience things such as passion and romance and beauty. I just choose not to follow a road that I don’t believe in.” He leaned in and took her hands, clasping them in his warm, strong grip. “Is this a make or break for you, Avery? Would you be able to open yourself up to a man without the promise of marriage and happily ever after? Can you grasp the moment and steep yourself in it without trying to define what we feel for each other? I can offer you so many other things.”
A shudder racked her as a ravenous need to touch him clawed through her, to press her lips to his and let herself get carried away by her body and the sweet promise of passion. To be in his bed, naked underneath him, and allow herself to fall apart under his talented fingers. She wanted it all so badly, she almost pretended his words didn’t matter. Almost convinced herself she’d be able to handle a decadent summer affair with