mashed potatoes are my favorites,” he said, not about to be banished from the bar because he and Alice couldn’t see eye to eye about sex.
“Get them to go,” Alice advised. “Once you’ve left, I’ll go in.”
His annoyance with her attitude deepened. “Forget it. I prefer to eat right there where things are hot from the oven,” he said. “Of course, you can always take your dinner home if you’re scared to be around me.”
She frowned at that. “I’m not scared of you, Devaney. I’m not scared of anything.”
He actually believed that. “Then have dinner with me.”
“Why? What’s the point?”
He grinned at her testy tone. “Don’t tell me you’re one of those unenlightened women who believes that men and women can’t be friends.”
“Of course not. I just believe it’s impossible for you and me to be friends.”
“Why?”
“It just is, okay?”
“The sex thing, I suppose.”
“Don’t try and dismiss it. It’s not as if it’s a simple matter of you hating green beans and me loving them. Sex requires two people to be on the same wavelength.”
“Then again, not having sex only requires one person to take a stance for all the right reasons,” he said. “I never said I didn’t want you in my life.”
“On your terms.”
“Yes, on my terms, because I’m trying to be sensible. You’re not.”
“How lovely that you think so highly of me. Since we obviously want different things from this relationship, it’s better to cut our losses.”
He leveled a look straight into her eyes. “So that’s it? Sex is all you want from me?”
She frowned at him. The pulse at the base of her throat was beating rapidly. “I didn’t say that.”
“Didn’t you? That’s what I heard. If we can’t sleep together, then you don’t want anything from me. Correct me if I’ve got that wrong.”
She looked as if she wanted to smack him, but she was far too ladylike to do it. “I’m just saying that the whole sex thing will get in the way of anything else.”
“Speak for yourself. I learned to control myself a long time ago. I don’t have to jump into bed with a woman just because she gets to me.”
“Dammit, Patrick, this is getting us nowhere.”
“No, I think it is. I think it’s very telling that you don’t think you’re capable of keeping your raging hormones under control around me.”
“Don’t you dare twist this around and make it my problem,” she said furiously.
“Then whose problem is it? I’m willing to be friends, to get to know you better. You’re the one who won’t settle for anything less than a passionate relationship, right here and right now.”
“So, you’re saying this is a matter of timing, that one day you might change your mind?”
Not if he had a brain in his head, but yeah, sooner or later, she was going to get to him. Better not to tell her that, though. “Maybe,” he equivocated.
“Just what I love, a man who knows how to make a firm commitment.” She glared at him. “Okay, then. You want a friend, I’ll be your friend,” she said through gritted teeth. “But I’ve got to tell you, right this second I don’t like you very much.”
He bit back a grin and reached for her hand. “Come on, friend. Let’s have dinner.”
She jerked her hand away. “Don’t touch me.”
He did laugh then. “Too friendly?”
“Too presumptuous,” she shot back.
As they strolled toward Jess’s he glanced sideways at her. “You know, if we walk into the bar barely speaking to each other, Molly’s going to be all over us.”
“Don’t kid yourself. She’s going to be all over us no matter what we do,” Alice retorted. “At least this way, we’re being honest about how we feel.”
“Are we?”
She stopped and whirled on him. “What do you want from me? I’m doing the best I can to find some middle ground we can both live with. You think sex is too complicated with us, that’s your right, but don’t accuse me of being dishonest about my feelings.”
He nodded slowly. “That’s fair. You’re right. There’s bound to be a certain amount of pretense while we’re working this out.”
“Do you even know how to be friends with a woman?”
“Sure. Molly and I have been friends for years.”
“And the thought of jumping into the sack with her never once crossed your mind?”
“Never once,” he said honestly. Molly had always had her eye on another Devaney. And even now, after things had gone terribly wrong between her and Daniel, she wouldn’t look at another man, much less