no rebuttal. “You’re frustrated with me,” he replied, unable to smother his chuckle this time. She just looked too lovely and frustrated.
“I don’t really like you,” she came back.
“You don’t really know me. But you will,” he said softly. The waiter arrived and he ordered her a salad and himself a tuna steak.
The waiter bowed and was about to leave when Eva stopped him. “Actually, I’ll have the herbed chicken, thank you.” She stared back at Damon, waiting to see if he would challenge her choice. That was all she needed at this point so she could get out of here and avoid more of his arrogance and superiority. “I don’t allow anyone to order for me.”
He nodded to the waiter, but she could tell that he was annoyed. Good! She didn’t like this man at all and wanted him to just leave her alone.
She leaned back in her chair and took a sip of the wine that had been poured at some point during their argument. “So, you want me to get to know you, tell me about yourself.” She refused to compliment him on the crisp, delicious wine he’d chosen but it was delightful.
He was surprised, expecting her to start telling him all about herself. But instead, she simply sat across the table from him, sipping her wine as if she had all the time in the world. “Why don’t you tell me about yourself?”
She shook her head and glanced at the people around their table, wondering if any of them had overheard their argument. It also gave her an excuse to not look at him, pulling her attention from his fascinating features. “Because I don’t want you to get to know me, my personal life is none of your business and I don’t want to be here so if you want to win me over, then you’re going to have to work for it.”
He raised an eyebrow at her opposition.
She watched his reaction and almost laughed at his consternation. “What? You’ve never had to work to impress a woman before?”
He smiled at her challenge but wouldn’t lie to her, even if it put him a bad light. “Actually, no. Women seem to want to impress me instead of the other way around.”
She rolled her eyes. “Well, consider me your first.”
“Will I be your first?’ he asked, watching her facial features for her reaction.
Her mouth dropped open and she was sure she had misunderstood his question. Or perhaps he meant something other than what his question sounded like. “Excuse me?” She leaned back so the waitress could present her meal, sure she’d misunderstood his comment.
He smiled slightly. “You heard me.”
“I hardly think that’s any of your business.”
The waiter arrived to re-fill their water and Damon waited until both glasses had been refreshed before continuing. He also enjoyed making her squirm. She was such a little spitfire and challenged him at every turn. Besides, the bombshell he was about to drop needed to be savored, and he didn’t want an audience.
When they were once again alone, he leaned slightly forward and said, “Since we’re going to be married, it’s definitely my business.”
Eva couldn’t believe her ears. She blinked once, looked at his face to determine if he was serious, then blinked again to try and make sense of the world in which he lived. “Married? Why the hell would I marry you?”
“I don’t want my wife to swear, Eva,” he admonished.
She was almost sputtering with her outrage now. “Then you’d damn well better marry someone else! Regardless, it’s certainly not going to be me!”
“We will be married. As soon as you can arrange for the ceremony. I’d like something small, but I know your family might prefer a large wedding. Perhaps we can compromise? A large wedding and a smaller reception?”
Eva was having a hard time understanding. Surely she’d misunderstood. “Excuse me?”
“The ceremony. Keep up, please.”
He picked up his wine glass and took a long swallow and Eva couldn’t believe that she was momentarily mesmerized by the movement of his throat as the water went down. It was hypnotic somehow.
When he set his water down and started eating again, she shook her head and refocused on their conversation, pulling her gaze away from his throat and forcing her eyes back to his. “We’re definitely not getting married. She looked around, trying to make sense of this conversation and wondering how he’d come about thinking she was going to marry him, but nothing made sense.
She suddenly had an idea and