“Are you accepting my proposal?”
I shake my head. “I need to spend more time with you and become better acquainted before I can make that kind of decision.”
“What would you like to know about me?”
Everything. I want to know everything. “Tell me about your family.”
“My family lives in Glasgow.”
“Is that where you grew up?”
“Aye.”
I thought so. His burr is heavier than what I’m accustomed to hearing.
“Are your parents still married?”
“Aye. Still together after thirty-six years of marriage.”
I can’t imagine what that must feel like. My parents never married, so I have no idea what it’s like to have your mom and dad living in the same house. Hell, I never so much as saw my parents in the same room together. Not once.
“Do you have siblings?”
“I have a sister who is three years younger than I am. Sara. She and her husband Adam have two sons. Leo is four and Mason is one. I also have a younger brother, Ian, who is twenty-two. He’ll be starting his final year of study at uni in the fall.”
“At Edinburgh?”
“Aye.”
Ian Hutcheson. The name doesn’t ring a bell but that doesn’t mean anything. “The campus isn’t that large. It’s possible that my path has crossed your brother’s. We could run into each other later down the road since I’ll be returning to school in the fall. Would that cause a problem for you?”
“Ian will never know about our relationship. I don’t see why it would be a problem.”
Right. Because I’ll be Hutch’s secret. Unseen and unheard by everyone within his world.
“What about your late wife’s family? Do you still have contact with them?”
“Aye, more than I’d like. They hover. Especially Mina’s sisters. Her youngest sister is the worst.”
“Were they like that before your wife died?”
“Aye, they stuck their noses into our lives and marriage, giving Mina a lot of unwanted advice.”
Sounds like she was close to her sisters. “Do you really think that they didn’t know about her affair?”
“Definitely not. Mina wanted people to believe that our marriage was perfect. She’d have never admitted to infidelity; it would have shattered her flawless image.”
What a bitch. “Your wife left you in one hell of a predicament.”
“You don’t know the half of it.”
Hutch and I get into the back seat of the car. I glide across the seat, stopping in the middle so that we’re sitting next to each other, our legs touching. The only thing separating our skin is the fabric of his trousers, and the simple touch sends a thrill of excitement through my body.
Calvin peers at Hutch through the rearview mirror. “Where to, sir?”
“Back to the Inamorata office.”
I’m feeling the effects of tonight’s wine. Yes, I drank more than I should have, and Cora wouldn’t approve, but Hutch and I were having some intense conversations tonight. I needed something to help me loosen up. And loosen up, I have. Liquid courage pulsates through my veins, making me feel brave. And flirty.
I rest my hand on Hutch’s thigh, feeling the muscle beneath my palm grow taut. I can’t make out his facial expression, but his breathing becomes louder, his scent stronger and oh so masculine. I’m suddenly hypersensitive to everything about this man.
Hutch places his hand on my knee and heat radiates up my thigh, gaining my full attention.
“I want to know what you’re thinking,” he says.
So many things are racing through my head right now.
If I do this, something will go wrong, and this man will hurt me. I know it as surely as I’m sitting here next to him, feeling how much he makes me want to say yes. “I’m not fool enough to believe that a fire like this won’t burn one of us.”
I’m not an idiot. One of us = me. I’ll be the one to get burned.
Even in the dark back seat, I see him grin. “You think this thing between us is fire?”
Fire isn’t a good enough word to describe what’s happening between us. Inferno is a better word. But I don’t reply to his question; it would be stupid to throw fuel on flames already blazing out of control.
I’m relieved when Calvin stops in front of Inamorata’s office. I need to get away from Hutch. Now, before this conversation goes any further.
We get out of the car and walk up the sidewalk to the building’s entrance. He shocks me by reaching for my hand. Such a sweet, intimate thing to do.
We’re standing at the entrance of the building, and security is nowhere to be seen. It’s not that late. Raith must be on break. And I’m glad because I sense something coming.
Hutch grips my hips and walks me backward until my back is against the stone of the building, a cage of muscular arms entrapping me. His eyes dart from mine to my mouth, then back up to my eyes. His mouth is so close to mine that I feel his warm breath on my lips. “I want to kiss you, but I won’t without your permission.”
My chest heaves up and down. I can see it moving in my peripheral vision, and my breathing is loud. So damn loud. I’m taken aback by the sudden and unexpected urgency that I feel for him.
Don’t do this, Cait. It’s a mistake. Maxwell Hutcheson is a mistake. He will hurt you.
Shut up, stupid gut feeling. I want this. I want him. To hell with the consequences.
“Kiss me.” Make my fantasies come true.
Half of a heartbeat later, his lips collide against my mouth, and I open to invite his tongue inside to meet mine. The two share their first waltz and it’s a slow, seductive dance.
Our first kiss. He tastes like residual Burgundy and man. All man.
His hands move from my hips, one to the nape of my neck and the other to my lower back, pulling me hard against his body. Through the fabric of our clothing, I can feel how hard he is, and it weakens my knees.
His mouth leaves mine and drags across my face, hovering over my ear. “Say yes and you’ll have the summer of a lifetime with me.”
“The summer of a lifetime, huh? That makes the offer very tempting.”
“Tell me what it will take to make my tempting offer become irresistible.”
“I need a little longer.”
“You said that you’d give me an answer in three days. That’s tomorrow night.”
“I’m aware. And I will give you an answer, as promised.”
“How will this work?”
“Cora will contact you after I’ve made my decision. If I decide to accept your offer, she’ll ask you to come in for a consult. That’s the first meeting. After that, she’ll draw up the paperwork, and we’ll have a second meeting to finalize the agreement.”
“When can I see you again?”
“You won’t see me again… unless we move forward with the agreement.” I like the little wave of panic that I see in his eyes.
“If you say yes, when is the earliest that we can move forward?”
“That’s all dependent upon Cora’s schedule.”
“I’m eager to move on this as soon as possible.”
“I see that.”