Her recovery was so smooth that Mitchell would have actually believed she hadn’t realized what was about to happen between them a moment before, except that her skin was too fair to conceal the telltale pink tinge on her high cheekbones. Her pretense struck him as entertaining but humorously unnecessary. They were both adults, they were obviously attracted to each other; therefore, they were going to end up in that inviting king-size bed in the alcove later on. Mitchell saw no reason for either of them to pretend the situation was otherwise. I’d arranged for that music,” he assured her drolly, ’d have told them I prefer a much slower tempo—at first.”
Kate’s eyes widened at the double meaning she read into that remark. Earlier, she’d accused him of being a worker,” but even if he was, he surely couldn’t intend to make a flying leap from a discussion of fleas, to an aborted kiss, to a blatant sexual innuendo, without pausing in between.
Or could he?
Kate decided her imagination was running wild and reminded herself that her goal tonight was to be a good hostess. me fix you something to drink,” she said with a quick smile as she turned toward the suite’s well-stocked bar. “What would you like?”
and tonic if you have ice. Otherwise, plain vodka.”
’m sure we have ice,” she said, and confirmed it when she lifted the top off the ice bucket. staff here looks after everything. They even give you chilled towels while you’re at the beach.” From the refrigerator, she removed a miniature bottle of vodka, some tonic, and a fresh lime.
had a phone call while you were changing clothes,” he said.
Kate glanced at the red message light flashing accusingly on the desk phone and opened the bottle of vodka. know. I’ll listen to the message later.”
are you expecting him to arrive?”
His casual, conversational tone was as startling to Kate as his astute conclusion that she was expecting a man, but somehow she managed to glance over her shoulder, smile, and answer his question as casually as he’d asked it. “Tomorrow evening, probably.” As she added ice to his glass, she waited for Mitchell to comment, and when he didn’t, she felt compelled to fill the awkward silence with added information about a boyfriend she didn’t really want to discuss with him in the first place. ’s trying an important case in court during the day and working to negotiate a settlement between the parties at night. He flew down here with me four days ago, but the judge decided not to continue the case again, and so he had to turn around and fly right back home. He thought the case would be over quickly, but it’s been dragging on and on.”
As Kate finished speaking, she realized the additional remarks about Evan were probably a good idea. She’d not only confirmed to Mitchell that she had a boyfriend, she’d provided enough additional facts about him to bring him into sharp focus right there in the room, where he would now be a barrier between Mitchell and her. If Mitchell’s earlier comment about the ” he preferred had actually been a sexual reference, Kate knew there would be no more of those to deal with now. He wouldn’t try to kiss her again, either, and so she wouldn’t be foolishly tempted to let him. No matter how likeable he seemed or how attractive he was, the fact remained that Mitchell was a total stranger and they were alone together in a hotel room. ’ve been going together for years,” she threw in for good measure, to further eliminate any lingering chances of overtures and temptations.
Kate poured the vodka over the ice in Mitchell’s glass, serenely certain that everything she’d said about Evan would ensure that the lovely evening ahead would be completely free of any more unnerving sensual undercurrents.
Mitchell watched her, completely satisfied that the lawyer-boyfriend was no obstacle whatsoever to their going to bed together tonight. It was apparent to him that Kate didn’t imagine she was in love with the lawyer; women who believed they were in love gave off unmistakable signals, particularly when they spoke of their lovers, and Kate Donovan wasn’t giving off any of those signals.
The boyfriend wasn’t even likely to be an annoying inconvenience if Kate and he also decided they wanted to enjoy each other for an additional day or two. In Mitchell’s experience, lawyers who predicted they could successfully conclude “an important case” in a few days were either deluding themselves or trying to delude someone else—in this instance, Kate.
In his mind, Mitchell envisioned a prosperous, middle-aged lawyer who’d managed to dazzle Kate years before, not long after she was out of college. He could have confirmed his suspicions with a few questions, but it was disadvantageous to the mood of the evening to further discuss another lover with her. Besides that, Mitchell felt it would be in bad taste for him to pry into the absent man’s personal life at a time like this. Under Mitchell’s personal code of European sexual ethics, sleeping with another man’s lover was perfectly allowable if the lady was willing. However, discussing the absent man with her was a needless and tasteless invasion of the man’s privacy. It was ungentlemanly. And Mitchell abhorred ungentlemanly behavior.
Unaware that her discussion of Evan had accomplished exactly the opposite of what she thought, Kate added a slice of fresh lime to the vodka and tonic, and took Mitchell the finished drink. When she held the glass out, he made a silent joke about the Bloody Mary she’d spilled on him earlier by stepping back and eyeing her warily before he cautiously took the glass from her outstretched hand. Of all his attractive qualities, Kate decided she liked his disarming sense of humor best—undoubtedly because it was easier to forget his good looks and relax when they were joking with each other. Smiling good-naturedly at his gibe about the Bloody Mary, she asked the first question that came to mind. did you learn to speak Dutch?”
Holland,” he replied, and took a sip of his drink.
were you there?”
I was eleven or twelve.”
He seemed a little unforthcoming on the subject, but Kate stuck with it anyway, because it seemed like a good conversational starting place. were you in Holland at that age?”
went to school with a boy whose family lived in Amsterdam, and he invited me to spend a couple of summers there with his family.”
’ve never been to Europe,” Kate said as she turned away and headed back toward the liquor cabinet, Amsterdam is one of the places I’d especially love to see. Do you know what I think of whenever someone mentions Amsterdam?”
,” Mitchell replied, studying the easy, unselfconscious grace of her walk and the way her dark red hair tumbled in a gleaming waterfall of waves and curls halfway down her back. do you think of when someone mentions Amsterdam?”