She nodded slowly. “A fascinating prospect,” she noted. “I’ll definitely keep it in mind.”
He pressed another hard, sizzling kiss to her mouth, then released her. “Just a little something to tide you over,” he said.
He was whistling when he walked back into Tony’s room. Beth waited until the door was firmly shut behind him before sagging against the wall. The arrogant, impossible man had once again made her knees weak. She could only pray he never figured out just how easily he could accomplish that. Then again, given how well he understood women, he probably already knew.
Chapter Ten
Mack paced around Destiny’s den like a caged tiger. Where the devil was Beth? He’d called the hospital an hour ago and been told that she’d left at five-thirty. He’d assumed she’d gone home to change, especially since her blouse had been stained with some god-awful orange stuff, but how long did it take for a woman to put on a new outfit and drive across the bridge into Alexandria? He was surprisingly inexperienced when it came to knowing such things, which just proved how little he’d ever discovered about the personal habits and idiosyncrasies of the many women he’d dated.
It was nearly seven-thirty now. For a woman as punctual as Beth tried to be, running a half hour late or more was totally out of character.
“Will you sit down, please?” Destiny said, her exasperation evident. “You’re giving me a headache. Beth said she’ll be here, and I’m sure she will be.”
“She was supposed to be here thirty minutes ago.”
“Darling, I’m sure she wouldn’t stand you up.”
Mack took note of the distinction, implying that he was the only one with any cause for worry. Besides, he wasn’t so sure Destiny was right about Beth not ditching him at the last minute. It would be just like her to do something so completely unpredictable to annoy him. He hadn’t guessed about that perverse streak in her until that conversation they’d had in the hallway this afternoon. He was still trying to decide how he felt about it, especially that belated revelation about her prior meeting with Destiny.
“She wasn’t that enthused about coming,” he admitted in what had to be the most massive understatement he’d ever uttered.
Destiny regarded him solemnly. “But she has very lovely manners, Mack. She might not contact you if you’ve somehow offended her, but she would call me if she intended to cancel.”
He scowled at the suggestion that he was somehow at fault. “I didn’t offend her. And how would you know about her manners?” he asked. Then, without waiting for a response he added, “Oh, yes, that would be because of the cozy little dinner you two shared not long ago, the dinner you neglected to mention when we spoke earlier today.”
Destiny regarded him with surprise. “She told you about that?”
“Gloated about it, in fact,” he said, then added sourly, “I thought it was great that someone finally thought to bring me into the loop.”
Destiny’s expression grew thoughtful. “Isn’t that interesting?”
“What’s so blasted interesting about her finally ’fessing up to the fact that the two of you were sneaking around behind my back? For all I know, you’ve been in cahoots with her for months. This little admission could be the tip of the iceberg.”
His aunt frowned at him. “Don’t be melodramatic, darling. It was dinner, nothing more. It’s not as if we hatched some plot to reel you in. You’re obviously a man who makes up his own mind about these things. You don’t believe I would set a trap for you, do you?”
He scowled right back at her. “Oh, please. I learned a long time ago never to underestimate you. You might not be successful at setting me up with a woman I’d walk down the aisle, but you’re not above trying.”
“Do you think Beth is so spineless that she would go along with a scheme of mine?”
He considered that and knew it was unlikely. If there was one thing he was certain of it was that Beth had a very strong sense of herself. Spineless was the last thing she was. Heaven knew, she didn’t hesitate to tell him what was on her mind. He doubted she’d be any less forthcoming with Destiny. If his aunt had approached her about Mack, Beth most likely would have laughed in her face.
“No,” he finally conceded to Destiny.
“You know, Mack, I’m a little surprised you decided to go through with dinner tonight once you found out about my previous meeting with Beth. Since you obviously see a conspiracy around every corner where I’m concerned, is there some particular reason you chose not to back out?”