"What did you say?" she asked carefully.
"I have plenty of space." The light changed and he accelerated, weighing his words. "It's a gated community, so you two would have more security. And Evie would enjoy the Pine Valley community stables and pool. I'm thinking she could use some jodhpurs. Maybe for Christmas?"
"Maybe," Megan said noncommittally. To the riding clothes or moving in?
He needed to shift into damage control ASAP.
"Is that a no to moving in?" If so, that didn't bode well for his plans to propose.
"You've sprung this on me rather quickly. Can we talk more about it, please?" Her fingers clenched and tangled together in her lap. "I have a lot to consider with Evie. She's only just stopped wearing costumes-thank you again for bringing the therapy dog to her school. You were right about that."
Did that mean she trusted him more? "I did it for all the kids. And for the animals too. I'm glad Ms. Baker was able to take two off your hands."
"You and me both." She twisted in the seat toward him. "I didn't mean to be short about moving in together. You just caught me unaware."
He glanced at her beautiful face, full of worry. "It's okay. Like you said, we can talk more later. We have time."
They had time and he had plans. He knew the right opportunity would present itself for the proposal. And he'd even chosen a gift for her he thought would let her know just how much he cared about her as a person and accepted their differences.
She smiled, and it damn near took his breath away. "Taking our time. I like the sound of that."
* * *
Megan had barely tasted a bite of the appetizer, soup, salad or main course. Her mind was still on Whit's surprise suggestion that they live together. Things were moving so fast, she felt as if she was still stuck in the tornado sometimes.
But with each minute that passed, she found herself considering the possibility more seriously.
They were all but spending every waking hour outside of work together. Evie didn't even question his presence. If anything, her daughter questioned when he would arrive. She'd even asked if he could pick her up from day care. He was everything Megan could have hoped for in a man, on so many levels. So much so, it scared her sometimes how well things were going. Maybe that's why she was nervous about moving in together. It was like tempting fate.
The waiter cleared away their dinner plates and brought dessert. "Mr. Daltry," the waiter said, "just as you ordered, our chef made this especially for your celebration. A dark chocolate and orange tart with toasted almonds. I hope it is to your satisfaction."
Orange and chocolate? Surely not a coincidence?
The twinkle in Whit's eyes confirmed he'd intended the treat as a reminder of their time together in the greenhouse.
"I'm sure it will be perfect," Whit answered smoothly. "Please pass along my thanks."
Megan pressed a hand to her mouth to stop a laugh as the waiter left them alone again. "You're wicked."
"Just reminding you of all the wonderful times we can have together in the future." His hand gravitated to his suit coat, smoothing his lapel as he'd done a number of times throughout the dinner.
Was he as nervous as she over this? In a strange way she found it comforting, more of a sign he took this big step seriously.
"About what you said in the car regarding moving in together, I'm still not ready to say yes outright, but I want to think about it. And for me that's huge."
His hand fell away from his jacket and she linked fingers with him.
"Whit, we have something wonderful started. Let's not rush."
"Sure, of course," he agreed, but the tight lines of his mouth indicated that she'd let him down.
Couldn't he see how hard she was trying by letting herself be swept into his world so fast? She thought they'd really made progress. And it wasn't as if she just had herself to consider. A move would be a lot of upheaval for Evie at a time when she was just settling back into school and enjoying herself.
Megan tried to think of a better way to help Whit understand-to ease that tense expression on his face-when a cleared throat from behind him drew her attention upward.
Colby Richardson stood there with his hands shoved in his pockets. His resemblance to his late brother Craig was shocking. The man had a closed-off air emotionally, but that was understandable given what he must be going through. "Sorry to interrupt your dinner, but I wanted to congratulate you."
Megan looked up in confusion. Whit couldn't have already told people of his plans to move in together, could he? Whit stood, as if to quiet the man, which only fueled her concerns-and confusion.
"Thanks, Colby. I appreciate that. Could I treat your table to another round of drinks?" Whit asked, clearly trying to divert him.
"Of course. I see you have a bottle of champagne on its way over. I should leave you both to celebrate your big purchase."
Megan frowned. "Big purchase?"
"Yes," Colby said. "Whit managed quite a coup this week in scooping up the stretch of wetlands on the edge of town."
Her insides chilled faster than that bottle of bubbly in the ice bucket. "You bought up the wetlands?"
"Yes," Whit shuffled his feet, "but it's not exactly what you're thinking."
Colby backed away. "Sorry to have spilled the beans prematurely. I'll just leave the two of you to talk. Good evening."
The clean-cut real estate mogul turned and made a beeline to his table, leaving Megan alone with Whit again.
She restrained the urge to snap at Whit. He was a businessman, first and foremost. She knew that. She shouldn't be surprised that he'd proceeded as planned. He'd never misled her about who he was.
Still, she couldn't stem the deep well of disappointment pooling in her stomach.
"Megan? Do you want to hear what I have to say?"
She shook her head. "It doesn't matter." She folded her napkin in her lap, wishing she could sweep this disagreement away along with the breadcrumbs. "I understand we're different people. I'm not angry."
It cost her, but she would make peace. Try harder. Damn it, she was trying harder.
"But you're upset with me." Tension threaded through his shoulders, his jaw flexing.
She met his eyes and answered honestly. "Disappointed."
"Megan, our careers are separate. I respect your professionalism and I expect you to respect mine."
"Okay," she answered carefully, "but that doesn't mean I'm going to compromise my principles."
"You're calling me unprincipled?"
She struggled for a way to wind back out of this discussion that was playing out like too many confrontations they'd had over the years. Had the past couple of weeks just been a fluke, with reality now intruding once again? "We've had this disagreement for years. Did you think I was magically going to change because we..."
She couldn't even push the last words free without her voice cracking. She snatched up her water glass, her hand trembling with emotion.
He held her eyes without speaking for what felt like an eternity. Dishes and silverware clanked. The candles flickered between them, the dim chandelier above casting more shadows than light.
Finally, he shook his head. "You've already made up your mind about me. It's clear we have nothing left to say to each other."
How dare he act disillusioned with her? In the span of a couple of weeks, she'd done an about-face on so many of her stances to be with him. She was even willing to overlook this land purchase, as much as it galled her, and accept that they were different.
But now she suspected in spite of all his words to the contrary, he didn't want to be with her after all. Because it wasn't good enough for him that she would compromise on this issue. He needed her to be on his side. Think like him. Cheer on his plan to destroy wetlands she felt passionately about.
Why couldn't they just leave it be? Like so many men she'd seen in the past, he was okay to let their relationship self-destruct. He'd found an out and taken it. The knowledge burned all the way down her throat. She shot up from her chair before she did something humiliating like burst into tears.
Or worse yet, accept anything he said as truth just to stay with him.
* * *
Anger and frustration making his blood boil, Whit strode through the restaurant after Megan. He angled past the Richardson family at one table, the sheriff and his wife at another, and barely registered that they spoke to him because his focus was fully on Megan.
He charged past a Christmas tree covered in golden lone stars and white twinkling lights. Whit pushed through the door and stopped beside Megan, who was standing under the restaurant awning. "Megan-"