He was early.
She looked longingly at the less revealing dresses hanging in her closet and started to jerk the zipper down when the doorbell rang again. She pulled the zipper back up and after giving her reflection one last despairing glance, she headed for the door.
When she opened it, she almost fell backward from the intense appreciation in his gaze. He looked like he wanted to eat her alive. Zings of forbidden pleasure arced through her at the thought.
Taking a deep breath, she tried to ignore the incredible reaction of her body to his presence. “Hi.”
“Hello.” He looked her up and down, his fiery gaze touching her with tactile force and leaving goosebumps in unimaginable places in its wake. “I like the way you look.”
“Thank you.”
He’d changed from a business suit to a v-necked, lightweight, black sweater that molded his muscular chest and charcoal gray slacks that emphasized the sheer masculine perfection of his form. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”
His smile was more like a wicked invitation to sin. He put his hand out. “Ready to go?”
“I don’t have any makeup on yet.” Not that she normally wore it, but this was a date.
Not counting yesterday, which had not been official…it was her first one in two years.
“You don’t need it.”
She cocked her head to the side and studied him like he was an alien species. Sometimes, like now, it felt like he was. He certainly didn’t fit the mold of the other males she’d known. “Most men want their dates to be as gorgeous as possible.”
“You aren’t an ornament on my arm. You look beautiful to me and that is all that should matter.”
“Thank you.”
“Besides, makeup cannot improve on perfection.” It was a corny line, but he said it was such offhand seriousness; she couldn’t dismiss it as mere flattery.
“Wow…you know just the right thing to say.”
“The truth often comes out that way.”
“But not always. Sometimes the truth hurts.” She didn’t know why she said it, maybe as a reminder to herself.
His mouth set in a grim line. “You’re right, but I still prefer it over dishonesty.”
“Me, too.” A sudden urge made her blurt out. “Promise you’ll always tell me the truth.”
He stared at her as if testing her motive for the request, but then he nodded. “I won’t ever lie to you.”
“I’ll never lie to you either.” She said it quietly, fervently and he received it without comment.
Taking her arm, he tugged her out the door. “Now that we’ve established that, let’s go eat dinner.”
She laughed, a feeling of buoyant happiness bubbling through her. Unless he was the best actor on the planet, he’d meant his vow of honesty and she knew she had. No matter how odd the pact might seem to others, it gave her a sense of peace and a spark of hope for their future.
They were in Washington Park before she thought to ask where he was taking her for dinner.
“We’re almost there.”
To her knowledge, there was no restaurant near where they were, unless you counted the concession stands in the Rose Garden. Which seemed to be where they were headed, but she couldn’t imagine he was taking her there.
She saw that she was right about their destination however as he pulled the purring Mercedes into a parking spot near the gardens. He came around to open her door and the scent of roses washed over her senses. Midsummer, the air was laden with their sweet fragrance.
She closed her eyes and inhaled. “It’s what I think Heaven will smell like. So sweet and good.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
He helped her out of the car and then led her through an archway and down into the gardens. He kept going until they reached one of the private gardens enclosed by a tall green hedge. He stopped and she saw a linen covered table set with china and lit with candlelight in the center of the small garden bedecked with a thousand more flickering candles. Two antique dining chairs were on opposite sides of the smallish table and he seated her in one before taking the other.
A black clad waiter immediately poured them each a glass of champagne and then set starters of chilled crabmeat over a bed of lettuce.
She looked at Angelo, too stunned to pretend to be the least bit casual about his efforts. “This is amazing.”
“I wanted tonight to be special.”
“Any particular reason?”
“Because what is going on between us is special.”
His words seduced her utterly.
Dinner was an incredible experience. They talked about everything including Angelo’s plans for Primo Tech. He listened to her ideas on the subject and then brought up two more companies he was currently resuscitating.