by Janet Dailey
Plus Eve had known he was a lonely man. He wanted the company of a woman — and not just in a sexual way, for she was sure he could find that type of feminine company. That night in front of the tavern, Luck had said he wanted to talk to her — that she was the kind he could talk to. He needed that in a woman, just as she needed to be able to talk to him. But part of his reason for proposing had to be the desire for companionship,
Then there was the bachelor existence he and Toby led. They needed someone to cook and clean house for them. How much more convenient it would be to have live-in help. Cooking and cleaning would be part of her new role, although naturally both Luck and Toby would help.
There was nothing wrong with any of his reasons. None of them were bad. As a matter of fact there were a lot of couples starting out their wedded life with less solid foundations than theirs. But the realizations brought Eve down out of her dreamworld to face the reality of their future. Luck wanted to marry a comfortable, practical Eve, not a starry-eyed romantic. It was better that she knew that.
It didn’t alter the special significance of the evening to come. It was still their engagement dinner. Eve took extra care in choosing a dress to wear and fixing her hair and makeup. The results weren’t too bad, even to her critical eye. The rose color of the dress was a little drab, but its lines flattered her slender figure. The soft curls of her chestnut hair glistened in the light.
True to his word, Luck arrived promptly at seven, with a bouquet of scarlet roses for Eve. She hadn’t mentioned anything to her parents about his proposal, waiting until he came so they could tell them together.
They were overjoyed at the news, especially her mother, who had despaired that Eve would ever find a man to satisfy her. Her father seemed to take pride in Luck’s old-fashioned gesture of asking his permission to marry his daughter. It was granted without any hesitation.
By half-past seven the congratulations were over and they were on their way to the restaurant. Eve realized how difficult it was to keep both feet on the ground when she was with Luck. Her hand rested on the car seat, held in the warm clasp of his.
“Are you happy?” he asked.
“Yes.” She could say that without any doubt, even with the facts before her concerning his reasons for wanting to marry her.
“I thought we could drive to Duluth tomorrow,” he said. “I need to buy you a ring, but I want to be sure you like it. We’ll pick something out together. Is tomorrow all right?”
“Yes, it’s fine,” Eve nodded.
“I want you to meet my father while we’re there. We’ll have dinner with him,” he stated.
“That would be good,” she agreed. “I’d like to get to know him.”
“You’ll like him.” He sent her a brief smile. “And I have no doubt that he’ll like you.”
“I hope so.” But she was secretly concerned that his father would compare her with Luck’s first wife and wonder what his son saw in such a “plain Jane.” A lot of his friends who had known his first wife would probably wonder about that, also. She wouldn’t blame them if they did.
“Would you mind if Toby came with us tomorrow?” Luck asked as he slowed the car to turn into the restaurant parking lot.
“Of course I don’t mind,” Eve assured him. “If we don’t include him, he’ll probably become convinced he’s being neglected.”
“That’s what I thought, too,” he agreed, and parked the car between two others.
After climbing out of the car, Luck walked around it to open her door and help her out. He lingered on the spot, holding her hand and smiling at her.
“Have I told you that you look very lovely tonight?” he asked.
“No, but thank you.” Eve smiled, but she wondered if he was just being kind. Perhaps it was a nice way of saying she looked as good as she could look.
Bending his head, he let his mouth move warmly over hers. The firm kiss didn’t last long, but it reassured her of his affection. Eve doubted if that brief kiss disturbed him as much as it disturbed her, though.
When it was over, he escorted her to the restaurant entrance, his hand pressed against the back of her waist. Inside they were shown to a small table for two in a quiet corner of the establishment.
“Didn’t I promise you candlelight?” Luck gestured to the candle burning in an amber glass when they were both seated in their chairs across from each other.
“Yes, you did,” she agreed with a remembering smile. “You neglected to mention the soft music playing in the background.” Eve referred to the muted strains of romantic mood music coming over the restaurant’s stereo system.
“I saved that for the finishing touch.” The corners of his mouth deepened in a vague amusement.
A young and very attractive waitress approached their table. With her blond hair and blue eyes, she seemed the epitome of everything sexy, without appearing vulgarly so. She smiled at both of them, yet Eve jealously thought she noticed something other than professional interest in the girl’s eyes when she looked at Luck.
“Would you like a drink before dinner?” she inquired.
“Yes, we’d like a bottle of champagne,” Luck ordered with a responding smile.
Eve would probably have checked his pulse to see if he was sick if he hadn’t noticed the blonde’s obvious beauty. Yet when he did she was hurt. It made no sense at all. Somehow she managed to keep the conflicting emotions out of her expression.
The waitress left and came back with the bottle of champagne. After she had opened it, she poured some in a glass for Luck to sample. He nodded his approval and she filled a glass for each of them.
When she’d gone, Luck raised his glass to make a toast. “To the love of my life, who is soon to be my wife.”
It was a very touching sentiment, but Eve knew it was an exaggeration. He had promised her a romantic evening and he was trying to give it to her, but she would rather their relationship remained honest and did not become sullied with false compliments.
“That was very beautiful, Luck,” she admitted. “But it wasn’t necessary.”
“Oh?” His eyebrow arched at her comment. “Why isn’t it necessary?”
“Because — ” she shrugged a shoulder a little nervously “ — I didn’t expect you to pretend that you are wildly and romantically in love with me. You don’t have to make flowery speeches.”
“I see.” The line of his jaw became hard, even though he smiled. “And it doesn’t bother you if I’m not wildly and romantically in love with you?” There was a trace of challenge in his question.
Eve assured him, “I’ve accepted it.” She didn’t want him to act the part of a romantic lover when it wasn’t what he truly felt.
“I’m glad you have,” he murmured dryly, and motioned for the waitress to bring them menus. “I understand the prime rib is very good here.”
The dinner conversation was dominated by mundane topics. The meal was very enjoyable, yet Eve sensed some underlying tension. Luck was pleasant and friendly, but sometimes when he looked at her she felt uneasy. He’d always been able to disturb her physically, yet this was different — almost as if he were angry, though he didn’t appear to be.
The dinner had stretched to a second cup of coffee after dessert before Luck suggested it was time to leave. Eve accepted his decision, still unable to put her finger on the source of the troubling sensation.
In silence they crossed the parking lot to the car. Luck assisted her into the passenger seat, then walked behind the car to slide into the driver’s seat. He made no attempt to start the car.
“Is something wrong?” Eve frowned slightly.
“There seems to be,” he said with a nod, and half turned in the seat to face her.
“What is it?” She wasn’t sure if he meant something was wrong with the car or something else.
“You,” Luck answered simply.
“What have I done?” She drew back in surprise.
“Where did you get this ridiculous notion that I’m not
wildly in love with you?” he demanded.
“Well, you’re not,” Eve stated in defense, then faltered under his piercing gaze. “I believe you when you say you love me, but — ”
“That’s good of you,” he taunted dryly. “If I’m not madly in love with you, maybe you should explain why I want to marry you. I’m sure it has something to do with Toby.”
“Why are you asking me?” Eve countered. “You know the reasons as well as I do.”
“Perhaps better, since they happen to be mine.” Luck stretched an arm along the seat back and appeared to relax. “But I’d like to hear you tell me what they are.”
“I can provide some of the things that are missing in your life,” she said uneasily, not sure why he wanted her to explain, unless it was to make sure she understood.
“Such as?” he prompted her into elaborating on the answer.
“You need a mother for your son, someone to take care of your house and do the cooking, someone to care about you and be there when you want company…” Eve hesitated.
“You left out bed partner,” he reminded her coolly.
“That, too,” she conceded.
“I’m glad. For a minute I thought I was hiring a full-time housekeeper instead of acquiring a wife.” This time some of his anger crept into his voice.
“I…don’t understand,” Eve stammered.
“You silly fool. There is only one reason why I’m marrying you. I love you and I don’t want to live without you!” Luck snapped.
“But Toby — ”
“I haven’t done too bad a job raising him alone. If he has managed without a mother this long, then he can make it the rest of the way,” he retorted. “Believe me, I’m glad the two of you like each other, but I wouldn’t give a damn if he hated you as long as I loved you.”
“But I thought — ” Eve tried again to voice her impressions, and again Luck interrupted her:
“As for the cooking and cleaning, I could have that done. I know you haven’t inquired, but I could afford that if it were what l wanted.”
“You admitted you were lonely,” she inserted quickly before he could cut her off again. “You said it was lonely at home that night outside the tavern.,
“So I did,” Luck admitted. “Eve, a man can have a hundred women living in his house and still be lonely if none of those women is the right one.”
“Please.” She turned her head away, afraid of being convinced by him. “I know how much you loved your first wife.”
“Yes, I loved Lisa — ” he stressed the verb “ — but it’s in the past tense, Eve. I did love her, but I love you now. It’s completely different.”
“I know that,” she murmured with a little ache.
“Do you?” Luck sighed behind her, then his hands were turning her into his arms. “I loved her as a young man loves. I’m not the same person anymore. I’ve changed. I’ve grown up. I’m an adult male, Eve, and I want you and love you as only a man can — wildly, deeply and romantically.”
“Luck.” Eve held her breath, finally beginning to believe it could be true.
“Come here.” He smiled and began to gather her into his arms. “I want to prove it to you.”
She could hardly argue when his mouth was covering hers with such hungry force. And she didn’t want to anymore.
Biography
* * *
Janet Dailey
Janet Dailey was born Janet Haradon in 1944 in Storm Lake, Iowa. She attended secretarial school in Omaha, Nebraska before meeting her husband, Bill. Bill and Janet worked together in construction and land development until they “retired” to travel throughout the United States, inspiring Janet to write the Americana series of romances.
In 1974, Janet Dailey was the first American author to write for Harlequin, her first novel was NO QUARTER ASKED. She has since gone on to write approximately 90 novels, 21 of which have appeared on The New York Times bestseller list. She has won many awards and accolades for her work, appearing widely on Radio and Television. Today, there are over three-hundred million Janet Dailey books in print in 19 different languages, making her one of the most popular novelists in the world.