“I’m getting out,” she exclaimed. She opened her purse, withdrew money and leaned over the seat to pay him, but he waved her away.
“The gentleman already took care of it,” he said.
Colette jumped out of the cab and raced through the rain for her apartment door, wondering why, in spite of all her reservations about Tanner, a rush of anticipation filled her as she thought of dinner on Sunday night.
Tanner checked his reflection in the dresser mirror one last time. The slacks and dress shirt he’d bought the day before fit nicely and were a pleasant change from the jeans and T-shirts he normally wore.
He’d told himself he’d bought the new clothes in honor of the mother he’d lost eleven years before, but as he’d picked out the shirt, he’d found himself wondering what Colette’s favorite colors were. Did she like pullover shirts or buttons?
Colette. He’d insulted her the other night with his concern about her morals and values. He hadn’t meant to, but that had been the end result.
Friday at the shop she’d accepted his apology, but he had a feeling she’d accepted it grudgingly. He hoped that over dinner this evening he could somehow make amends for his thoughtlessness.
Looking at his watch, he realized it was time for him to leave. He splashed cologne around his neck, raked a hand through his hair, then left the hotel room.
He’d arranged for one of the hotel cars and drivers to be at his disposal for the evening, and when he stepped out of the hotel door, the car was awaiting him.
He hadn’t gone to the shop yesterday, had spent part of the day on the phone with his foreman making sure things were running smoothly at the ranch. Then, in the afternoon, he’d gone on a hunt for a special restaurant for their Mother’s Day celebration dinner.
He’d found the perfect place not far from his hotel. Antonio’s was elegant, with tables arranged to provide maximum seclusion and privacy for diners. The menu offered a variety of choices and the wine list was extensive. He’d made reservations, then gone hunting for appropriate clothes for a special dinner.
There was only one thing he wished could happen that night—he wished that his mother could be present. He rarely allowed himself to think of his parents. The loss still hurt after all these years.
But today when the hotel restaurant had been filled with families and mothers wearing corsages and smiles, it had been difficult to get his mother out of his mind. If she’d been able to attend the dinner this evening, he would have bought her a corsage of baby pink roses, her favorite.
The driver pulled up in front of Colette’s apartment building, and Tanner shoved thoughts of his mother from his mind. “I’ll be right back,” he told the driver, who nodded.
A few moments later Tanner knocked on Gina and Colette’s apartment door. Colette answered, and for a moment as Tanner gazed at her, he found speech next to impossible.
Unlike the tailored suits she wore to work, the caramel-colored dress she now wore clung to her breasts and slender waist, then flared out in softly feminine folds to her knees.
The V-neckline of the dress was just low enough to be interesting without being overtly distracting, and her brown eyes were the same lovely color as the material.
Her cheeks turned a pretty pink.
“I’m sorry, I’m staring, aren’t I?”
“Yes, you are,” she replied.
“You deserve to be stared at. You look terrific,” he said as she gestured him inside.
“Thanks. You don’t look so bad yourself,” she replied, her cheeks still brightly colored.
“Are we ready to go? I hope you’re hungry.”
“Starving,” she replied. “And I’m ready, but Gina is still in her room.”
Tanner looked at his watch, then back to her. “I have reservations at Antonio’s. Have you ever been there?”
“No, although I’ve heard it’s wonderful.” She toyed with the strap of her purse, obviously ill at ease. Her gaze darted everywhere around the room but at him.
He shifted from foot to foot, unsure how to put her at ease when he wasn’t sure why she appeared so uncomfortable. “It’s a beautiful evening,” he finally said.
“Yes,” she agreed. “There’s nothing nicer than spring evenings.” She finally looked at him and offered him a smile that caused the dimple to dance provocatively in her left cheek. “Unless it’s autumn evenings.”
“Autumn is nice,” he agreed, wondering how long they could keep a conversation about the weather flowing.
A knock fell on the door. She frowned. “I wonder who that could be.” She hurried to the door and opened it.
Danny stepped into the living room. “Hi, Colette…Mr. Rothman.”
Tanner looked at the young man in confusion. Had Gina invited him to join them and neglected to tell Tanner? At that moment Gina came out of the bedroom.
She looked like a ray of sunshine in a bright yellow dress that enhanced her dark-haired prettiness. A burst of love swept through Tanner. “Is Danny joining us for dinner?” he asked her.
Gina looked at him in surprise. “Didn’t I tell you?”
“Tell me what?” Tanner asked.
“Danny invited me to have dinner with him and his parents at their house. I thought I told you.” She gave Tanner a look of innocence, one that he didn’t buy for a minute. He wondered if she hadn’t told him of her change in plans because she was afraid he’d be angry.
“Is there a problem, sir?” Danny asked hesitantly. “I can call my parents and let them know there’s been a change of plans.”
“No…no problem,” Tanner replied, and shot his sister a look he knew she would understand that meant they would talk later.
“Then I’m all ready.” Gina smiled. “You two have a wonderful time. I know we’re going to.” She linked her arm through Danny’s, and with murmured goodbyes, they flew out the door.
“Well, that was a surprise,” Tanner said as he turned back to Colette. “You ready to go?”
“Oh, Tanner, it isn’t necessary that you take me to dinner,” she protested, and set her purse down in the nearby chair.
He walked over, picked up her purse and held it out to her. “On the contrary. I haven’t eaten all day in anticipation of savoring Antonio’s fare, and I had to grease the palm of the mâitre d’ in order to assure our reservation.”
Still he sensed her hesitation. “Please, Colette,” he said. “Have dinner with me. There’s nothing I hate more than eating alone.”
“All right,” she finally relented, then smiled teasingly. “But only because it’s Antonio’s and I’ve always wanted to eat there.” She took her purse from him and together they left the apartment.
As he escorted her to the waiting car, he wondered why he wasn’t angry at Gina. The second thing he wondered about was why he was oddly pleased that it was just going to be him and Colette for the evening.
Chapter Six
The back seat of the car was too small. However, Colette had a feeling even the back seat of a stretch limo would be too small if she was sharing the confines with Tanner.
His thigh pressed warmly against hers, and the scent of his cologne filled her senses. She hadn’t bargained for dinner alone with Tanner. She’d wanted—needed—Gina to be here, as well.
He looked more handsome than she’d ever seen him. Gone were the jeans and T-shirts he’d worn since arriving in Kansas City. The navy slacks fit him as if tailor-made for his long legs, and the blue-and-dark-gray-striped shirt clung to his broad shoulders, yet tapered in at his slender waist.
She gripped her purse tightly in her lap, trying to make herself as small as possible so there would be less physical contact between them.
“I’m trying to figure out why Gina didn’t tell me about her plans with Danny and his family,” he said, breaking the silence that had grown uncomfortable between them.
“Maybe she didn’t want you to throw a fit,” Colette replied.
“I don’t throw fits,” he replied defensively.
She eyed him in disbelief. “I’m not some kind of ogre,” he added. “I’m just a concerned big brother who is misunderstood.” His eyes twinkled with a teasing light.
“Misunderstood, my foot,” Colette replied dryly.
Again the silence resumed between them. Colette stared out the passenger window, trying to ignore the electric currents that seemed to pass from his warm muscular thigh to hers.
“You know, I really don’t want to keep Gina from seeking her own future,” he finally said. “I only wish she’d postpone it for a year. I’d like to see her finish college, then I would support her wholeheartedly in whatever she chose to do.” He turned to Colette and smiled. “And that’s the last thing I intend to say on the subject for the remainder of the evening.”
Again an uncomfortable silence sprang up between them. Colette folded and unfolded the strap of her purse, desperately trying to ignore his closeness.
“So, how’d you spend your day off today?” he asked.
“I slept sinfully late, then went to my mother’s place to take care of her neurotic little poodle, since Lillian and her latest boyfriend are out of town.”
“I take it that you don’t like dogs,” he asked.
“I like dogs just fine,” she replied. “But Cuddles is the most yapping, biting, whining dog I’ve ever met.”
A tremendous sense of relief flooded through her as they pulled up outside of the restaurant and got out of the car.
She couldn’t help but be slightly impressed when the mâitre d’ greeted him by name. “Ah, Mr. Rothman, you’re right on time and we have your table waiting for you.”
“You must have greased his palm very well,” Colette murmured as they followed him through the elegant restaurant.
Tanner grinned. As they walked, he placed a hand in the small of her back, and the heat of his touch seemed to radiate through her from head to toe.
The mâitre d’ led them to a small table in the back of the restaurant. With latticework and thick, hanging greenery on three sides, the table was secluded and lit with a single candle in the center.
“It will just be the two of us,” Tanner said as the man pulled out a chair for Colette. The table held three place settings.
“Very well.” The mâitre d’ motioned a bus boy over and he quickly whisked the extra place setting from the table. “Your server will be with you momentarily,” the mâitre d’ said, then scurried away, leaving Tanner and Colette alone.
“Very nice,” Colette said, looking around. She was beginning to relax somewhat, now that she was seated a comfortable distance across the table from Tanner and the scent in her nose was wonderful cooking smells rather than the evocative fragrance of him.
“It is nice, isn’t it,” he agreed.
She smiled. “I’ll bet Foxrun doesn’t have restaurants like this.”
He leaned back in his chair and returned her smile. “True, but the restaurants in Foxrun have their own brand of charm.”
She picked up her water glass and took a sip, trying not to note how the candlelight sparked attractive silvery glints in his deep blue eyes. “And what are the charms of the restaurants in Foxrun?”
“They’re kind of like that bar on the sitcom where everyone knows your name. Every Thursday at Millie’s Family Restaurant, Millie bakes a caramel apple pie because she knows I eat there on Thursdays.”
“And you like caramel apple pies?”
He grinned. “It’s my favorite. My mother used to bake caramel apple pies for me.” His grin faltered and he picked up his napkin and spread it on his lap.
At that moment the waitress appeared at their table. “Can I get you something to drink before I take your orders?” she asked.
“Nothing for me,” Colette said.
“Are you sure? How about a glass of wine?” Tanner asked.
She shook her head. “No, thank you.” She pointed to her water glass. “I’m fine.”
“I’d like a Scotch on the rocks,” he said to the waitress.
Colette was grateful he hadn’t pushed the issue. While she would have loved to enjoy a glass of wine, she was also mindful of the fact that she might at this very moment be pregnant.
The waitress brought Tanner his drink, then they placed their orders and she once again departed from the table. Tanner looked out to the other diners in their view and for a moment Colette drank in his handsome features.
There was little hint of the rancher in him this evening. In his well-fitting dress clothes, he could have been anything. A banker, a businessman, a stockbroker, but one thing was for sure, he wore the self-confidence of a successful man like a mantle around his shoulders.
However, as he gazed out at the other diners in his view, she thought she saw a hint of sadness in his eyes. “This must be a difficult day for you,” she said.
He looked at her and smiled. “In some ways it is,” he agreed. “As I see families celebrating with their mothers, I can’t help but miss mine just a little.”
“Tell me about her,” Colette prompted, suddenly interested to learn about the woman who had raised him.
The softness that tempered his features was overwhelmingly appealing. He took a sip of his Scotch, then set the glass back on the table and turned it between his big hands.
“Her name was Mariah and I thought she was the prettiest woman in the entire world. She always smelled good and she smiled and sang almost all the time. She loved pink roses and had a huge garden of them on the south side of the house. Whenever there was a southern breeze, she’d opened the window and the entire house would smell of the flowers’ scents.”
“Sounds nice.”
“She was nice…and I wasn’t the only one who thought she was beautiful. She was one of the first Miss Dairy Cows.”
“Miss Dairy Cow?” Colette eyed him curiously. “What exactly is a Miss Dairy Cow?”
“Once a year Foxrun holds a big fair, and a young woman is chosen Miss Dairy Cow and represents the county at a variety of functions over the course of the year. Gina was Miss Dairy Cow last year.” Tanner grinned. “I know it sounds pretty corny, but it’s all in good fun.”
“I think it sounds wonderful,” Colette replied. “Did your mother work?”
“She worked hard at being a homemaker,” he replied.
“So she was a traditional kind of woman.” Somehow Colette wasn’t surprised by this information. She would have guessed traditional, conservative parents had raised Tanner.
“Definitely traditional.” He took another sip of his drink and stared down into the amber liquid, as if all his memories of his mother were retained there. “She truly loved taking care of us…cooking favorite meals, decorating the house with fresh flowers and things that transformed it into a home.”
“So she didn’t work outside the home?” Colette asked.
“No.” He smiled, the teasing glint back in his eyes. “Apparently, she was fulfilled as a woman just being a wife and a mother.”
“Ah, so that explains it,” she exclaimed.
One of his dark brows quirked upward. “Explains what?”
“That explains why you hate women who work. I suppose you’re one of those Neanderthals who believe in keeping a wife barefoot and pregnant.”
He leaned forward, and despite the odors of food that filled the air, she could smell his scent, as well. It was that refreshingly clean, slightly spiced fragrance that she found wonderfully appealing.
“Not really, but I am one of those who will believe in practicing frequently to get my wife pregnant.” His voice was smooth and low, and Colette felt it in the pit of her stomach as if she’d just swigged a shot of his Scotch.
He leaned back once again and gazed at her in amusement. “Of course, that is if I ever decide to take a wife,” he added.
This man with his devilishly sexy eyes and deep, hypnotic voice could make an ice cube in the Antarctic melt, Colette thought. At that moment the waitress arrived with their salads and a basket of yeasty rolls.
“Tell me about Lillian,” he said once the waitress had again departed. “You mentioned the other day you thought she would have been happy had you moved out at six years old. What did you mean by that?”
Colette stabbed a cherry tomato with her fork and thought of her mother. “Unlike your mom, Lillian took little pleasure in parenting or creating a home.”
How many times had Colette heard the words, “run along,” “get away,” “don’t hang on me.” “She was either out or busy or sleeping most of the time when I was growing up.” She popped the tomato into her mouth and chewed.
“Did she work outside the home?”
She nodded. “Yes, but never at one place for too long. She always made the mistake of mixing business with pleasure. She’d start dating a co-worker or her boss, then the romance would end and she’d be devastated and have to quit the job.” She moved a piece of purple onion from one side of her salad to the other. “I’ve always felt just a little bit sorry for her,” she continued.
“Why?”
She set her fork down, then looked up and met Tanner’s gaze. “She’s always had a sort of desperation when it came to men. It’s like if she isn’t part of a man’s life, her own life disappears entirely. When she wasn’t dating anyone she’d spend days in bed, too depressed to get up.”
Tanner reached across the table and covered her hand with his. “That must have been tough on you. Kids want to believe that they are the priority in their parents’ lives.”
Not as tough as feeling his warm gaze on her and his slightly callused hand covering hers. She shrugged and pulled her hand from his. “Don’t get me wrong, my childhood wasn’t awful. I wasn’t beaten or abused.”
She picked up her fork once again, uncomfortable by the softness in his eyes. “Enough about me,” she said. “Tell me more about your childhood. What was your father like?”
She didn’t want to think about Lillian any longer, and more than anything she wanted Tanner to stop looking at her in the way that created a ball of warmth in the pit of her stomach.
What If I'm Pregnant...? Page 7