“You mean total chaos.” He gave her a pointed look. “You would hate it.”
She squirmed, feeling like an uptight, hard-hearted person. “Big families sound exotic to me—and complicated.”
“That they are,” he agreed. “Did your father ever remarry?”
She gave a little laugh. “No. I guess my mother wasthe only woman who could put up with him.” She glanced away, mortified at the tears that gathered in her eyes.
“Hey,” he said softly, turning her toward him and studying her face. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Feeling foolish, she blinked away the moisture. “You didn’t. I’m sorry, I must be more tired than I thought.”
“You must miss your mother,” he murmured, stroking her cheek.
Surprised by his tenderness, she nodded. “Every day.” Then she straightened and wiped the corners of her eyes. “So…show me the changes on the plans.”
Instead, he reached for her hand and slowly pulled her against him. “We were interrupted today.”
“Rightly so,” she said, hating how prim her voice sounded and how hard her heart pounded.
“I kind of got the feeling that you liked it,” he said, a lazy smile crawling across his mouth.
Heat infused her body as she remembered the kiss. “Like I said, you caught me off guard.”
“Would you prefer that a man tell you when he’s going to kiss you?”
A hum of desire sang low in her stomach. She swallowed hard. “A gentleman would ask.”
His eyes darkened with desire as his mouth closed in on hers. “In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m no gentleman.”
