Susan Mallery: Beth and the Bachelor

She took another step back, bumped into the wet bar and came to a stop. ‘‘To be honest, I’m busy that night.’’

This time there was no way to tell himself not to take it personally. She’d been doing fine…right up to her fatal mistake. ‘‘I didn’t suggest a specific night.’’

Beth could feel the heat flaring on her face. Her skin felt like it was on fire. She could only imagine what incredibly bright color of red stained her cheeks. Talk about putting her foot in her mouth. The worst part was she hadn’t meant to be insulting or rude or whatever else Todd was thinking of her. She just couldn’t figure out why he was being so nice. He wasn’t really interested in her, so she was simply trying to give him a polite out. What was that old saying? No Good Deed Goes Unpunished.

None of this made sense. She didn’t know why he’d shown up at her house or why he was asking her out again. Everything she’d told him was the truth. Especially the part about them having nothing in common. Although, if she was honest with herself, she sort of wished they did. Todd looked really great sitting in her kitchen. Just being close to him made her heart act as if she was in the high-intensity portion of a step aerobics class at the gym.

It wasn’t just that he was good-looking, although that was certainly true. It was that she liked being with him. He was a nice guy. She hadn’t spent much time in the company of men in the past eighteen months and she’d missed that. Since Darren had died, Todd was the first single man to actually have a conversation with her.

Speaking of which, she owned him another apology. ‘‘I didn’t mean anything bad by what I said. I don’t understand why you’re asking me out. I wish I did. You’re a great guy and it’s not that I don’t like being with you—I do.’’

‘‘So what’s the problem?’’ he asked.

A reasonable question, to which she had no reasonable answer. If only she didn’t feel so quivery around him. ‘‘While you make me incredibly nervous, I also feel really comfortable around you. I think I can say anything and you’ll understand. Do you know how much trouble that means? As you’ve already noticed, I have a great talent for saying the wrong thing. I would spend all my time apologizing. That would get old.’’

‘‘Not for me,’’ Todd said. ‘‘You are the least boring woman I’ve ever met.’’

She beamed. ‘‘Thank you.’’ While she would have preferred he said she was stunningly beautiful and incredibly sexy, she would settle for least boring, even if the compliment sounded a little too close to ‘‘best of breed’’ at a dog show.

He rose to his feet. He was a couple of inches taller than Darren, maybe six feet or six one. As he moved toward her, the kitchen started shrinking. Her throat tightened. Unfamiliar heat rose in her body and she didn’t know whether to bolt or strip.

‘‘You owe me, Beth,’’ he said when he was a scant foot away from her. ‘‘You ran out on me and now you owe me a date. I’m the kind of man who collects what’s due him, so don’t think you’re going to get out of this one.’’

He was so…demanding and manly. She was embarrassed to find herself shivering, and not in horror. And to think she’d never liked the he-man type. Still, there was something to be said for masterful.

‘‘But I—”

He held up his hand to stop her in midsentence. ‘‘This Saturday night you and I are going out. I won’t take no for an answer.’’

‘‘I can’t,’’ she said. ‘‘I have too much to do.’’

He raised his eyebrows in disbelief. ‘‘Try a different line. That one’s not working.’’

‘‘It’s not a line. I have to plant flowers in the morning, help with concessions at Matt’s baseball game in the middle of the day. At four o’clock is a pool party for several of his friends. By seven in the evening, I’ll be little more than a tired, sweaty puddle. I don’t think you’d be very interested in taking me out then.’’

His gaze narrowed.

‘‘I’m not lying,’’ she insisted, mostly because she wasn’t. Some Saturdays were brutal.

‘‘I’m out of town on Friday,’’ he said, ‘‘So we can’t do it then. It has to be Saturday.’’

It didn’t have to be anything at all, Beth thought, but she found she sort of liked the idea of Todd insisting on taking her out. It was very romantic. ‘‘Tell you what. You come with me for the day. If you can get through all of that and still want to go out to dinner, I’ll put on my best dress, even though you’ve already seen it, and we’ll head out to the restaurant of your choice. But I’m willing to bet money you’ll be too exhausted to think about dates or dinners.’’

‘‘You’re on,’’ he said and held out his hand.

She slipped her palm next to his. His skin was warm and tempting and she found herself sort of leaning toward him. Todd Graham was a very tempting man. It was like being by the tiger exhibit at the zoo. The cats were so beautiful you wanted to be in the cage with them, even though you knew that they would simply see you as lunch. Todd was dangerous. She had no business letting him into her life. Still, it was too late to back out now. And it was only for one day.

He glanced at his watch. ‘‘I need to get back to my office,’’ he said.

She led him to the front door.

‘‘Saturday,’’ he told her. ‘‘What time should I be here?’’

‘‘Eight in the morning.’’

‘‘Fine.’’

He stared at her. His gaze dipped to her mouth and she had the sudden thought he was going to kiss her. She held in the squeak that formed at the back of her throat, thought about praying but didn’t know what to pray for, so she settled on waiting. When he opened the front door and stalked out without saying a word, she didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed. The only thing she knew for sure was that Saturday was going to be one interesting day.

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