Teresa Southwick - McFarlane's Perfect Bride / Taming the Montana Millionaire - McFarlane's Perfect Bride

“Well, when you put it that way …” His eyes were soft again. Was that admiration she saw in them? Maybe so, because then he said, “I like the way you dress. In bright colors. Kind of … fun.” The way he said fun made her absolutely certain that there hadn’t been a lot of that in his life.

“I like things bright,” she said. “And cheerful.”

“And optimistic.”

“Yep. That, too.” She wondered about his ex-wife, about what had happened between them that it didn’t work out.

But no way was she asking about the ex on a first date. She’d been out with enough men to know the red flags, and a guy talking too much about his ex when a woman hardly knew him was definitely a bad sign. Usually that meant he wasn’t over the other woman yet.

He said, “You’re looking much too thoughtful.”

“Just considering the various conversational booby traps.”

“Such as?”

“If I told you, you’d probably only wish I hadn’t— and if you didn’t wish I hadn’t, that would be a total red flag.”

“I think I’m confused.”

“I think I’ve been on too many first dates.”

He laughed. “What? Things never work out for you romantically? I have a hard time believing that.”

“Was that compliment?”

“Only the truth as I see it.”

She felt absurdly flattered. And her cheeks were warm. And she could sit there forever, looking across the table into Connor McFarlane’s sexy, dark eyes, letting the sound of his deep, warm voice pour over her. She said, “It’s not that things don’t work out for me. It’s just, I rarely say no to a first date. So I go on quite a few.”

“And second dates?”

“I look at it this way. A first date is one thing. But why say yes to a second when the spark isn’t there?”

His gaze remained locked with hers. “I completely agree.”

The waiter came and whisked away their plates. He offered dessert. They both passed, but he had coffee and she took hot tea.

Connor said, “So tell me about Jerilyn. What’s her background?”

Something in the way he said that, What’s her background? had Tori snapping to wary attention. “Jerilyn’s a terrific person. Brilliant. Loving. Thoughtful. A straight-A student.”

He sipped his coffee. “You sound defensive.”

“And you sound like a snob trying to find out if Jerilyn’s background measures up.”

“Tori.” His voice was gentle, understanding, even. “She seems like a fine girl.”

“She is a fine girl.”

“And yes, I was wondering about her background.”

She poured Earl Grey from the small china teapot into an eggshell-thin cup. “Similar to mine, actually. Her mom died a year ago and her father’s having trouble coping.”

“What does her father do?”

She looked into his eyes again. And she did not smile. “Butch Doolin is the maintenance engineer at the high school.”

“The janitor, you mean.”

“It’s honest work, Connor.”

“Did I say it wasn’t?”

Instead of answering him, she sipped her tea. When she gently set the cup back in the saucer, she said, “CJ likes Jerilyn, a lot.”

“I noticed.”

“And she likes him.”

“He’s too young for a girlfriend.” His voice was gruff.

She argued, “He’s old enough to be interested in a girl—in Jerilyn, specifically—which means he’s not too young.”

“I just don’t want him getting into anything serious. Not at his age.”

“And especially not with a janitor’s daughter.” She didn’t even try to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

He sat very still, watching her face. Finally he said, “You’re angry.”

“Yes. I just saw a side of you I don’t like. The elitist side.”

“A person’s background does matter.” His voice was coaxing and kind. She wished she could agree with him, because she really did like him, was seriously attracted to him.

Talk about sparks …

But she couldn’t pretend to agree when she didn’t. “Background matters up to a point, yes. I wish it didn’t, but I’m at least something of a realist. However, what matters most is who that person is. And Jerilyn Doolin is everything I just said she was and more. She’s a special girl. It says a lot about your son that he would show the good taste and judgment to have his first big crush on someone like her.”

He sat back in his chair and put up both hands. “Okay. I give up. You’ve convinced me. Jerilyn Doolin is a wonderful girl. CJ is lucky she’s interested in him.”

Most of her defensive tension drained away. She hid a triumphant smile. “About time you realized that.”

“Maybe so.” He still looked doubtful.

“But?”

“I’m just not happy about it. CJ can’t afford the distraction.”

“Distraction? Boys have been falling for girls since the beginning of time. That’s not going to change just because you’re not happy about it.”

“The last thing CJ needs right now is to get too involved with a girl—any girl.”

“Connor, he likes her. She likes him. You can’t make that go away. In fact, in my experience, which is reasonably extensive given that I work with teenagers for a living, the more the parents try to come between a young couple, the more the attraction grows.” Tori spoke with intensity. With passion, even.

He was staring at her, frowning.

Was she becoming a little too emotional over this? Maybe. But she really believed what she was saying and she wanted to get through to the hardheaded man across from her, to get him to understand. She feared if he didn’t, he would only be making things worse for CJ.

“Romeo and Juliet,” she declared vehemently. “Wuthering Heights, Titanic. Think of all the books and plays and movies about passionate, thwarted young love. It only leads to heartbreak when the grown-ups decide to interfere.”

He leaned toward her again. “So, Tori.”

“What?” she demanded hotly.

“Tell me what you really think.”

She blinked. And then she laughed. He laughed, too. “Okay,” she admitted. “I try to be open-minded, but when I really believe something, I advocate for it, you know?”

“Nothing wrong with that.”

She qualified wryly, “Up to a point, you mean.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. He was watching her mouth again. “Up to a point.” The words trailed off. A few seconds of silence elapsed—a silence filled with sparks. Finally, he confessed, “Sometimes I’m at a loss, you know? I have no idea how to get through to my own son.”

“Are you asking for my advice?”

“Yeah. I guess I am.”

“Okay, then. Here’s what I think you should do. Take Russ up on his offer to put CJ to work at the Hopping H. And then tell CJ to invite Jerilyn over to your house.”

“Over to the house for what?”

“To visit, to hang out. You know, play video games or watch a movie. Make your son feel that his new friends are welcome at home. Let him know that you’re on his side. Start changing the equation from you versus him to you supporting him and really taking into account what he wants and needs.”

“Seems to me I already support him.”

She let her exasperation show. “You mean by buying him every electronic gadget under the sun and then being frustrated because all he does is play video games?”

“What?” Rueful humor shone in his eyes. “I should take away his Xbox?”

“I can’t answer that question. You might just widen the rift at this point by denying him something you gave him in the first place.”

“Actually, I think that was Jennifer—my ex-wife—who gave him the Xbox.”

“Ah. Blaming the ex, huh?”