Phyllis Halldorson - A Man Worth Marrying

Outside, he led her to a bright red Jaguar and helped her in.

“What a beautiful car!” she exclaimed. “It looks new.”

He beamed as he climbed in behind the steering wheel. “It is. It’s my one extravagance.”

“What a joy it must be to drive,” she said. “My poor old buggy is ten years old and badly in need of a paint job—but I’m not complaining, it runs well.”

He glanced at her as he started the engine and pulled away from the curb. “You’re going to have to convince me that you’ve been driving for ten years. You don’t look old enough.”

She smiled. Even when using a cliché, he sounded sincere. “Ten years ago, I wasn’t even old enough to get my learner’s permit. Dad and Mom gave me the car secondhand when I graduated from City College. I had enrolled at the University at Brookings to get my BA, and needed something to get around in.”

She thought she saw him wince. “I feel like I’m robbing the cradle. I’m thirty-six,” he admitted.

She couldn’t help but laugh. “Lighten up, grandpa,” she teased. “It’s not as if you were taking me out to propose marriage. This is just a business dinner, remember?”

“I’ll try my best not to forget,” he muttered so low that she wasn’t sure she’d heard right.

The restaurant Gray had chosen was the newest and the nicest one in town. The walls were paneled in wood, the lights were dim, and the diners were seated in secluded booths with shimmering votive candles in stained glass holders on the tables.

“Oh, it’s lovely,” Eve breathed as the hostess seated them and handed them each a large menu.

“You haven’t been here before?” Gray asked.

“No, I haven’t,” she admitted. “I’m afraid it’s out of my price range, but I read the food critic’s review when it opened.”

“The menu is pretty much all American, but their chef is a master at cooking it.” He opened his menu. “They’re already known for their prime rib, and with good reason. I highly recommend it, but don’t hesitate to order anything that appeals to you.”

The cocktail waitress came, and Eve asked for white wine; Gray ordered Scotch on the rocks. When the woman had gone, he closed his menu and laid it aside. “So, are you glad there’s only one more week of school?”

She looked over the top of her menu. “I’m positively ecstatic,” she said with a sigh.

Before Gray could answer the cocktail waitress returned with their drinks, and almost immediately after that their server came to take their order. Eve followed Gray’s lead and asked for the prime rib, but the petite cut.

When they’d settled on the choice of side dishes and soups, the server left, and Eve took a sip of her wine. It was good, and she sighed and leaned back against the thick brown leather upholstery of the booth. “Now, what was it you wanted to talk to me about? You did say Tinker has agreed to be tutored, didn’t you?”

He grinned. “Yes, I did, and I don’t think Bambi will give me any more trouble about it. She’s not malicious. I’ve also talked with Tinker, explained just what would be expected of her by a tutor and how much easier school will be for her once she’s caught up with the rest of her class. I let her make the decision, and she decided she wants to do it after all.”

Eve breathed a sigh of relief. She was glad Tinker was no longer afraid of her. Whether deliberately or not, Bambi had frightened the child with a variation on the “wicked witch” theme.

Eve was beginning to wonder about this woman. What kind of mother would frighten her own daughter into not wanting to go to school?

Eve knew the answer. It was the same type who frightened her children into behaving by threatening them with the police. Eve had met parents like her before, but she hadn’t expected to find one in a family like the Flints.

She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she jumped when Gray spoke again. “Eve? What’s the matter? You haven’t ruled out tutoring Tinker altogether, have you? I’m sorry she made such a bad impression when you met her but—”

“She didn’t make a bad impression,” Eve hurried to assure Gray. “I liked her, and I agree she needs help. I even think I can provide that help if you still want me to, but I sort of got the idea when I came to your house the other day that you weren’t quite as eager for me to take on the job as you had been the day before.”

They were sitting across the table from each other, and Gray shifted nervously. If the light hadn’t been so dim, she would have thought his face flushed, but that was unlikely. Men his age didn’t blush.

“I’m going to be truthful with you, Eve,” he said quietly. “You’re right, I was having second thoughts. But not for any reason you might think.”

She felt the glow that had permeated her since his call this afternoon flicker and die. If he no longer wanted her to instruct his child, then why had he phoned and indicated he did? Was he prepared to hire her only because Tinker had asked for her? That thought was a real letdown. Not only was it upsetting to her, but it was also impossible. She had to have the enthusiastic approval of all three members of the family; otherwise, it would just confuse the child.

To say nothing of what it was doing to her!

She felt Gray’s hand cover hers where it lay on the table, and his voice was husky when he spoke. “Please, don’t misunderstand. Just hear me out.”

She was too stunned to speak, but he continued. “I don’t know how to say this without taking the risk that you’ll think I’m crossing the line between parent and teacher.”

She blinked with surprise, but he didn’t give her a chance to say anything. “I’m attracted to you, Eve. When I walked into your school last week, it was with the intention of offering an anonymous Ms. Evangeline Costopolous a summer job tutoring my young daughter. But I wasn’t prepared for the fascination, the...the pull I felt as I talked to you. When I walked out, I knew I was hooked. And I wasn’t happy about it.”

Then he’d felt it, too! The excitement between them wasn’t just on her side.

Eve opened her mouth, but still no words came out. He removed his hand from hers and gestured with it. “As you know, I’ve been married and have a daughter. It was never a happy marriage, and it got worse as it went along. The only thing we had going for us was infatuation, and when that wore off there was nothing else to bond us. If it hadn’t been for Tinker, we could each have gone our separate ways once we divorced, but our daughter is the glue that binds us now. Now I’m trying to deal with a divorce and child custody. The whole thing has been something of a nightmare, and I learned my lesson. I’m not looking to get seriously involved with a woman again.”

Now Eve was totally confused. “I’m flattered,” she said, and felt the radiance returning. “But what does all this have to do with whether or not I tutor Tinker?”

He leaned forward. “Not a thing. Just put it out of your mind. For a while I thought it might not be a good idea to work closely with you, knowing there was this attraction for you on my part. But that’s absurd. After all, you’re a beautiful and charming woman. You no doubt have a lot of admirers.”

Eve didn’t know how to reply to that. Did he want her to be his daughter’s tutor—or his lover? Both? Or neither? Heaven knows, she was attracted to him, too. And she wasn’t any more eager to get involved with him than he was with her. Whatever he had in mind, he was making it clear that it wasn’t wedding bells. And she wouldn’t accept anything less from any man.

She almost chortled. What was the matter with her? They hadn’t even known each other a week yet, and already she was thinking about a proposal of marriage!