she told herself. “Okay, we can start tomorrow. We can meet at McClain’s Home Furnishings at one.”
“Great. Now, have we finished all our business for today?”
They had spent more than an hour discussing her drawings, samples and catalogs prior to coming upstairs to his bedroom to make a few final decisions. Unlike the last time they’d tried to consult, Mark had been fully engaged, asking lots of questions, vetoing a few ideas he didn’t like at all, making some suggestions and enthusiastically welcoming hers.
“Yes, we’ve done pretty much all we can for today. The painters should be able to start by Wednesday, and in the meantime, we can shop. You’ll have to order much of your furniture, so it will be a few weeks before it all comes in.”
Mark wasn’t the type who wanted to furnish his house at leisure, spending a long time shopping for just the right pieces for each room. He’d already informed her that he wanted the place completely furnished and decorated within a month, if possible, so that he would have a fully livable home in which to start his new medical partnership. She would almost call his behavior “nesting.” Which her friend Kristy, a former psychology student, would be sure to interpret as a readiness to settle down, start a family, move into the next phase of his life.
She swallowed hard, and told herself it would be wiser not to pursue that line of thought much further.
She had told him before, of course, that decorating was not an overnight process, but he always seemed to hope she had overstated the time frame. “That long?”
“A few weeks is actually pretty quick for an entire house. Had you wanted any carpentry work or other major renovations, you’d have been looking at a minimum of three months.”
“Then it’s just as well I like the house as it is, isn’t it? I can’t think of anything I’d change other than the wall colors, which we’ve chosen.”
“Yes, you were fortunate to have these beautiful wood floors. And the stone floor in the kitchen is exactly what I would have chosen for you, myself.”
He nodded. “So, now that you’re off the clock, so to speak, how about having dinner with me this evening? Not to talk about decorating.”
“I would love to,” she replied, “but I can’t. I have to go to my mother’s for dinner tonight.”
He managed to look both disappointed and amused. “You sound so eager.”
She wrinkled her nose in response to his ironic tone. “I know. I wish I could be more enthusiastic about it. I love my family, I really do—but when my mother and my sister start in on one another, as they undoubtedly will tonight, I want to lock them in separate rooms.”
“Still feuding, huh?”
“Pretty much. Dani’s seeing someone Mother doesn’t approve of, and—” She suddenly stopped and shook her head, wondering what she was doing. She never talked about her personal life to her clients. Not that Mark was strictly a client, but still. “You wouldn’t be interested.”
“I’m interested in everything about you,” he replied simply. “And, after all, you’re learning all about my, er, family.”
She’d even had dinner with a couple of them. And that thought sparked an idea. Something about turnabout being fair play. “Why don’t you join us this evening?”
His eyebrows rose in surprise. “You’re inviting me to dinner with your family?”
She gave herself a moment to reconsider. Taking him to dinner could cause problems in itself. And yet, her family was much less likely to bicker when they had company at the table. For one thing, they would be too interested in grilling him about everything from his family history to his intentions toward Rachel.
But she had already blurted out an invitation, and she wouldn’t take it back now. “Yes, but feel free to beg off. I mean, I can understand if you’d rather not—”
“I’d love to.”
“Um—you would?”
“Absolutely. I’d enjoy meeting them.”
“I warn you, they can be a little nosy. So, be prepared. They’ll probably want to know all about you. There’s no need for you to tell them about your family history right now. I’m sure you would rather not talk about that with strangers.”
“I don’t even like to think about it myself, yet,” he admitted, confirming her earlier speculations. “But I’m pretty good at politely evading interrogations when I want to. My geriatric patients don’t even blink before asking the most personal questions you can imagine.”
She chuckled. “I can imagine. My grandmother used to grill all my boyfriends mercilessly. One of them told me it was like being in a confessional with his priest. Another likened it to being interrogated by a homicide detective.”
“Guess I’m lucky I missed that.”
She grinned. “What makes you think that? Grandma is still very much alive, and she’ll be at dinner tonight.”
He laughed, and she loved the sound. It was nice to know that she’d taken his mind off his own family problems for a little while. “So, how are you going to introduce me?”
“I’ll just refer to you as a new client,” she promised.
“Are you in the habit of bringing clients home to dinner?”
“No. You’ll be the first, actually.”
She wasn’t sure when he had moved closer. She didn’t remember seeing him take any steps. “That makes me feel very special,” he murmured.
Something about his smile made a delicious shiver run down her spine. “I would tell you that you are, but that might give you a big head.”
He lifted a hand to run his fingertips along her jawline. “I think you’re pretty special, too.”
Suddenly very much aware that they were standing in his bedroom, she cleared her throat. “Why don’t I pick you up this time? Around six-thirty?”
“Sounds good,” he murmured. “And while we’re still on personal time…”
He lowered his head to press his mouth to hers.
“The hydrangeas really are beautiful, aren’t they?” Aislinn mused, gazing at a rather spectacular display of bright purple blooms. “I love it here in the shade garden. It’s so much cooler under these big trees.”
“Yeah. It’s nice.”
She looked up at Ethan with a chiding expression. “You’re drifting again. You aren’t even seeing these beautiful flowers.”
He gave a shrug that was only partially apologetic. “I didn’t come to Atlanta to visit the botanical gardens.”
“I know. But you knew I wanted to see them. The same reason you spent two hours in the High Museum of Art before we came here.”
His expression
