them to go.”
Dead silence met this statement. Had love completely blinded and addled Chris? Ryan had to think so. If anything, Emmaline looked even more upset.
“You, more than anyone, know that the Texas Lights has been losing money, honey,” Gilbert said. “We have to do something, and I think this renovation is just the ticket.”
Emmaline nodded slowly. Obviously she and her uncle had discussed this before. “I know. Closing the hotel last week so we could do this renovation was necessary, but I just don’t want her character to be destroyed in the process. She’s a truly lovely hotel. She’s special,” Emmaline said, and this time she gave Ryan a defiant glance. Obviously she didn’t trust him one inch.
He felt a niggling sense of disappointment. It wasn’t that every woman in the world fell in love with him. It was just that very few disliked him on sight. The fact that Emma appeared to have done so rankled. That they had touched somewhat intimately, and now she wanted nothing to do with him brought forth some primitive male instinct to battle to win her. He ordered himself to ignore that warrior reflex, to remember that he was a man who could only hurt a woman like this if he allowed himself to pursue her for a while, but it wasn’t easy.
She was biting her lip, her small white teeth pressing against the pink flesh. He suppressed the urge to reach out and touch the softness of her mouth.
“We’ll have to talk,” he said, working hard to keep the dare out of his voice.
Gilbert smiled at that. “Yes, you two do that. Emmaline, you need to tell Ryan about anything that’s bothering you.”
Ryan fought to keep from thinking of her lips. If he had to discuss everything about Emmaline Carstairs that was bothering him, the aftermath of that accidental kiss would come first and the hotel would rank a distant second.
Which was totally wrong. He had come here only to work, but the fact that Emmaline was his guide was getting in the way.
“I’ll look forward to dinner then,” Ryan told her.
“I will, too,” she said politely, but there was a hint of fire in her eyes, and Ryan would swear what she was looking forward to was skewering him with a dinner fork.
Well, at least this job wasn’t going to be dull….
Chapter Two
When Emmaline entered the dining room later that evening, she was dismayed to see that Holly had seated her next to Ryan.
“As Dad mentioned, you two have so much to talk about, I thought that this would be best,” Holly said.
So what was she supposed to say? She couldn’t object on the grounds that the man had kissed her and set her body on fire. Still, Emmaline opened her mouth to make some excuse only to find that Holly had drifted over to give Chris a kiss.
And Ryan, imposing and tall in a black suit with a crisp white shirt, had appeared with Gilbert. He gave Emma a quizzical look when he saw that they were to be seated together. Was that a challenge?
She raised her chin and started to pull her chair out, but he was there before her. Ryan lightly touched her hand, making her pull back as he did the honors for her. She had nearly gasped at the brief contact and now his warmth at her back made breathing somehow, inexplicably difficult. Amazing how a man she didn’t want to like could have such an effect on her. Disturbing, too.
What had Uncle Gilbert told her about him? That he was an expert with computers, that he had once been a soldier.
Emmaline sat, smoothing her skirt down over her knees. The move didn’t take nearly enough of her attention, but she still managed to look reasonably unaffected when Ryan took his place next to her. At least she hoped she did.
Ryan chuckled. “You can relax, Emmaline. I promise I don’t attack my dinner partners,” he said, leaning closer. “And Chris tells me that my table manners are almost always passable.”
Despite herself, Emmaline fought hard to keep from smiling. “Ah, so I won’t have to worry too much about you eating peas off the blade of your knife?”
“You were worried about that?” He gave her a mock-wounded look, and she was ashamed to admit that she couldn’t help noticing how sexy those blue eyes looked in his tanned face.
“I’m sure you know how to handle your cutlery. I just…I’m a little concerned about this project.” There. Let him think her concern was for the hotel.
He studied her, and she fought to keep from squirming. “Let me be frank, Emmaline,” he said in a voice so low that it couldn’t have carried to anyone’s ears but her own. “I think you’re bothered about more than the hotel. Excuse me, but is it…it’s not because of what happened that day, is it?”
Emmaline sucked in a breath. “I…that couldn’t be, because nothing out of the ordinary happened.”
He raised a brow as if he wanted to disagree, but then he nodded. “All right. So why are you worried about the project?”
Emma was grateful that Ryan had let her off the hook so easily. “You’re bringing technology to the hotel,” she said softly. “It’s necessary and yet there’s a risk. I’m afraid we won’t agree on anything. You’re technology. I’m antiques. We’re too different.”
“Not completely,” he said, his voice rough. “Holly tells me your career will always be your life, so we do have something in common. Neither of us wants marriage and a family.”
His seductive voice invited her to drop her defenses. Was this how he convinced clients to make troublesome decisions?
“I want a family,” she suddenly said, her voice low. “Just not a husband. I definitely want children.” Why had she said that? It wasn’t the kind of thing she shared with strangers.
But Emma knew. She had told him because of what he had just confided. He didn’t want children. It was a barrier. Letting him know that they were as different as two people could be would keep him at a distance, would keep her from wanting him to touch her. It would make working together almost bearable.
He studied her, then gave a curt nod. “All right then. We agree on one thing. And if we work together, we’ll turn The Texas Lights into Avon Lake’s dream hotel. We’ll find common ground, Emmaline.”
His quiet voice was deep. It made her skin hum the same way his technology was supposed to make the hotel hum. She tried not to think about that.
“All right,” she managed to say. “I’m committed to making sure that The Texas Lights survives.”
“Then we’ll be fine, Emmaline.” Her name rolled off his tongue in a way that made her understand what a woman might see in him besides his rugged build, that silky hair and seductive eyes. “Since you’re the expert on the hotel, tell me what it is that draws you to The Texas Lights.”
He raised his voice on the last line, catching the attention of the rest of the group as, Emmaline suspected, he had intended. And even though he was putting her on the spot, she was grateful for this attempt to make the conversation more general and inclusive. Restricting her comments to Ryan seemed too intimate. He probably
