him hard. This wasn’t the way any of it was supposed to go, he thought.
He was supposed to be feeling triumphant and smug and she was supposed to be swooning in his arms. Instead, she was staring at him as though she couldn’t decide whether she wanted to slap him or run a dagger through him.
“If that was a sample of your charms, then I’d advise you to save them for some unsuspecting woman. And that isn’t me.”
She stepped around him and Rafe had little choice but to follow her. Once they were inside, he quickly settled the bill and in a matter of a few short minutes the two of them were in his truck, traveling back to Carson City.
During the whole process, Lilly said very little and for once, Rafe couldn’t come up with anything useful to say. How could he? He’d never dated a woman like Lilly. His usual glibness wouldn’t have the same effect on her.
Maybe you should try open honesty, Rafe. That would be a refreshing change.
The voice in his head had him scowling as he stared at the dark highway in front of him. Being honest with a woman would get him into far more trouble than an unwanted kiss.
“I don’t know why you’re frowning, Rafe. Up until that kiss, I had a lovely evening.”
That jerked his head around and for a split second, he forgot about keeping his eyes on the highway. “Just exactly what was wrong with that kiss?”
“As far as kisses go, it was very pleasant. But I didn’t ask for it. That’s what was wrong.”
Rafe wasn’t accustomed to asking for anything. Whatever he wanted, he took. Clearly, that wasn’t going to work with Lilly.
“I’m sorry,” he said in a mollified tone. “Can you forgive me?”
“Of course I can. I already have.”
It was downright silly at how much her words perked his spirits.
“You can—you have?”
“Why wouldn’t I? I don’t hold grudges. Besides, since I have no intention of kissing you again, none of this really matters. So I apologize for getting a little testy with you.”
“Oh, Lilly, that’s—” Totally confused by her attitude, he glanced over to see she was staring out the passenger window instead of at him. That wasn’t a good sign. “Why aren’t you going to kiss me again?”
She sighed. “Look, Rafe, I agreed to this date because I knew you wouldn’t give up on a challenge. I figured once we’d gone out you’d see we wouldn’t suit and you’d be on to the next girl. I thought that would make everything easier, because you’re just not my kind of guy.”
He couldn’t remember any woman ever telling him that. But instead of making him feel angry or humiliated, he was more perplexed than anything.
“What is your kind of guy, Lilly? One who spends his evenings at home quietly reading the newspaper and saying yes, dear or no, dear?”
Long moments passed before she finally answered, “Could be that’s exactly what I’m looking for.”
He muttered a curse under his breath. “Sure. This from a woman who chose to give up therapy to work in the E.R. Yeah, you want a dull man, all right.”
“Don’t try to figure out what I want, Rafe. You might hurt yourself.”
She was right about that. He needed to give her a quick goodbye and never even glance in the rearview mirror. She was the kind of woman who could cause a man a deep-down hurt and he hardly needed more pain in his life.
Rafe was still telling himself that when ten minutes later, he parked the truck in front of Lilly’s house and helped her to the ground. But the touch of her hand upon his arm as he walked her to the door made it very difficult to concentrate on the mental warning.
When they reached the porch, she said, “I did offer you a drink before we left this evening. The offer still holds if you’d like a coffee. Just as a thank-you for the nice meal. Nothing else.”
Normally, he would have jumped at the chance to spend more time with this woman. Especially since she was being nice enough to invite him into her home. But to be honest with himself, he was feeling a little more than rattled. Some of the things she’d said had left him bruised and raw.
“Thanks, but I’ll take a rain check. You have to be up early and I’ve got a long day ahead of me tomorrow.”
She smiled at him and for one split second, Rafe wondered if he’d lost his mind.
She raised up on tiptoes and placed a kiss against his cheek. “Thank you for the dinner and the dancing. It was very nice.”
“My pleasure, Lilly.” He pressed her hand between his. “Good night.”
“Good night, Rafe.”
He turned and quickly walked to his truck, but as he drove away he couldn’t stop himself from looking back. And as he watched her step into the house and close the door behind her, he felt an inexplicable loss. One that he’d never expected to be feeling after a date with a beautiful woman.
* * *
The next morning when Lilly arrived at the Silver Horn to treat Bart, she didn’t see Rafe anywhere around the ranch yard. And more than an hour later, when she drove away, there was no Wild West show of him and Roscoe running her down and stopping her on the road.
She told herself she was glad that she’d not had to encounter the man, especially after that kiss last night. But if she was being honest with herself, she felt a little deflated that, at the very least, he’d not been around to say hello.
And why should he want to waste his time just to say hello to you, Lilly? You were rough on him last night. Unreasonably so. The man isn’t Grant Winters. You shouldn’t be treating him like the man who broke your heart.
The voice in her head haunted her all the way back to Carson City and by the time she’d put in four hours of work in the emergency room she was still thinking about Rafe and the night before.
When things finally slowed enough for her to take her first break, she went to the snack room and pulled out her cell phone. She didn’t have Rafe’s personal number, but she had Bart’s. The elder Calhoun would no doubt pass his grandson’s number on to her. Even though Rafe had irked her with his trite advances, she should’ve reacted with more ladylike, respectable manners.
Bart answered after the second ring and after she quickly identified herself, he said, “Lilly, you don’t have to check up on me. I’m exercising my hand right this minute.”
“I’m not checking up, Bart. I trust you completely. I’m calling to ask a favor. Could you possibly give me Rafe’s cell-phone number?”
Even though the man couldn’t see her, she could feel a blush wash over her face. Silly, silly Lilly, she scolded herself.
“Sure can. Just give me a minute to find the little book where I keep all my names and numbers.”
Several moments passed while she could hear papers
