misread his interest earlier?
She tucked a strand of hair back toward her clip while the waitress cleared their plates and Adam reached over to capture her hand in his.
“Isn’t this cozy?” Sue-Ellen Hanshaw asked as she approached their table.
Grace jerked her hand from Adam’s and tried to remind herself that they weren’t doing anything untoward. “Adam was giving me some input into the presentation I made earlier.”
“I’m sure he was.”
“Can we help you with something?” Adam asked.
“I hope you can help get our school back on track,” she said. “My son has a year and half left at Tremmel-Bowen and I’d hate to have to pull him out before he can graduate.”
“We all want to avoid that situation,” Grace said. “I’d love to talk to you and get your input.”
“Adam, will you be helping Grace?”
“Not that Grace needs my help, but yes, I’m going to be an active part of the school community until the end of the year.”
“I’ll be happy to serve on a committee with both of you.”
Grace had absolutely no idea how this had happened. She didn’t work well in groups. There was no way she wanted both Adam and Sue-Ellen in her office on a regular basis.
“We can work out the details of our committee after the board meets this afternoon,” Adam replied.
“I’ll look forward to it,” Sue-Ellen said and walked away.
Grace glared after her, hating the fact that Sue-Ellen had bullied her way onto a committee that Grace wasn’t even sure she wanted to be a part of. If she was on a committee with Sue-Ellen, she’d have a hard time holding her tongue and being the nice little headmistress she was supposed to be. Of all the parents she dealt with, Sue-Ellen was the one who pushed her buttons.
Sue-Ellen glanced back over her shoulder with a smug half-smile. Grace had the feeling Sue-Ellen knew exactly what she did to her.
“Will you do something for me?” Adam asked.
“In return for your help at the school?” She didn’t want to say no since he was doing her a huge favor but she’d learned a long time ago not to agree to something without hearing all the details first.
“No. I’m going to help you without you being in my debt.”
He seemed a little offended that she’d thought she’d have to pay him for being nice to her. But he was a savvy businessman, and she knew he didn’t just donate his time to help anyone out. Even the school that was his family’s legacy.
“Then why?”
“Curiosity,” he said.
“What do you want me to do?” she asked after a few seconds.
“Have dinner with me,” he said.
Dinner with Adam Bowen…oh, my God. She wanted to say yes. She wanted to run and hide at the same time. Her resolution to change herself and not wait for her life to change around her was still so new that she had a moment’s thought that she’d just forget about it and sink back into her old life. After all, it was Monday night and she didn’t have TiVo. She’d miss her favorite television show.
This was it, she thought, glancing up at him.
“You’re staring at me,” he said.
She blinked and realized she had been. Just looking at that perfectly formed mouth. Wondering for the millionth time what it would feel like pressed to hers. “Am I?”
He quirked one eyebrow at her. She fought to keep her expression serene. To somehow keep him from guessing that he had any effect on her. But she knew that he was used to being around much more sophisticated women and a small-town girl from west Texas was going to be no match for him.
“Yes, you are,” he said.
“You’re a very attractive man.”
“I can’t believe you’re just noticing,” he said.
Startled she had to laugh. “You aren’t going to deny it?”
“Women seem to find the arrangement of my features pleasing.”
She shook her head. An innate charm imbued everything he did and said. She wondered if it stemmed from his childhood. She knew he was the pampered son of older parents. And her own childhood had been very different. Was that the key to adult success?
“I wish I had your confidence,” she said before she could stop the words. She’d gone to school this morning knowing she was going to have to fight to keep her career going, never imagining that she’d find herself in a different relationship with a man she’d fantasized about for a long time.
“Have dinner with me and I’ll teach you how to get it.”
She nodded, unable to say more. This was a fantasy come true. So why did she feel as if she were about to start something more potentially scandalous than the mess she was already in?
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