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She didn't want to

Besides, he'd said he had feelings for her and for a guy like Sebastian, so proud and self-contained, that was a huge admission

She took extra care with herit until it was like dark liquid silk and then pulling it into a classic French twist that added to the sophistication of her outfit

As she stood outside the drawing roo what a fool she'd felt ear­lier dressing up for hi hi this way had been a ht now, before he saw her

He looked at her as she tensed, ready to leave, and there was nothe blatant male appreciation in his eyes Her fears melted under the heat of his appraisal Heas if led by an invisible string

When she reached him, he leaned down and kissed both her cheeks, his hands warm on her bare shoul­ders "You look beautiful"

"Thank you"

He looked pretty darn gorgeous himself in a dark suit, tailored to fit hishe rarely did to dinner at home with the family and she realized he'd dressed up for her as well

She smiled

He got her a drink and then Eugenie called the, their dis­cussion surprisingly easy and diverse

"So, why do you work as an accountant?"

"Why not be an accountant?" she quipped, sipping fro more relaxed with him than she ever had

"You used to paint"

"I still do"

"So, why not work in a job that calls on your cre­ativity?' '

"I likeand the environment is peaceful"

"Would not an artist's studio be just as peaceful?"

"I'ood Besides, it's al as an artist" And she'd realized early on that she needed a steady source of inco to make a life different and separate from her mother's

"Matthias would have supported you"

She physically shuddered at the thought The cost would have beenwith Andrea "I didn't want to be supported I wanted to make my oay"

"That is coet

"Thank you I really do like h Numbers are reliable and they don't throw temper tantrums"

"Do you?"

"There's only room for one drama queen in a fam­ily Andrea was ours I'm pretty even tempered"

He looked at her, as if assessing things about her she did not even know about herself "I wonder"

"Have you ever seen me have a fit?" she de­manded, a little irritated he would question her as­sessment of herself

Their argument earlier did not count It had been mutual, not a diva temper tantrum and she had been blatantly provoked

"No, but I had never seen you react with passion before the other night on the beach either"

"It's not the same"

He shrugged as if the subject did not matter to him "Perhaps not"

But a little later, the conversation came back to her job