Marriage Terms by Barbara Dunlop

Author:Barbara Dunlop
Language: por
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

Daniel had been on a hundred dates, maybe a thousand. He knew impressions mattered. And he knew enough to focus on the details. First thing he needed here was a skilled calligrapher and a single white rose.

There was a little print shop down on Washington Square that would do an elegant invitation and do it quickly. He could have the driver drop it all off at Amanda’s later this afternoon.

He rocked back in his chair and buzzed Nancy.

Two hours later, he had his answer.

In an e-mail from Amanda.

An e-mail of all things.

He’d gone for style and elegance, and she’d chosen expediency.

He double clicked her name.

No, thanks, the message said. Could she have been any more terse and impersonal?

This gave him nothing. No explanation. No room to reschedule. Nothing.

No thanks? He didn’t think so. He hadn’t brought Snap magazine this far by taking “no thanks” for an answer.

He hit the buzzer. “Nancy?”

“Yes?”

“Get me Amanda Elliott’s office, please.”

“Right away,” said Nancy.

When the light on line one blinked, he picked up again. “Amanda?”

“It’s Julie.”

“Oh. Is Amanda available? It’s Daniel Elliott calling.”

“Mr. Delectable?” asked Julie.

“Excuse me?”

She giggled. “One moment, please.”

Daniel rubbed his temple, taking a deep breath. He didn’t want a fight. He just wanted a date. A simple dinner and some conversation so he could find out where things stood between them.

Her husky voice came on the line. “Amanda Elliott.”

“Amanda? It’s Daniel.”

Silence.

“I got your e-mail.” He kept his voice even and nonjudgmental.

“Daniel—”

He played dumb. “Is Friday night bad for you?”

There was a pause. “It’s not a scheduling problem.”

“Really?” He leaned back in his leather chair. “What kind of a problem is it?”

“Don’t do this, Daniel.”

“Don’t do what?”

“The roses were great. But—”

“But, what?”

“Okay.” She paused. “Honestly?”

“Of course.”

She drew a breath. “I don’t have the energy.”

He straightened his chair with a snap. “I take energy?” How did he take energy?

“Daniel.” Exasperation built in her voice.

“I’ll make the reservation. I’ll pick you up. I’ll pay the bill and I’ll bring you home. How does that take energy?”

“It’s not the travel arrangements that take energy.”

“What is it, then?”

“It’s you. You take energy. You said you’d back off, but then you came to the courthouse.”

“I will back off. I am backing off.”

“Yeah, right,” she scoffed. “Spying on me is backing off.”

“I wasn’t spying.” Well, maybe he was. But that was yesterday. Now he had a different mission. A better mission.

“You watched me in court.”

“So did several other members of the public.”

“Daniel.”

It was time to go for broke, time to pull out all the stops. “You were right, and I was wrong, and I’ll stop.”

There was a long silence.

Then there was a hint of a smile in her tone. “Could you repeat that?”

He snorted. “I don’t think so.”

Another silence.

“What’s the catch?”

He swiveled his chair, loving the breathy sound of her voice. “No catch. I’d like to take you to dinner. My way of apologizing.”

“Apologizing? You?”

“Yes. I think we’ve made some good progress in our relationship, Mandy.”

She inhaled sharply at the sound of her nickname.

“And I don’t want to lose that,” he continued.

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