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with her ankle injury. She
doubted Brady would notice or care. A trip down to the hotel restaurant wasn’t
worth getting excited about anyway. Even as she told herself that, her heart
skipped a beat as she thought about the prospect of spending the evening with
Brady. She hadn’t anticipated a night out with a man this much in, well, longer
than she cared to remember. And it wasn’t even like they were going on a date—more
like a business dinner. Despite that, she couldn’t calm the butterflies in her
stomach, and she jumped a foot when the knock came at her door.
    Opening it, she gasped. There, on the other side, looking
like pure sin, stood Brady in an exquisitely tailored, black two-button suit
with a red shirt underneath open at the collar. “Surprised?” he asked, one side
of his mouth kicking up in a sardonic smile.
    “I…just…wow. You look—”
    “Devilishly handsome?” he finished, leaning on the
doorframe.
    “Devilishly something…”
    He laughed. “You about ready?”
    Leah looked down at herself and felt underdressed, which was
definitely an odd sensation for her, especially where she and Brady were
concerned. “Why don’t you come in? I was just, um, putting on some jewelry.”
    Brady smirked and stepped into her room. She couldn’t
believe how small the space felt with his male presence overwhelming it.
Backing away, she turned and went to the hotel safe. Extracting a diamond
solitaire necklace and matching earrings, she stood. “Here, let me do that,” he
told her.
    She held up her hair as he reached around her neck. Her
necklace looked so incongruous sheltered in his big, rough hands. He fastened
the clasp and then followed the line of the necklace back down her neck, where
he let his hands rest on her shoulders. Leah’s breathing sped up and her
nipples beaded as his fingers inched closer to them. He stopped before he
reached her breasts, though, choosing instead to pull her back into his hard
chest. A soft whimper escaped her as her bottom came in contact with the very
definite evidence of his arousal. Pushing it against her, he let out a low groan.
    He spoke, his breath fanning over her ear. “You look
breathtaking tonight. I’ve definitely worked up an appetite, but not for food.
My mama raised me to be a gentleman, though, and I promised you dinner.”
Backing away, he reached for her coat as she tried to get her wildly erratic
pulse under control. It wouldn’t do to faint at his feet.
    As she put on her earrings, she asked, “Why do I need a
coat?”
    “Because it’s cold outside.”
    “I know that. But aren’t we just going to the hotel
restaurant?”
    “Nope.” He helped her into her coat and held out his arm.
“Shall we?”
    “Don’t you have a coat?”
    “Not with me. At least, not one that goes with this suit.”
He smiled. “It’s a short cab ride. I’ll be fine. If I get cold, though, will
you warm me up?”
    Not rising to the occasion and answering him, Leah
half-turned and looked at him from underneath her lashes. She could see the
pulse at the base of his neck beating in a staccato and had to restrain herself
from reaching up and touching it. If she did, though, she’d be making the
biggest mistake of her life. Brady wasn’t for her, and she wasn’t for Brady. No
matter how attracted they were to each other, it would never work. Their worlds
were simply too far apart.
    She slipped her hand through his arm and he led her out of
the room. When they reached the lobby he gently steered her toward the exit.
“Where are we going?”
    “It’s a surprise.” He stepped up to the valet, who hailed a
cab. Once they were inside he leaned forward and spoke in low tones to the
driver, then sat back.
    “You’re not going to tell me where we’re going?”
    “Nope. But I’ve been told there’s a wide range of stuff on
the menu, so you should be able to find something you’ll like.”
    “How fancy is this place?” she asked, eyeing his suit.
    He shrugged.