point.â
âGrossing me out is more like it.â
They came to a stop at a traffic light and he turned to face her, his eyes boring into her soul. âKissing me grossed you out?â
With his gaze fixed on her, she couldnât lie to him. Not even when that was what she really wanted to do. Instead she blurted out the embarrassing facts in the most revealing of ways.
âKissing you didnât gross me out.â Except at the abandoned way sheâd kissed him back when she knew better.
âWhat did kissing me do?â His voice was husky, confident, as if he knew exactly what his kisses did to women.
Of course he knew what his kisses did to women.
Just as she knew.
Kissing Vale made women crazy, fanatical, addicted. She knew that. Sheâd watched his effect on women, knew the dangers of being near him in any capacity not business-related.
Vale didnât mix business and pleasure. He just didnât. Not ever.
Only he had by kissing her.
âKissing you made me think Iâm crazy for agreeing to this when I had the opportunity to spend a weekend relaxing at home because youâd have been otherwise occupied, not calling me to meet you at the office for yet more work.â
His eyes narrowed into deep blue slits. âYou donât like working with me?â
âI love my job, but someday I do hope to have a life outside work.â
âWhat kind of life?â
Why on earth had she started this conversation? Or had he started it? Either way, she wanted out.
âThe usual,â she said dryly, grateful theyâd moved beyond what his kisses did to her, but hoping heâd let their new subject drop.
âWhat usual?â
Of course he wouldnât. Not the great Dr. Vale Wakefield, New Yorkâs most eligible bachelor.
âYou know,â she admitted reluctantly. âA house in some smarmy little suburb that I can call my own. A yard for Yoda to dig holes in. A neighborhood where I can take him for long walks.â
His brows drew together in a deep furrow, his lips tight with displeasure. âThatâs your idea of the usual? What about marriage? Children? That usual?â
Maybe that was usual for some women. To Faith there was nothing usual about marriage or having children. Not in the marriages sheâd witnessed. And, although she was mightily attracted to Vale, she didnât kid herself that it was anything more than that. Men didnât stick around.Even men who promised to, and Vale wasnât the type to make such promises to begin with.
âWomen who want to make it in a high-powered career shouldnât reveal to the boss that they also want to have a family,â she answered in the hope of steering him in a direction other than the truth. âNot if they want to be taken seriously.â
âYou think Iâd penalize you if you said you wanted a family?â
âI think youâre more likely to advance someone who didnât have to take time off for maternity leave and pediatric visits.â Dear Lord, someone really had slipped her some truth serum. She couldnât shut up. âMy career is important to me. I told you that from the beginning.â
âYes, you were quite vocal that day.â
Why did the way he spoke make her think he was mocking her?
âLaugh if you want to, but Iâm serious.â She shrugged. âAfter Iâve achieved my career goals Iâll think about marriage.â
Not that sheâd want marriage ever. She was more than happy with Yoda. Her dog would never leave her for another womanâexcept perhaps Mrs. Beasley and her cutie pie Miss Cupcake.
He seemed to digest her comment. âAfter youâve achieved your career goals you plan to marry and have kids?â
âAfter I achieve my career goalsâ¦â tired of the picking apart of her life goals, she gestured toward the green light that had changed at some point during their conversation,
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