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sensing the story didn’t have a good ending.
    “My father found
out and sacked her.” He pushed his dish away. “He knew we’d had an affair. I
guess he blamed her. He gave me all her customers. I felt terrible, for a
while. But, well, he’d never have her back at the firm, so in the end I thought
I might as well make the best of it. I worked my socks off with all the
clients. It worked. I’ve now got the most clients in the company.”
    “So you put your
champagne skills to work on the customers?” she teased.
    He smiled. “Yeah. You
could say that.” He fiddled with the stem of his glass. The issue with the
older woman obviously still bothered him.
    “So what’s this
about a takeover?” she asked, trying to lift his mood.
    He brightened and
began telling her about the Czech company he’d courted, which they were
probably going to buy out before New Year. “I’m meeting their board of
directors tomorrow,” he said. “We should shake hands on it before the end of
the day.”
    “That’s great.”
She leaned back as the waitress took their dishes, and nodded at the offer of a
dessert.
    “The thing is,” he
continued, “my father’s close to retirement, and he’s not a well man. If I make
this deal, I think the board are going to make me chief executive.”
    “Wow.” That impressed
her. The large firm with branches across Europe would be a huge responsibility
for such a young man. “You’ve done so well for yourself.”
    “I suppose.” He
grinned, obviously excited about the prospect of running the company.
    She sipped her
champagne and rubbed her nose as the bubbles tickled it. “Are you happy?”
    He studied her,
amused now. “That’s a very chick thing to ask.”
    “Well, I am a
chick.”
    “Clearly.” He took
a swallow of his own wine, his eyes teasing.
    “So? Are you
happy?”
    He shrugged. “I think
so.”
    “You don’t sound
sure.” She smiled as the waitress approached, and ordered an almond tiramisu
with marinated cherries. He ordered honey cake, and they sat back and surveyed
each other.
    “I’m excited about
the takeover,” he said. “Confident about my chances at the company. Looking
forward to the challenge.”
    “You still haven’t
answered my question.”
    He gave her a wry,
slightly exasperated smile. “Yes. I guess I’m happy enough.”
    She had to ask.
“Is there a special someone?”
    He dropped his
gaze to his glass. “No. Not at the moment.”
    She waited for him
to elaborate, but he remained silent. Was he thinking about the older woman?
Probably not, because he’d said that had happened six years ago.
    “ Was there?” she asked.
    He sighed. “I went
out with a girl for a few years. Lauren.”
    “What happened?”
    He twirled his
glass, still not raising his eyes. “She wanted more than I was willing to
give.”
    “She wanted to get
married?”
    He lifted his gaze
to hers. “Yes.”
    “Have kids?”
    “Yes.”
    “And you didn’t
want to?”
    “No.”
    “With her? Or just
in general?”
    He said nothing,
and she couldn’t guess his thoughts.
    “I know I’m being
nosy,” she said. “Change the subject if you want. But I’m just interested. I
haven’t seen you for ages and you’re gorgeous and I can’t work out why you’re still
single.”
    His eyes met hers,
and his lips started to curve. “Are you flirting with me, Miss Green?”
    Her cheeks warmed.
“Sorry.”
    “It wasn’t a
complaint.” His smile widened, the twinkle reappearing in his eye. Then he
sighed and stretched out his legs. “I don’t know what went wrong. I just wasn’t
ready. I was only twenty-five, and making my way up in the company. I work
sixty hour weeks sometimes—there’s hardly time for a wife, let alone a family.
Maybe when I’m older… Me and kids don’t mix. Sometimes I think I might never
settle down.”
    He looked sad and
resentful at the same time, obviously frustrated that this Lauren hadn’t
understood. He’d liked her, but she’d asked