pair of huge French doors on the far wall. âI guess I didnât think of this as a gift.â
He pushed one side of the doors inward and moved through it, talking over his shoulder. âI was hoping youâd like the room.â
I trailed behind him but stopped in the doorway. The bedroom had two dressers, an entertainment center, two bedside tables with full-size lamps, and a king-size bed. The bed was piled high with pillows, and everything was white and gilt and tastefully elegant. And way too bridal suite for me.
Micah had the suiter in the lid of the carry-on unrolled. He unhooked the hangers from the loops and turned to the large closet.
âThis place is bigger than my first apartment,â I said. I was still leaning against the folded door, not quite in the room. As if, by keeping one foot in the other room, Iâd be safer.
Micah still had his sunglasses on as he unpacked us. He hung up the other suits weâd bought so they wouldnât wrinkle. Then he turned to me. He looked at me, shaking his head. âYou should see the look on your face.â
âWhat?â I asked, and even to me it sounded grumpy.
âIâm not going to make you do anything you donât want to do, Anita.â He sounded less than pleased. Micah seldom got upset about anything, and almost never with me. I liked that about him.
âIâm sorry this is weirding me out.â
âDo you have any idea why itâs bothering you this much?â He took off the glasses and his face looked finished, with his eyes showing. The kitty-cat eyes had bothered me a little at first, but now they were just Micahâs eyes. They were an amazing mix of yellow and green. If he wore green, they looked almost perfectly green. If he wore yellowâwell, you get the idea.
He smiled, and it was the smile he used only at the house. Only for me and Nathaniel, or maybe just for me. At that moment, it was just for me.
âNow, that is a much better look.â
âWhat?â I said again, but couldnât keep the smile off my face or out of my voice. Hard to be sullenwhen youâre staring at someoneâs eyes and thinking how beautiful they are.
He walked toward me, and just thatâhim walking across the room toward meâsped my pulse, made my breath catch in my throat. I wanted to run to him, to press our bodies together, to lose the clothes and what was left of my inhibitions. But I didnât run to him because I was afraid to. Afraid of how much I wanted him, of how much he meant to me. That scared me, a lot.
He stopped in front of me, not touching me, just looking at me. He was the only man in my life who didnât have to look down to meet my eyes. In my heels, I was actually a little taller.
âGod, your face! Hopeful, eager, and afraid, all there on your face.â He laid his hand against my cheek. He was so warm, so warm. I curved my face into his hand and let him hold me.
âSo warm,â I whispered.
âIâd have had flowers waiting, but since Jean-Claude sends you roses every week, there didnât seem to be a reason for me to send you flowers.â
I drew back from him, searching his face. It was peaceful, the way it could be when he was hiding his feelings. âAre you mad about the flowers?â
He shook his head. âThatâd be silly, Anita. I knew I wasnât the top of your dating food chain when I hit town.â
âSo why bring up the flowers?â I asked.
He let out a long breath. âI didnât think it bothered me, but maybe it does. A dozen white roses every week, with a red rose added since you started having sex with Jean-Claude. And now there are two more red roses in the bouquet; one for Asher and one for Richard. So itâs like the flowers are from all three of them.â
âRichard wouldnât see it that way,â I said.
âNo, but heâs still one of your lovers, and you still get something