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dinner, he had to admit he would have found another reason if one hadn’t presented itself. He didn’t just want to see her again—he had to see her again. And he couldn’t, for the life of him, figure out why.
    “The car is here, Sir.”
    Kai glanced up to see Sebastian standing in the doorway, announcing Jules’s arrival. The old man quirked a quizzical eyebrow at him when Kai didn’t move or speak at his announcement. His valet—well, Sebastian was really more than that, a sort of jack-of-all-trades manservant, if such a thing could be said to exist in the twenty-first century—had already been intrigued by Kai’s insistence on a formal dinner, which required Sebastian to shop and cook a gourmet meal before donning a coat and tails to serve them.
    “Bring her up.” Kai gave him a nod, ignoring the continued question in the man’s eyes. If he couldn’t answer it for himself, he sure as hell couldn’t tell Sebastian why meeting this woman tonight—and hopefully impressing the hell out of her—was so important.
    Kai poured himself more wine and filled the other glass across from his on the little table that stood between the chairs. He thought wine in the sitting room—he really didn’t do a lot of living in it—would be a good prelude to dinner. Well, under the circumstances, he thought wine anywhere was a good idea. Not that he was out to get her drunk. He just thought alcohol might help to loosen her up a little. And him, too.
    He picked up his wine glass, staring moodily into it, knowing he was going to need something stronger than wine to accomplish that goal tonight. It wasn’t just first-date nerves—although he didn’t even know if this could be considered a date—his whole body felt taut, something inside him coiled, ready to spring free.
    “Julianna Monroe,” Sebastian announced.
    Kai rose, turning to see her standing in the doorway, clutching a small purse in her hands and looking around the room like she’d never seen anything quite like it before. And Kai thought the same thing about her. The woman who had tromped around her yard in riding boots—not that she’d looked bad in them—had been transformed into a stunning vision, a creature not quite of this world.
    She floated into the room toward him, no greeting, not as of yet—instead she turned her head, gazing up at the skylights and the rows of books that lined the room, nearly to the top of the vaulted ceilings. Kai took the opportunity to gaze at the tight, red dress and matching heels she wore—the woman in them made his mouth go dry and his hands turn clammy. He felt like a high school kid on prom night.
    “Oh, by the way, it’s Jules,” she said, looking over her shoulder at Sebastian. “No one calls me Julianna anymore.”
    “Miss Julianna.” The old man gave her the hint of a smile, glancing at Kai. “Shall I leave you until dinner, Sir?”
    “Thank you, Sebastian.” Kai waved his hand to dismiss him, turning his attention to Jules. She’d wandered over to the shelves to examine the spines of the books there.
    “These are ancient,” she remarked, running a finger down one of the tomes. Her fingernails were short and unpainted, but her fingers were long, delicate. He thought she should be playing an instrument, not riding horses. Especially given her talent. “Is this Gaelic?”
    “Yes,” he replied, surprised. “My ancestors were from Scotland. Back in the dark ages.”
    “Mine too!” Jules turned her head to look at him over her shoulder. Her hair was pinned up in loopy curls, leaving her long, slender neck exposed. He had the sudden urge to let her hair down, to feel it in his hands.
    “Well, I don’t know how far back,” she confessed. “But my father was interested in genealogy. He traced my mother’s line to roots in Scotland. She knew some Gaelic, actually. She taught it to me. She knew lots of songs. Her mother taught her.”
    “Really?” He perked up. “Want to sing me one? I’d love to