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thought of having to cook after the long day—days—she’d put in held as little or less appeal than a plastic drive-through meal. And she’d thought she’d be safe with Rett along, too.
    The waiter delivered their drink order. Rick placed both arms on the table and leaned forward. “I’ve pretty much narrowed the choice of location for the first store to London or Paris. I know you put together a list of properties earlier this week. What are your impressions?”
    Okay, she knew the key to maintaining an emotional distance from him hinged on concentrating on work, and she appreciated being asked for her opinion. But she couldn’t take any more today. Her brain couldn’t hold another fact.
    She inhaled a bracing breath, and then met his gaze. “Can we talk about something besides business?”
    For a moment shock stole his voice. “What?” he managed to croak.
    “My brain is fried. No more shop talk.” She outlined her rules in clear, concise terms.
    Rick stared at her, clearly speechless. Yet after a moment he relaxed back into his seat and opened hishands, palms out to her. “Sure. We’ll talk about whatever you want.”
    “Try to hold back your enthusiasm,” she said with a wry smile as she reached for a roll. Tearing it in half, she put the remaining half back in the bread basket.
    Totally at ease in his habitual black suit and white shirt, Rick exuded elegance and class, putting most of the other men in the room to shame. The broad stretch of his shoulders and confident tilt of his dark head added to his sense of presence.
    He looked good, really good. He always did, but tonight she found it hard to look away. She should be leery, especially when his gaze revealed he liked looking at her, too, but she didn’t have the energy. Instead she enjoyed the delicious tingle of excitement zipping along her nerves.
    A sensation common sense promptly squashed.
    She didn’t want the situation to change. She valued this job too much to risk it on the unsteady influence of romance.
    “Okay.” Rick picked up the half roll, took a bite. “Where’d you learn to speak French?”
    “High school. I took it instead of Spanish. And then I took an advanced class in night school. After the class ended a bunch of us would get together for dinner at a French restaurant once a month and only speak French. It helped to cement the language. Especially if others in the restaurant joined in.” She popped the last bite of roll in her mouth then licked a smudge of butter fromher finger. “I sign up for classes and seminars all the time.”
    “Seminars?” he asked, his interest caught. “What topics interest you?”
    Lifting one shoulder in a half shrug, she said, “All kinds of things, child development, business courses, design, some self-help classes where you learn how to end clutter in your life or build up your psyche with daily affirmations. That kind of thing.”
    “Ah.” He nodded in understanding. “Sounds…boring.”
    His honesty surprised a laugh from her. “Some of it, yes. Some are ridiculous. Some are definitely more helpful than others. I just enjoy getting out, learning something new.”
    “Like jewelry design and faceting?” he said.
    “Exactly.”
    The waiter arrived with their salads and to top up their water.
    “Share something ridiculous,” Rick demanded as soon as the waiter left.
    Ridiculous? That shouldn’t be hard. The man had a master’s degree in Business Administration; he’d probably find most of what she went for ridiculous. Actually, she knew just the thing to tickle his fancy.
    “In Strengthening Your Relationships, to get into your partner’s point of view, you’re supposed to strip completely naked, lie down on the bed and imagine yourself as a man.”
    “I am a man.” No hesitation. No apology.
    Oh, yeah. As if she needed to be reminded of his male factor.
    “ You would be imagining yourself as a woman.”
    His dark eyebrows spiked up. “That is ridiculous. Who thinks