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in the lobby.”
    She sounded downright accusatory and he shuffled his feet. “Sorry. Want me to come back in—” He checked his watch before meeting her gaze. “Ten minutes?”
    Slowly she shook her head, leaning against the edge of the door. “I’m not quite ready, but it seems foolish to send you away.”
    “Then don’t.” He smiled and nodded toward her. “I could come in. Just for a minute while you finish getting ready?” Wasn’t he presumptuous as hell?
    “I suppose.” She warily opened the door wider, an invitation inside and he took it, slipping through the doorway, watching as she headed toward the bathroom. “Sit and wait, if you don’t mind. I’ll be right out.”
    He sat at the round table that was close to the door, admiring the arrangement of fresh white flowers that sat in a mercury vase in the center. A low humming sound came from beyond the closed door and he realized she was drying her hair.
    All right, this was odd. He didn’t sit around and wait for women drying their hair in the bathroom when he went out with them, not that he really went out with anyone. He was as bad as his brothers used to be, even worse. Steady girlfriends weren’t his style. He rarely saw the same woman twice. Any time they came even close to doing something as simple and intimate as spend time together outside of a bar, restaurant or bed, he was outta there.
    So here he sat, waiting for a woman he didn’t know in her hotel room while she prepped for their dinner meeting. Uncomfortable and awkward, sitting at a table and not knowing exactly what to say once she exited the bathroom.
    He felt like a damn fool. The woman set him on edge and he wasn’t even sure if it was her or the circumstance. Easier to blame the circumstance and everything hinged upon it. Like his career.
    Did Gabriella Durand realize how much his future depended on her? Probably not.
    And he doubted he should tell her either.
    Within minutes, she was exiting the bathroom, her face flushed from the heat, her silken hair spilling down her back in natural waves. She slipped a hoop earring into one ear as she searched about the room, her gaze locked on the floor. “So sorry to keep you waiting. I’m almost ready.”
    He stood because he thought he should, clasping his hands behind his back as she approached the table. “No need to apologize.”
    “Good, because I am feeling a bit scattered at the moment. I guess I’m more like my father than I—oh! There they are.” She extended her leg, offering him a glimpse of her knee and slender calf as she slipped first one shoe on, then the other. The same simple flat sandals she’d worn to the Worth offices. She must’ve kicked them off when she arrived at the hotel and they’d landed under the table. “I’m ready to go,” she said primly once she had the shoes on.
    It was rather intimate, watching a woman get ready to go out. Padding around barefoot, her skin flushed and damp, a little harried, a lot sexy.
    A lot sexy…
    “You have everything?” he asked.
    She grabbed her purse, which was slung over one of the chairs. “I do.”
    His gaze flickered to the contract that sat on the bedside table. “Were you able to spend some time reading over the contract?”
    Nibbling on her lower lip, she followed his gaze, a little frown marring her expression. “I tried.”
    “And did you find the terms satisfactory?”
    “Can we not talk of it until we arrive at the restaurant?” She flashed him a brilliant smile.
    “All right.” She was avoiding talking about the contract and worry immediately consumed him. What if she planned on backing out? She might be looking for a free meal, a one-night stay at a luxurious hotel and then she was out the next morning. Leaving him exactly where he started.
    In the shit hole and looking like a failure.
    They left the hotel and Rhett escorted her to a taxi that sat just outside, allowing her entry first before he followed her inside. He shut the door behind him