Heated Rush - Leslie Kelly [8]
He responded the same way. “Oh, puh-lease.”
A tiny twinkle appeared in those eyes and her lips quirked up a bit at the edges.
Liking that glint of humor, Sean cast a leisurely gaze over her, taking in every inch of the woman standing before him, beyond just the attractive face, understated hairstyle, simple jewelry and clothes. He noted the delicate swell of her breasts beneath the silk of her dress. There was no question of how perfect, how natural, her curves were.
He sipped his drink. Slowly.
Her shoulders appeared capable, yet somehow fragile, her bare arms strong, yet pale and slim. Her body was in perfect proportion, her height an ideal match for his. She could easily tilt her head back to meet his kiss.
And Sean suddenly found himself wanting that kiss. A lot.
“You obviously know something about women,” she said, not sounding entirely pleased at the observation.
He knew enough to know she was one-hundred-percent female. And that she was instinctively messing with his head.
What, he wondered, would she do if he bent slightly to brush his lips across hers, as he suddenly wanted to do? Would she pull away if he cupped her waist in his hands, rested the tips of his fingers on her hips and tugged her close? Would everyone else in the room see the brush of their bodies as an innocent hug, or as the carnal invitation he knew he would be extending?
“I should thank that waitress, you know. She helped me confirm just how stupid this is,” she said, any hint of a smile disappearing.
Her tone chased away his sensual mood. He couldn’t believe she had truly been jealous about the ridiculous cocktail waitress, whose overblown charms had nothing on the more understated ones of this woman. “She was rude to you, but it’s cute that you’re jealous.”
The way she tilted her head to one side—puzzled—told him he’d misread her. Now he realized she hadn’t been jealous. In fact, she looked almost…deflated. Morose. “That’s not it. I mean this whole situation is stupid. I give up. Nobody’s going to buy us as a couple.”
Ignoring the obvious question—why anyone would have to—he asked the more interesting one. “Why not?”
Frowning, she gestured toward him—his face, his shoulders, his tux—then glanced down at herself. “We’re not what I’d call a match made in heaven.”
“We are a match made at an auction,” he pointed out. “And that’s all that matters.”
“No, it’s not,” she murmured, those amazingly expressive eyes shifting away again, as if she had something she didn’t yet want to tell him.
“What exactly is it you’re worried about?”
“Somebody meeting us would take me for your secretary.”
He snorted at the thought of him having a secretary. What? To keep track of his…appointments?
She ignored him. “Or your dental hygienist. Not your girlfriend.”
Girlfriend? He didn’t have those. Ever.
This auction was strictly for a one-date relationship, which was about Sean’s max when it came to his personal life, anyway. Or, at least, it had been for the past several years, since he’d told his old man to shove his estate and his plans for Sean’s future—including an appropriate marriage—and had hit the road, determined to find his mother and the other side of his history.
But he didn’t argue, still wanting to get to whatever point she was trying to make. “Or they might take me for your mechanic. Who gives a damn what anybody else thinks?”
At that, a rumble of soft laughter escaped from her mouth, sounding so genuinely merry, he couldn’t prevent himself from echoing it with a chuckle of his own.
“Yeah, right. Remington Steel showing up to fix my minivan. That’s exactly what people will see.”
A minivan…horrendous. “Who is Remington Steel?”
“He was a character on a TV show. My mom’s favorite when I was a kid.” Her brow scrunched in concentration. “Wait, Pierce Brosnan is Irish, right?”
“Oh, that show,” he replied. “Yes, he is.”
Sounding triumphant, she said, “And he’s Bond, too! So I wasn’t so far off.”
He nodded to concede the point. “But Connery’s still the best.”
She rolled her eyes. “Well, duh.” She looked away. “My mother would be easy