Darcy slid into the red leather booth and was grateful not to need a booster seat. She smoothed the skirt of her new black jersey sheath and tried to appear far more comfortable than she felt. It had been a long day, but she was so filled with nervous energy she was in no danger of falling asleep.
As always, Griffin had drawn considerable attention as they entered, and she’d overheard one couple whispering his name. The man had not only spectacular good looks, but a charisma that set him apart. When she’d been drawn to him at first glance, she couldn’t fault others for showing the same weakness, but still, it made her feel even more petite than she actually was.
She opened her menu and scanned the evening’s special selections, which all sounded incredibly good. “Do people often approach you in restaurants?” she asked.
“It depends on the restaurant,” Griffin replied. “Would it bother you if they did?”
Darcy decided on the scampi and set her menu aside. “I don’t know. It might if they wanted to sit and chat.”
“You needn’t worry that I’ll invite anyone to join us. I want to be with you tonight.”
She chewed her lower lip. She was badly worried she would spoil things by either saying too much, or too little. She almost wished a fan or two would stop by their table to keep him too distracted to focus on her. She took a quick sip of water and then had to grab for her napkin to blot the drip on her chin.
Griffin reached under the table to take her hand. “I meant for us to become better acquainted. I’m sorry I’ve made you so nervous.”
She managed a smile and quickly changed the subject. “This place reminds me of an inn I visited with my parents in Europe. It might have been in Bavaria—the trips are all blurred together in my mind—but I remember the dark wood and the scent of candles.”
Griffin surveyed the spacious room. “Yes, the inn fairly reeks of old-world charm. The cuisine, however, is deliciously modern.”
Darcy’s mind wandered as he gave their orders to the waiter. She hadn’t thought about traveling with her folks in a long while, but she suddenly recalled waking up in a hotel room one night and hearing her mother’s soft laughter from the adjoining room. She couldn’t have been more than six or seven and, reassured by her parents’ presence, she’d fallen right back asleep. Only now did it occur to her that they had probably been making love.
“Do you ever think about your parents having sex?” she asked.
Griffin nearly choked on his wine, and it took him a moment to recover. “Never. What makes you ask?”
“A vague memory of laughter,” she replied. “My mother has always been such an enthusiastic person, always eager for whatever adventure my father cares to take.”
“So she was happy being a wife and mother?”
“Yes, if she ever had any career ambitions, she never mentioned them, but I really do believe she’s been perfectly content with her life.”
“You’d not be equally happy with a family and world travel?”
His relaxed smile didn’t fool her. The question was an important one, and she answered truthfully. “No. I would have married my college sweetheart if it had been. There, that’s a confession for you.”
“I’ll agree only that it’s an intriguing beginning. What was his name?”
She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter now. He’d been in ROTC, planned to spend a few years as an army officer, then go into the Diplomatic Corps.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “You would have had your mother’s life.”
“Precisely, and while it has been wonderful for her, the constant moves would have prevented me from practicing my craft as a landscape architect.”
“It isn’t really constant travel, though, is it?” he asked. “Aren’t army officers stationed at one base or another for two or three years?”
She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly rather than shriek at him for that hint of disapproval. ?
?Yes, that’s true, but even in the States, I probably wouldn’t have been hired by local firms when I couldn’t promise how long I’d be there, and it would have been even more difficult to find work in a foreign country. Nor could I have built a reputation on my own planting gardens here and there all around the world.”
Griffin nodded thoughtfully. “You didn’t even give it a try?”
“You can’t try on marriage. You either go into it with your whole heart, or not at all.”
“In your view,” he chided.
Darcy paused while the waiter served their salads, then jabbed her fork into the tantalizing mixture of crisp greens sprinkled with feta cheese, pecans and dried cranberries. “I’m really not so different from my mother. I just happen to want a career along with a family, and I want it in one place.”
“So you broke this nameless fellow’s heart?”