“Goth Girl has a great memory. Thank her next time you see her.” She took the chair beside him and had a bite of her dinner. The pasta held a comforting warmth, but her feelings were still hurt.
“No, wait. I’d rather you stayed one person, and you’re so pretty with your blonde hair. How long did it take you to grow?”
It was a question she’d been asked a million times, and she didn’t want to sound annoyed. She forced a smile. “I’ve had long hair since I was a child and trim the ends once in a while. Now tell me something. You must be at least six-three.”
“I’m six-five when I stand up straight.”
“Perfect.”
He finished chewing a bite of his sandwich. “You wouldn’t describe me as gangly and awkward?”
“No, not at all. You have an athlete’s grace, and you’re better looking than most of the male models I photograph.”
He dipped his head as though embarrassed. “I’m not any good at standing still, so that career is out for me.”
She played with a strand of pasta. “It’s still nice to find a man who doesn’t have to look up a
t me.” She licked a bit of tomato off her lip. “It makes for a nice fit.”
“I believe it. If I could climb the ladder up to my bedroom, we could try it.”
She’d brought her water to the table and took a long drink. “There’s no need to rush. I fed the kittens and don’t have to hurry home.”
“Good. We can spend the whole night together. I don’t suppose anyone’s died from too much sex.”
“Sure they have. Men have heart attacks all the time. I’ve heard more often with a mistress or girlfriend than a wife.”
“Have you ever been married?” he asked.
She finished a bite of grilled zucchini. “No, I haven’t.”
He frowned slightly and looked more serious. “What about your boyfriend who died? Would you have married him?”
Her breath caught in her throat, but it was unfair to both of them to think about Miguel when they were together. “Yes, but now you’ve depressed me thoroughly. Let’s leave that subject closed and just eat.”
He gave her shoulder a sympathetic squeeze. “I’m sorry. I always ask the wrong questions.”
She curled her hand around his wrist. “I’d like to really know you, but I don’t want to know about other women unless they were circus performers who had some unusual tricks we could try.”
He jerked his hand away to grab his napkin. His mouth was full, and he couldn’t laugh, so he shook his head and swallowed. “No, you’re the wildest woman I’ve ever met, but I like it.”
“Wild?” She regarded him with the enticing sultry glance she used so successfully in ads. “I’ll take it as a compliment.”
“It was.” He glanced at her plate. “Don’t you eat anything other than vegetables?”
She smiled. “I also eat fruit. You could call it the fruit-bat diet.”
His gaze turned quizzical. “How could you recommend the restaurant’s filet mignon?”
She toyed with another piece of grilled zucchini but didn’t bring it to her mouth. “We don’t discuss other people, remember?”
“So your dates, who shall remain nameless, said it was good?”
She set her half-eaten dinner aside. “Nothing matters, Alejandro, but here and now. Life is fleeting, and we should enjoy the moment and not worry about the past.”
There were only a few crumbs left on his plate, and he turned his full attention on her. “You sound like a fortune cookie.”
“True, but it’s good advice. Now tell me something about Moorish art. The buildings on Palma are so beautiful, and it’s difficult to believe they’re seven hundred years old. Was construction that much better then?”