‘Fine.’ She smiled, and he filled her glass without comment. She picked it up and took a sip.
Then Sally saw him grimace, and the humour faded from his dark eyes. Perhaps he thought she was drinking too much. It struck her that he had only had one glass all through the meal and this was her third.
‘Perhaps not,’ she murmured, about to replace her glass on the table.
‘Yes, drink, Sally—enjoy it. It is an excellent wine, but when I am driving I only allow myself one glass with a meal.’
Enjoying the relaxed ambience of the evening gave her the confidence to ask him boldly, ‘So why the grimace?’
‘It is that word fine. When we first met I noticed you use it an awful lot when you are not bothered either way. Even last night, after we had incredible sex, you used it again. Why?’
‘Oh…’ She suddenly remembered him returning from the bathroom last night and sliding into bed beside her, asking her the same question. She hadn’t answered him then, but now, fuelled by more wine than she was used to, she thought, why not?
‘I had a terrible stutter as a child, and it is a habit I developed because for some reason I could almost always say fine without a problem. I quickly realised it was a very versatile word. Fine with a smile was a yes; fine with a shrug was no. It could mean good or great or simply okay. My father used to laugh when I began to stutter, but my mother took me to a speech therapist and I was eventually cured. The habit lingers.’
Zac was shocked, and disgusted with himself. Sally had faced a huge problem as a child and beaten it, while he had behaved like a complete idiot by allowing one word to bother him. ‘I’m sorry, Sally. It must have been hard for you, and it was crass of me to ask. Forgive me.’
Sally had registered the expression of disgust on Zac’s face and she wasn’t surprised. A supreme male like Zac expected perfection in his women, and now she had told him her secret he was obviously disappointed.
‘Of course. Forget about it,’ she said with a brief smile, and, turning, she looked out into the distance. The sun was slowly sinking towards the distant horizon, turning the sky to a palate of pale blue, pink, red and gold, and she had a feeling Zac’s interest in her would sink just as quickly now he’d realised she wasn’t quite the perfect woman he had imagined.
‘How on earth did you find this restaurant?’ she asked, in a deliberate change of subject, but nevertheless enchanted by the vista before her. Turning back to look at him, she added, ‘I’ve never heard of the place, never mind the restaurant.’
‘I like to drive, and I discovered it one day when I got lost,’ Zac admitted with a rueful grin.
‘You? Lost? That does surprise me—but I am glad you were,’ she quipped. ‘June is my favourite month, with the long light nights, and this view is absolutely spectacular.’ Her blue eyes swept along the coastline and back out to the sea, as smooth as the proverbial millpond and reflecting the sun’s rays in a band of gold.
‘The view is incredibly beautiful,’ Zac agreed, and she glanced back to find he was not looking at the view but at her, and the expression in the depths of the dark eyes that met hers sent a rush of heat careering through her slender frame.
‘Yes, and the food is good as well.’ She glanced down at her plate, battling to fight back the blush that threatened. It was to no avail. Her cheeks were turning a delicate shade of pink.
‘There is no need to be embarrassed because you want me, Sally,’ Zac drawled throatily, a hint of satisfaction in his tone ‘It is perfectly natural, and you must know after last night how desperately I want you. If I had my way I would keep you with me all the time, for as long as this passion, this hunger between us, lasts.’
The deep, dark, slightly accented drawl sent shivers down her spine, and her pink cheeks turned to a scarlet to rival the setting sun as she imagined spending all her time with Zac, sharing his bed and his life. Then she fell back to earth with a thud. For a second she had been in danger of forgetting why she was there.
‘That’s not possible…’
‘I know—you have your mother and your work.’ He reached over the table and clasped one of her slender hands in his. ‘I can appreciate your mother is deserving of your time, but I am not so happy about your work since seeing your boss.’
‘Not that again.’ She tried to pull her hand free, but he tightened his grip.
‘So long as you understand, Sally, that in a relationship I demand total exclusivity from the woman I am with and give it in return.’
‘When would I have the time, even if I had the inclination?’ she asked derisively.
He looked at her for a long, silent moment, and then he stood up and pulled her to her feet and into his arms. ‘You have a smart mouth, Sally, and I know just the way to close it,’ he said quietly, and, dipping his head, he kissed her. She collapsed against him like the proverbial pack of cards.
When he finally let her go her face was flaming with embarrassment and her eyes were dark with arousal. She couldn’t begin to imagine what the other customers thought of this public display.
‘That was…’ she began.
‘Successful. It silenced you,’ he said, and after paying the bill he took her hand in his and led her out of the restaurant towards the parked car.
The evening air was a blessing to Sally’s overheated skin, and she stopped and took a deep, calming breath, reluctant to get in the car. She glanced around, anywhere but at Zac, and was struck again by the beauty of the place.
‘Do we have to leave straight away?’ she asked. ‘I have been cooped up in the basement of the museum all day, and I’d like to walk along the beach for a while.’
‘Sure,’ he agreed, threading his fingers through hers, and they walked down the steep hill to the small cove.