"Can't."
"Excuse me?" She pulls her head back. "Why not?"
I'd hoped not to need to explain this to her, but if I intend to marry her, she must understand. Still, I suspect I'm wearing a pained look. "It's daytime."
"Huh?" She jerks her head back even more, narrowing her gaze on me. "Oh Rory, you have got to be joking."
"No joke." I disentangle myself from the lass and shuffle backward a few steps. My arms hang stiffly at my sides, and my fingers twitch. "It's daytime. Sex is a nighttime activity."
"Uh-huh." She pushes away from the table. The contracts I'd given her lie strewn across the floor, as if they fell out of her hand when I backed her into the table. "Listen, I better go home right away. Your hang-ups are cute and all, but I need to seriously consider whether this is a good idea for either one of us."
She collects the papers in a haphazard bundle and hurries past me toward the doorway.
"Emery."
She half turns to glance at me.
"If the answer is no, tell me now and be done with it."
"I'm not saying no. I'm saying give me a little time and space." She hugs the sheaf of papers to her chest. "When do you go home?"
"Wednesday."
"You'll have my answer by then."
I stare at the papers she holds, feeling my fingers twitch again. "Where do you live?"
"Oh. Sorry." A nervous laugh bubbles out of her. "Forgot to tell you, didn't I? Colorado Springs."
"I'll wait until Wednesday." I motion toward the papers. "Those must be out of order."
"Yeah, I'll sort them out later." She tilts her head, her lips ticking upward a touch. "You really, really want to come over here and straighten these papers yourself, don't you?"
"Mhac na galla," I hiss. "I'm not that uptight."
"Glad to hear it." She taps the pages against her chest. "One more question. Why me? Out of all the women in the world, why pick one who drives you crazy?"
"I loved my previous wives. You're nothing like any of them, nothing like the sort of woman I've been attracted to in the past." I shove a hand into my trouser pocket, then yank it out. "There's no danger involved. I can't love you."
"Better call the airline and change my reservation. I'm leaving as soon as possible."
I watch her scurrying out of the room with those papers clutched in her arms. What will I do if she says no? I'll go on with my life, just as it was before I walked into that piano bar and seduced a sexy American. If she rejects my offer, I won't be fashed.
No, it won't bother me at all.