What She Really Wants for Christmas

No, if justice was truly being doled out, she wouldn’t have run across Evan again. She smiled, thinking about how he’d insisted on walking on the outside of the sidewalk. Such a goof. And that kiss. Holy crap. Who knew the guy could kiss like that?

Plus, she’d had a really nice evening. At times she’d even forgotten her mission to find out about the lawsuit. But then, it was a long shot that he’d be privy to any information.

Damn, she was anxious to see him again. Disturbing thought, really. He totally wasn’t her type. The timing was definitely wrong. Nothing to fret over. It was the nonthreatening adult conversation that appealed to her, especially when that aspect of her life was woefully lacking.

During the past few minutes, she’d gotten drowsy. Thinking about Evan. Smiling, she rolled over and buried her face in the pillow. He’d be real happy when she pointed out to him that he’d put her to sleep.

E VAN DIDN’ T HAVE TO check his watch again to know he’d been stood up. Damn her. She could’ve found a way to get a hold of him instead of letting him sit here for forty-five minutes drinking by himself. Ironically, he’d thought about giving her his cell phone number in case she had to cancel, but he hadn’t wanted to make it that easy for her to back out.

Apparently he was wrong about her. She was an assertive woman and sometimes others felt threatened by that quality. Clearly, she really could be that self-absorbed. That’s okay. Now he knew. He was done with her.

He downed the rest of his wine and looked around for the waitress. The place was small, holding only ten tables, but he didn’t see her. He supposed he could go ahead and eat. The menu was okay. Traditional items, mostly. Certainly reasonable. The décor was nothing to speak of, with mass-produced photos of different kinds of flowers on the light-green walls. The tables were covered with white tablecloths, and each one had a fresh flower in a vase.

If the place had been busy, he would’ve been out of here by now. But besides him, only three other tables were occupied. Obviously not a popular restaurant. And definitely not one he would have expected Liza to have chosen.

He heard the front door open. He would’ve had a clear view of anyone who entered if not for the coatrack. Not that he thought she’d finally decided to grace him with her presence. He knew at least half a dozen women who’d accept his offer of a date before he got the last word out. Not because he was good-looking or well-built or anything other than he had a degree from Harvard medical school.

That didn’t impress Liza. In fact, he had a feeling that for her it was a deterrent. Maybe her indifference was what he found appealing. Or maybe because she was the exact opposite of Angela.

Liza came into view and everything else faded.

Her long hair had that slightly wild look he liked so much. Not on most women, but Liza pulled it off. The short denim skirt showed off her long shapely legs, but another bulky sweater, this one black, hid everything else. Again, she wasn’t wearing a coat.

He should be angry but he was too glad to see her. After she sat down across from him he said, “I’d just given up on you. I was ready to leave.”

“I’m so, so sorry. I took a nap and overslept.”

“You could have called. I’m listed and my service would have gotten the message to me.”

“I know.” She fidgeted with her napkin. “But if I called, I might have chickened out and canceled.”

“Now why would you do that?”

She wore only the barest hint of makeup, but enough to bring out the green flecks in her hazel eyes. “There’s a limit even to my bluntness,” she said, glancing around at the people at the other tables. She seemed a little edgy.

“You look great.”

Her tongue darted out to moisten her peach-colored lips. “Thank you,” she said softly, shifting as if uncomfortable with the compliment and picking up the menu the waitress had left for her. “Have you looked at this?”

“About seven times.”

She glanced up at him. “I was rude, I apologized, if you can’t get past that, then—”

“Take it easy. I’m only teasing.”

“Sorry. I don’t wake up well.”

A crash came from the kitchen and Liza just about flew out of her seat. She put a hand to her throat. “Scared the hell out of me.”

“I noticed.” He sensed there was something more than the loud noise making her jumpy. “This place a favorite of yours?”

She glanced around with a slight frown. “Actually, this is my first time here.”

“I didn’t think this seemed like your style.”

“No?”

“Is it?”

“Tell me how you arrived at your diagnosis, Dr. Gann.”

“A premed student would’ve come to the same conclusion. This place is too tame. Too ordinary.”

“Really.” She tossed her hair back over her shoulder and leaned forward. “Describe the kind of place you think I’d like.”

He put his elbows on the table and met her halfway. “How about I show you instead?”

Her gaze slowly moved down to his mouth, then went to his chin and lingered. “I’m listening.”

“No more talking. I lead, you follow. You have to trust me.”

“And if I don’t?”

Shrugging, he leaned back. “Your loss.”

The waitress showed up to take her order, and Liza looked hesitantly at him.

“Your call,” he said.

“Thanks, but I won’t be having a drink.”

The waitress readied her pad. “Ready to order dinner then?”

“We won’t be having dinner after all. I’ll take the check when you have a moment,” Evan said, aware of the flash of dismay on the woman’s face.

Still, she smiled pleasantly as she dug into the pocket of her white apron, produced the check for his glass of chardonnay and laid it down on the table.

He got out his silver money clip. The one Angela had given him for his twenty-sixth birthday and the only memento of her he kept. The perfect reminder to keep him from being stupid about a woman again.

“No rush on that,” the waitress said. “You folks have a nice evening.”

“You, too.” He’d missed Atlanta while he was away at school. The city had grown dramatically since he was a kid but there was still a basic niceness that hadn’t disappeared. The woman had to be disappointed that she wasn’t going to rack up a hefty tip, but she remained gracious.

Evan included an extra twenty and laid the money and check facedown. He pushed back his chair. “Ready?”

Liza got up and walked alongside him to the door. He stopped to get his coat and noticed her peering intently out of the window into the darkness.

“Anything wrong?”