Matchmaking by Moonlight

“Oh.” That was interesting. “No hard feelings, I hope?” Lilah asked.

“She’s a beautiful, intelligent woman. I hope she’ll be very happy.”

“Sorry you’re going to miss the wedding. I’m sure it’s going to be lovely,” she said.

He stood there, hands in his pockets, studying her in the dim light. Nerves got to her once more, and she took a last sip of her wine. He watched her do that, then shifted his gaze to the nearly empty bottle she’d left on the countertop.

“Are you all right?” he asked finally.

“I didn’t empty the bottle myself, if that’s what you’re thinking. It’s from a tasting earlier this week, left behind after a half-dozen people sampled it. I’ll admit to having a little bit of a buzz, though. Two glasses, and it went straight to my head. I should have just gone to bed.”

And then, oddly, she wished she hadn’t said the word bed.

Although it was true, she should have been there, safe in her bed, instead of here, alone with him this way, feeling vulnerable and sad and underdressed.

“Lilah, I can’t begin to figure you out,” he said.

“I know.” And he really didn’t like that. She could tell by the way he said it.

“And I can figure almost everyone out. I have to. It’s a very important part of my job. And I’m good at my job. Why can’t I figure you out?”

She laughed just a bit. “I’m not sure I understand myself that well, which is not a good thing. I’m not sure I’m … fully formed the way a woman my age should be….”

Oops. There she went again. Fully formed? Really, Lilah.

“See, right there. I can’t tell if you’re deliberately trying to be provocative or not.”

“No. Not this time,” she said. “I admit, I have … baited you in the past, and I’m sorry for that. I mean … I know I should be—”

“But you’re not sorry—”

“No. You just seem so … uptight.” There, she blurted it out.

“I’m not,” he argued. “I just happen to hold a very public position in the community, and there are things expected of me and my behavior.”

“Of course.”

“And you, from what I’ve seen, are a woman who prides herself on being as outrageous as possible—”

“No. Really, I don’t. I just … I want to be me, and not some buttoned-up, repressed version of me to please someone else.”

“I am not repressed,” he said with a bit of heat, clearly enunciating each word.

“No, I wasn’t talking about you. I was talking about … someone else. Someone who did that to me. Or … no, I did that to myself, because it was my choice, and now, I choose not to do that anymore. I choose to be me, and I’m not changing for anyone. I promised myself that.”

He leaned back and studied her once more, shaking his head back and forth.

“I’ll try to be good from now on, I promise,” she tried.

“And there you go again. What are you doing?”

“Trying to apologize, to say I’ll stop baiting you.” She laughed a bit, couldn’t help it. Something about this man …

“You’re enjoying this!” He took a step closer, which actually put him a bit too close for comfort. “That’s what I keep thinking, that you know exactly what you’re doing. I think you like to play with people, shake things up, push people out of their comfort zone, shock them a bit.”

“Well, yes—the shake things up, push people out of their comfort zone part is true. People come to me because they’re uncomfortable with their lives. They want to change, and to bring about change, you have to shake things up. As a therapist—”

“I’m not talking about you as a therapist,” he said, taking one more step forward, until he was absolutely looming over her, crowding her, trapping her between the kitchen cabinets and his big, powerful body.

“Oh,” she said softly, when he was so close she could smell the scent he was wearing, something dark and spicy and very, very sexy. She could have stood there, happily, taking in that scent and feeling little waves of heat coming off his body for a long, long time. “You mean me …”

“As a woman, Lilah,” he said quietly, and his already deep voice got a little deeper and a whole lot sexier.

She gave a little shiver that was part pleasure and part … okay, no. All pleasure. Nothing but.

But toying with him?

Was she really?

She thought about it. She liked him, or liked poking at that very serious side of his to see if there was another side, a more fun side.

Was that toying?

Was it … too intrusive? Kind of mean? Annoying?

He wasn’t a patient, a student or even a friend. An acquaintance at best.

“Is it really so bad?” she asked him.

He growled, looking even more irritated with her. “Okay, just tell me. Is this some kind of come-on? Are you trying to start something?”

“No,” she said, honestly surprised and puzzled at that. “I don’t think so.”

“You don’t think so?” he repeated. “I don’t know if I can be any clearer about the question. Are you trying to let me know you’re interested in me and to find out if I’m interested in you? Because, if that’s what it is, just say so. It might be … interesting.”

“Interesting?” She wasn’t sure at all how to take that. Strange? Amusing? Distracting? What?

“No, I’m certain it would be interesting,” he decided. “I’m just not sure it would be wise—”

“Fine,” she said. So it would not be smart to have anything like that to do with her? Gosh, he might have some fun. However would he handle that? “I’m fairly certain it’s not a come-on—”

“Fairly certain?” he repeated again.

“I…I …I had to think about it,” she said, practically tripping over her own words with nerves and maybe a hint of excitement, even anticipation. Damn. “I might have to think about it a little more before I’m absolutely sure. But you put me on the spot, and I did my best to give you an answer. I’m fairly certain I’m not coming on to you or trying to start something with you because … Well, just because … You’re really not my type … anymore.”

“Fine,” he said, as if it wasn’t fine at all. And then he leaned in closely enough that, for a moment, his mouth was only a breath away from hers, and said, “Let me make myself absolutely clear. I’m not a toy. Stop playing with me.”

“Well, if you insist,” she said, feeling something she could only label as regret. Over no longer playing with the judge? She looked him up and down, taking in the near scowl on his handsome, tanned face, the beautifully put together body, the sense of leashed power that seemed embedded in him at all times.