I Do! I Do!

Their gazes met as he opened the door and let her go ahead of him. What choice did he have but to try?

“Wow.” Slowly she turned in a circle as she looked around the clean, well-lit room. “I expected someplace dark and cluttered, but this looks more like a lab than an inventor’s workshop.”

His gaze followed hers. On the wall above the spacious counter were assorted hand tools. A rack held blueprints and specs. File cabinets lined the short wall next to a small beat-up desk, bare except for a computer. Across from it was a drafting table. Nothing was out of place.

“I guess I’m a little obsessive when it comes to where I work,” he said apologetically.

Great, now she thought he was some kind of oddball neat freak. He’d hoped she might view him as fascinating and clever, not as the nutty professor.

“I confess, I’m with you,” she said, surprising him. “I just can’t stand having a lot of stuff every-where. It just makes me crazy.” When she leaned closer, the scent he’d learned to associate with her teased his nostrils. “Want to know something?”

“Uh-huh.” He bobbed his head.

“I’m a secret organizer,” she whispered conspiratorially. “I go crazy in those container stores.”

“I…I’ll have to check one out,” he said.

The door was shut to keep out the noise and dust from the main area. Maybe being alone with her in here wasn’t such a good idea.

She looked around curiously, her slim hands resting on her hips. Today she wore navy blue slacks and a man-tailored light blue shirt that failed to disguise her curves. Even now, more simply dressed and wearing little if any cosmetics, she made his breath catch.

He’d be in serious trouble if he had to spend forty plus hours a week in a constant state of awareness, with the blood flow to his brain seriously diminished.

“What does this do?” she asked, indicating a small drill press.

Briefly he explained. “Most of the actual machining is done out there. No point in duplicating equipment.”

“You love it, don’t you?” she guessed. “All this, it’s not just a job, a business. It’s a passion with you.”

“Everyone should work at what they love,” he replied. “What good is success if you aren’t happy?”

“Exactly!” She looked pleased. “That’s what I want, to feel that way about what I do and to work at a job I believe in.”

He studied her, reminded that there was more to her than dark flashing eyes and a shape to make a man weep. “Do you think you can find that here, or is it too soon to tell?”

When she grinned, he pretended it was for the man and not the boss.

“I’m hoping,” she replied. “I guess we’ll find out.”

He thought about tossing caution aside and kissing her, but he’d never gained anything worthwhile by plunging ahead without a plan. Glad she couldn’t read his mind, he took her back to the office, breathing a sigh of relief when the reception desk was safely between them.

“I suppose you know that DJ and Allaire are getting married on Friday,” he began cautiously.

She took her seat, looking up at him warily. “Yes, I’d heard.” Something flickered in her eyes, making him wonder if she was over her broken engagement to Dax.

“He’s been my friend for a long time,” Mitch continued, “so I can’t miss it.”

Liz’s expression lost some of its wariness. “Of course not,” she echoed. “It should be a nice ceremony. I overheard at the beauty shop that Allaire’s going with a Parisian theme.”

“What the heck does that mean?” he blurted, genuinely puzzled. How did women come up with stuff like that? “A cake shaped like the Eiffel Tower?”

Liz burst into laughter. “I truly haven’t a clue. You’ll have to let me know.”

Under the circumstances, he wasn’t surprised that she hadn’t been invited. “They’re keeping it kind of small,” he explained hastily as a car door slammed out front.

He looked out the window. Damn, he’d forgotten all about his appointment with the rep from the new graphics company. It was local, which he preferred.

“That must be Jim Parks from Mountain Art,” Liz said after she’d glanced at her notepad. “Do you want to duck into your office real quick so I can show him back?”

What rotten timing.

“No, not necessary,” Mitch replied as the salesman, gray-haired with glasses, entered the building. “Jim,” he exclaimed, extending his hand. “I’m Mitchell Cates. Come on in.”

Liz didn’t talk to Mitch again all afternoon. Since she had nothing else to do, she did some research about the business on the Web. At least she might be able to ask Mitch some intelligent questions.

She saw the rep walk around from the main shop and get into his car, but her boss wasn’t with him. There was only so much a person could retain about farm equipment at one sitting and Nita was busy compiling a report. Time dragged.

Liz finally went to Mitch’s office on the pretext of asking if he wanted coffee, but he wasn’t in. On a sideboard rested a photo of his poker group seated around a picnic table. It was the same guys who had been at the party she’d crashed; Mitch, Marshall, Russ, Grant, DJ and Dax.

For a moment, she stared down at the picture. Not wanting to get caught prowling Mitch’s office, she went back out to her desk, but her mind stayed on Dax, her former fiancé. If he was already seeing someone else, Liz hadn’t heard about it yet.

With a sudden burst of insight, she realized that she didn’t care. Dax had wounded her pride, but not her heart. She hadn’t loved him, not really. Aside from the embarrassment of being rather publicly dumped, Liz owed him a debt of gratitude. If not for their breakup, she might have eventually found herself in a loveless marriage. She wouldn’t have realized that she deserved more out of life than Dax could give her. She certainly wouldn’t have embarked on a new career path.

Not when her main goal had been a big fancy wedding with the perfect dress, tons of flowers and all the rest of the pomp and circumstance that went with it. For years she had spent untold hours reading bridal magazines and looking at Web sites, studying rings and bridesmaid dresses, bouquets and cakes.

She had pictured the actual event so many times in her head that it almost seemed real. She could see herself floating up the length of white carpet toward the altar. In the glow of a thousand candles, she struggled to see her groom’s face clearly, tall and dark—

“Ah, I’m glad you’re still here,” Mitch exclaimed, startling her out of her daydream. “I wanted to ask…about DJ’s wedding…would you go with me?”

Chapter Three

Liz stared up at Mitch, who had appeared beside her desk while she was daydreaming. “You want me to go with you to DJ and Allaire’s wedding?” she echoed.

“I’d like that very much,” he replied quietly. “Please say yes.”

His steady gaze and half-smile were somehow much more appealing to Liz than his brother Marshall’s easy charm had ever been. When she looked at Mitch, it was hard to remember what she’d ever seen in his brother, even though he was a great guy.

For a moment, she was tempted to accept, but then she remembered her resolution. Reluctantly she shook her head.

“I appreciate the offer, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to go out,” she said reluctantly. “I hope you understand.”

He folded his arms across his chest. “Mind if I ask why?”

Oh, darn. She might have guessed that a man as successful as Mitch wouldn’t easily take no for an answer. Part of his formula for success must be persistence.

Liz tended to have a difficult time standing her ground when it came to persistence. She had a tough time—at least to a certain extent—saying no to people. She was always afraid of hurting their feelings, which was why she’d gone out with a number of men she hadn’t found at all attractive.

With a burst of insight, she suddenly realized that her difficulty in saying no was exactly why she had ended up engaged to Dax. Not because she’d really been in love with him.

Lesson learned.

Despite the injection of fresh determination, she was still hesitant. What if Mitch didn’t understand?

“I’ve decided to focus my energy on doing a good job here,” she explained gently, hands clasped tightly on her lap beneath her desk. She could see that saying no without guilt was going to take some practice. “I just think dating my boss could complicate that, don’t you?”

Mitch’s golden brown eyes narrowed, giving her a glimpse of the strength behind his success as he studied her as though she were some new kind of mechanical gizmo he’d never seen before. Then his expression cleared.

“Oh, I get it.” He chuckled lightly. “You thought I was asking you on a date.”

Oops. “Weren’t you?” she squeaked, sudden embarrassment nearly choking her.

He held out his hands, palms up. “My fault entirely. I know you’re probably still getting over what happened with Dax, but I should have explained myself better.”

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