At Suzy’s statement, laughter erupted all around the table. Claire, ever the diplomatic one, tried to smother her smile behind her napkin as she said, “Er, I’m sure he was fine, Ella. Suz just compares every man to Gray and, let’s face it, most men would come up lacking in that comparison. Plus, looks aren’t everything.”

Suzy snorted. “Yeah, it’s easy to say that when you’re married to Jason Danvers, right? Power to the little people and all.” In a perfect imitation of Claire’s soft voice, Suzy said, “Looks don’t matter as long as he has a good personality.” When Beth opened her mouth to speak, Suzy pinned her with a hard stare and said, “And Nick’s no ugly duckling either. Come on girls, he doesn’t have to be a model, but let’s at least get her up to average. That guy had ears so big, he could pass for Dumbo’s father.”

“Okay,” Beth laughed. “We get your point.” Turning to Ella she asked, “How about the guy that you told me about, wasn’t he a lawyer?”

Nodding, Ella said, “Yes, Travis. He said he was mid-thirties and practiced real estate law. He was pretty cute, I think.”

Claire gave a thumbs-up. “That sounds like a good one. Are you going to line him up for the next date?”

Ella looked at Suzy, waiting for her approval. It was kind of funny. Ella had started thinking of Suzy as the godfather of the dating world. You didn’t want to make a move without her approval. “That could work. Please tell me he isn’t a total bow wow.”

“No, he is much better than Hu—I mean, he is nice looking. I’ll e-mail him tonight.” Then with a sigh, Ella said, “I just wish that Declan would ask me out already. I don’t really want to date anyone else. I want to be with him. I don’t even know if this is going to work.”

Beth put her arm around her and gave her a squeeze. “Sometimes men aren’t that smart, sweetie, and they have to be shown the way. I don’t think this will go on for long though. If Declan had that strong of a reaction to your first date, I can’t see him just letting it continue. And who knows, you might meet someone else and decide that you don’t want him.” All three people at the table looked at Beth as if she were crazy. “What? It could happen.”

Suzy shook her head before saying, “Honey, Declan is a prime piece of bad-boy candy. If you land that wild one, he will rock your world. I’m not saying you need to marry him, but you damn sure need to sleep with him. That is the sexual initiation that every woman should have. Of course, there’s also the fact that we all want to know how he is in bed.” The women nodded their heads in agreement. Apparently, more than one person at the table had given some thought to Declan’s . . . talents.

After lunch, Ella dropped a quick e-mail to Travis and made a date for Friday night. She hoped that the evening would not turn out as boring as the one she had spent with Hugh. It wasn’t encouraging that she had seen no sign of Declan yet. Her mood took a nosedive as she was faced with the fact that maybe the kiss last night was an isolated incident.

When Ella walked in the door of her apartment that evening, she felt depressed. Declan was apparently back to pretending that she didn’t exist. Even though she had known better, she hadn’t been able to keep from getting her hopes up that they had turned some corner the night before. That didn’t appear to be the case. Dropping her purse on the floor, she went straight for the freezer. It might not solve all of her problems, but a pint of cookie dough ice cream couldn’t hurt. Well, maybe it could when her butt expanded, but if this wasn’t an emergency then what was?

Not bothering with a bowl, Ella grabbed a spoon. Just as she slid the first creamy bite into her mouth, the doorbell rang. Please don’t let it be my parents. Of course it’s your parents, who else comes to visit you? She juggled the ice cream in one hand and opened the door without looking through the peephole. She was shocked into silence at the sight of her visitor.

Declan stood on her welcome mat in a formfitting pair of dark jeans and a T-shirt. He was holding a brown bag that smelled heavenly. “Declan . . . um . . . what—”

“Hey Ellie, I thought you might be hungry.”

“Ellie?” she asked in surprise.

“Sorry ’bout that. I tend to give everyone a nickname. Some I repeat, some I don’t. Just a carryover from my days in the military. Real names were hardly ever used there.”

Wow, she had just learned more about him in two minutes on her doorstep than she had in the previous month at the office. “That’s okay, I kind of like Ellie. I always thought Ella made me sound old.” Then realizing that he was still standing in the hallway, she hastily stepped to the side and said, “Come in.”

Declan walked past her and into her kitchen. He set the bag on the counter and turned back around. Shooting an amused look at the ice cream she was still clutching he asked, “So do you want some Chinese food, or are you dedicated to that carton you’re holding?”

She could feel her face starting to flame as she hastily shoved the carton back into the freezer. Now that she finally had Declan in her apartment, she had no idea what to do with him. First, stop staring at him and get some plates. Do you want him to know that you’ve never had a man over before? Pathetic! She gave him an awkward smile and turned to the cabinet behind her to get the plates. Naturally, the first plate she reached for slid out of her hands like a Frisbee and flew across the kitchen to land at Declan’s feet. She then compounded the disaster by racing forward to clean it up at the same time that he bent down. She saw stars as their heads crashed together and she promptly fell backwards on her butt from the impact.

“Whoa, Ellie, are you alright?” Declan laughed.

With a groan, she covered her face and hoped that she would simply disappear. “Oh, Calgon, take me away!” Yeah, like that ever really worked anytime other than the commercials.

She heard Declan chuckle above her before his hands gently pried hers from her face. “You’re a little dangerous, aren’t you? I’m all for a woman falling at my feet, but how about leaving the china out of the equation next time, sweetheart. Where is your broom?” She pointed him to the closet in the corner. He pulled her to her feet and patted her butt. “I hope everything is okay back there after your fall?” Speechless, she could only nod her head as he walked to the closet for the broom. He made short work of the cleanup and she set her small dining room table without further incident.

“So . . . Um, I’m kind of surprised to see you,” she began.

“Are you really, Ellie? Usually when I lick a woman’s tongue, they aren’t surprised to see me. Some might even look forward to it.”

Ella’s fork clattered to her plate as she stared at him. He continued to eat as if they always had conversations like this. “But . . . I just didn’t . . .”

He swallowed a bite and turned to her. “You want to be involved with me?”

“Involved?” Surely, he didn’t actually mean what it sounded like he meant and she wasn’t about to make a fool of herself yet again by assuming.

Declan took his time wiping his mouth with a napkin before answering. “My idea of what that means will probably be a little different from yours, Ellie, but I think you get the idea. I like you, I want you, and I think you feel the same. I’ve tried to step back even though I knew how you felt about me because you are just too good for someone like me.” When she opened her mouth to protest, he raised his hand to silence her. “For years I have lived a life that you can’t even imagine. I have done and seen things that would shock you, disgust you, and scare the hell out of you. Don’t even bother to doubt me, because even I run from the things in my head. So I can’t make any promises to you, Ellie, because more than likely I’d end up breaking them. I’m not going to be the man you settle down with or the man who gives you a family, but, honey, I can be the man who makes your skin burn, your toes curl, and who makes you lose your inhibitions and scream. That I can promise you.”