A Stallion Dream. Deborah Mello Fletcher

never had sex with him in her bed and never spent the night in his bed unless it was a planned getaway in a luxury hotel.

      She could be fastidious, obsessive, slightly anal and not always as accommodating as she expected her male counterparts to be. She was a handful for most men and unapologetic about it. Maintaining control ensured her heart didn’t get broken, she didn’t get hurt and the relationships that didn’t work could end as amicably as she needed them to.

      Now she was headed to dinner with a man who had no idea about her rule book, and she hadn’t had an opportunity to ensure he was willing to play by her rules. But it wasn’t a date, she thought, fighting the urge to turn her car around and go back home. It was dinner and one meal couldn’t possibly hurt either of them.

      * * *

      Collin stood outside of Truluck’s, pacing anxiously back and forth as he waited for London to arrive. He hadn’t returned to the office after leaving the law library and he hadn’t called her, not wanting to give her the opportunity to change her mind. He had learned enough about London Jacobs to theorize she would have called by now if she intended to cancel. He could only begin to imagine how she was rationalizing their sharing a meal. Apparently, she was particular about who she dated, and he imagined that despite the friendship blooming between them, he hadn’t yet made it to her short list. But he had high hopes.