eyes widened, his only clue he’d caught her off guard. She recovered quickly, and then she, too, leaned forward in her chair and crossed her arms on the table.
“Then this meeting truly was a waste of time for both of us, Mr. Sinclair, because my company isn’t for sale.”
That’s what you think, Cole thought. “Don’t be too hasty, Ms. Matthews,” he said aloud. The easy Southern drawl he’d thought he’d lost in Europe permeated his warning. “After all, you don’t know what I’m offering.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Oh, I think it will.”
“Well, let’s hear it.”
Her tone taunted him with an unspoken challenge. Cole could hardly wait to see her expression when he not only met her expectations, but surpassed them.
Eye to eye, neither of their stares wavered. Nor did Cole’s confidence that he’d leave here with what he wanted. Reaching into the inside pocket of his suit jacket, he pulled out a folded scrap of paper and slid it across the white linen tablecloth.
Her fingertips grazed his as she took it, sending an almost audible crackle of electricity through him. He scoured her expression for an indication she’d felt it, too. For the first time since they’d met, she diverted her eyes.
She’d felt it all right.
Abruptly snatching her hand back, she took the slip of paper. His own hand still tingling in the spot where they’d inadvertently touched, Cole watched her square her shoulders. Her back stiffened as she straightened in her chair.
“It doesn’t matter what amount you’ve written. I’ve already told you, Stiletto isn’t for sale.”
Cole simply inclined his head toward the slip of paper. He stared at her fingernails, painted the same bold red as her lips, while she opened it.
This time, Sage Matthews couldn’t disguise her reaction. The paper fell from her hands on the table, and that delectable red mouth dropped open. A stuttering sound came out of it.
“O-oh, my God.” She covered a gasp with her hand and stared up him. “You’re joking, right?”
“I never joke about business, Ms. Matthews.” Satisfaction and a sense of imminent victory flooded him. The taste was so sweet, he’d probably forgo dessert.
Cole picked up the paper bearing his offer and placed it back in her hand. She was still examining it when the waiter returned with their entrées.
“Why don’t you just let that figure sink in while we enjoy lunch?” Cole did his best not to sound smug. “We can discuss it after we eat.”
The woman recovered quickly, her surprise replaced with a mask of indifference. But Cole knew better.
“Fine by me.” She refolded the paper and put it aside.
Cole switched focus to his food. He’d originally planned to go out for a simpler meal later; however, his impending triumph had given him quite an appetite. He’d just have to make do with the chef’s specialty, an overdressed piece of fish so fancy it deserved its own art exhibit.
He reached for his fork, but the frown on his dining companion’s face as she looked at her food stopped him. “Everything all right?”
She wrinkled her nose, and for the first time he noticed the faint smattering of freckles dotting it. “Honestly?” she asked.
Cole chuckled. “Somehow I don’t think you know how to be any other way.”
“I realize you’re accustomed to sitting down to a so-called gastronomical experience at every meal, but I’m a simple country girl with simple tastes. I’d have been fine with a pulled pork sandwich or burger.”
“Unbelievable,” Cole murmured. More like amazing.
She held up a hand. “Don’t go getting offended on me. It’s just a personal preference.” She picked up her fork and poked what appeared to be pureed spinach. “I’m sure whatever is under all this froufrou garnishing tastes just fine.”
Cole threw his head back and laughed. Too bad this wasn’t a date because Sage Matthews was almost too good to be true. If he wasn’t careful, he could end up liking her...a lot. “First of all, from what I see there’s nothing simple about you,” he said. “Second, you and I have the exact same opinion when it comes to food.”
“Really?” She brightened and a smile touched her lips.
He nodded, and then scanned the surroundings. “Write-ups in Bon Appétit and Saveur magazines have made this place a hot ticket. It impresses the people I do business with who love both its exclusivity and the cuisine.” Cole shrugged. “But me? I’ll take cheeseburger with a side of onion rings over froufrou every time.”
“My absolute favorite meal,” she said. “Thanks to an electronic billboard I pass on the way to work advertising a new burger place in town, I’ve been giving in to a craving for it every day for the past week for both lunch and dinner.”
“Burger Tower?”
She nodded. “Have you eaten there yet?”
“I haven’t had the opportunity; however, I can see the very same billboard from my office window. It leaves me practically drooling.”
She leaned in conspiratorially, her brown eyes sparkling with mischief. “Well, Mr. Sinclair, from one burger lover to another, they’re positively addictive.”
Cole rarely acted on impulse, but Sage Matthews was such a refreshing change of pace. She didn’t pander to him with her eyes on his wallet for what she could get. She impressed him as a woman who spoke her mind and didn’t give a damn what he or anyone else thought about it.
He was well aware he’d asked her here for purely professional reasons. Still, he found himself wanting to see her again.
“Call me Cole,” he said. “Because once we conclude our business, I’d like to take you out for one of those burgers. Feed both you and your addiction.”
She blinked. “As in a date?”
His common sense told him this wasn’t the time or place. Intermingling the personal and professional broke the most basic rule of business. A rule he’d never been tempted to bend until now.
He knew better.
Cole couldn’t defend his actions. Nor could he stop himself from telling her exactly what was on his mind.
“You couldn’t have missed it. I’m not even sure what to call it—an air of familiarity?” He searched for the right words to describe the coincidences, but came up empty and hoped he didn’t sound like a fool.
“It’s almost like looking in a mirror,” she said, softly.
Cole exhaled, and then nodded.
“Not physically, of course,” she quickly added. “But we do appear to have an awful lot in common.”
“More than that...” Again, he found himself reaching for just the right words, not wanting to make presumptions or come on too strong.
Her gaze dropped to his hand. The same one her touch had left tingling. “I felt it, too.”
“It’s the reason why I’m asking you on a date in the middle of a business lunch. I’d like an opportunity to get to know you better.”
The sparkle in her eyes dimmed. “As much as I’d enjoy that, I don’t think it’s going happen.”
“Why not? Are you involved with someone?” Of course, she was, Cole thought. He hadn’t seen a ring on her finger, but that didn’t mean anything.”
“No, I’m not seeing anyone. Honestly, you’re the first man I’ve met in a long time who’s piqued my