What She Really Wants for Christmas. Debbi Rawlins

gaze slowly moved down to his mouth, then went to his chin and lingered. “I’m listening.”

      “No more talking. I lead, you follow. You have to trust me.”

      “And if I don’t?”

      Shrugging, he leaned back. “Your loss.”

      The waitress showed up to take her order, and Liza looked hesitantly at him.

      “Your call,” he said.

      “Thanks, but I won’t be having a drink.”

      The waitress readied her pad. “Ready to order dinner then?”

      “We won’t be having dinner after all. I’ll take the check when you have a moment,” Evan said, aware of the flash of dismay on the woman’s face.

      Still, she smiled pleasantly as she dug into the pocket of her white apron, produced the check for his glass of chardonnay and laid it down on the table.

      He got out his silver money clip. The one Angela had given him for his twenty-sixth birthday and the only memento of her he kept. The perfect reminder to keep him from being stupid about a woman again.

      “No rush on that,” the waitress said. “You folks have a nice evening.”

      “You, too.” He’d missed Atlanta while he was away at school. The city had grown dramatically since he was a kid but there was still a basic niceness that hadn’t disappeared. The woman had to be disappointed that she wasn’t going to rack up a hefty tip, but she remained gracious.

      Evan included an extra twenty and laid the money and check facedown. He pushed back his chair. “Ready?”

      Liza got up and walked alongside him to the door. He stopped to get his coat and noticed her peering intently out of the window into the darkness.

      “Anything wrong?”

      She turned to him abruptly. “No. Why?”

      He shrugged into the camel-colored cashmere coat he’d found at an end-of-season sale last year. Still, it seemed like a big splurge when he’d had so many student loans. “I don’t know. I thought maybe someone was stealing your car.”

      She adjusted his collar with a familiarity that startled him. “Then they’d be doing me a huge favor.” Their eyes met and she quickly lowered her hands.

      “I don’t suppose you have a coat with you,” he said and continued buttoning.

      “What do you think?”

      “Right.” He opened the door and she preceded him into the dark parking lot. “My car okay?”

      “I could follow you.”

      “Promise to have you back anytime you say.”

      She looked tentative at first, but then nodded and followed him to the Camry. She smiled when he opened the passenger door for her. He did it out of habit, but was rewarded when she swung her long legs into the car and her skirt rode up to an indecent height. She saw him watching and he immediately closed the door.

      The air was cool and damp, which could easily ruin his plans. Although he did have a blanket in his trunk that would help. He got behind the wheel and immediately turned on the engine. Fortunately, the heater did its job. Liza had to be chilled, no matter what she said.

      He heard the passenger window go down and turned to her in astonishment. She slid her finger over the control and it went back up.

      She looked over at him. “Wow. A grown-up car. Real automatic windows and everything.”

      “I even have an automatic hood. Want to play with it?”

      “May I?”

      Evan smiled as he pulled into traffic. “You win that lawsuit and you can have any kind of car you want.”

      Her grin disappeared and she turned to stare out of the window.

      “I say something wrong?”

      “I’m not doing it for the money,” she said quietly.

      “Your business.” He hadn’t been prying. He hadn’t even given thought to his words. They’d just come out.

      After a long silence she asked, “Where are we going, anyway?”

      “You like Chinese?”

      “I like the noodles and sweet-and-sour chicken.”

      “Good.”

      “So where—”

      “You’re not allowed any more questions.”

      She snorted. “Says who?”

      It was a moot question since they’d reached their destination. He pulled into a spot in front of the small mom-and-pop take-out place and turned off the engine. There was a short counter where customers occasionally ate, but primarily it was a to-go business with three different entrée choices each day. Fortunately, vegetable chow mein and sweet-and-sour chicken were a staple.