speechless, Shadow whispered, “I promise.”
He caught her face in his hands. His thumbs stroked over the softness of her cheeks and chin and jaw, his fingers delving into her dark, loosely curling hair. So incredibly soft, so warm. For an endless moment he stood there like that, enjoying the differences in their sizes, the light, feminine fragrance of her, the way she watched him, her thoughts now transparent without her speaking a word. Then he released her and stepped away. “You’ll have your phone number changed tomorrow?”
Shadow cleared her throat, then took several deep, openmouthed breaths. Finally she said, “Yes. I think it might be best. I’ve already told Kallie not to accept any more packages for me, to send them back if more should come.”
“It’s probably nothing to worry about, but be careful. Don’t go to the parking lot alone, and keep your door locked at home.”
Her slim brows lifted. “I do that anyway,” she answered, obviously annoyed. “I’m not careless.”
Not careless, but she was independent. “Fine.” The last thing Brent had meant to do was insult her. “Let’s get that damned entry form filled out then, if you really think it’s necessary.”
Shadow didn’t give him a chance to change his mind. She hustled back behind her desk, picked up the form and smiled at him. “I’ve already filled in your name. Now I need your exact address.”
It took only a few moments to fill out the top portion of the form. When they got to the next section, Shadow didn’t bother hiding her anticipation.
“You said you’re not married?”
“Am I disqualified if I say yes?”
“Availability is not a requirement for entering,” Shadow said stiffly, glaring at him.
Brent chuckled. “I didn’t lie. I’m not married now, nor have I ever been.”
Tilting her head, Shadow asked, “Engaged? Or otherwise involved?”
“That’s on the form?”
“No. It just seemed prudent to ask.”
Again he laughed. “I already told you I was here alone, remember?”
“But that was when we’d just met. I thought it might be good to verify it.”
His low laugh rumbled. “No. No engagement, no involvement.”
Nodding, she glanced at the form, then asked, “Ever been engaged?”
“Let me guess,” he said, eyeing Shadow lazily. “That’s not actually on the form, either.”
She shook her head, unrepentant. “Curiosity.”
Brent took his time deciding whether or not he wanted to answer. Finally he figured what the hell. She may as well know how he felt about marriage. “Up until a few months ago I was engaged, but it’s over now. And that was enough for me.”
“Oh.” The papers were laid on the desk, forgotten. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to dredge up bad memories for you.”
“You didn’t. I knew I was being married for my money. I expected that. But then she informed me she didn’t want children because it would ruin all her fun.”
Shadow winced.
“Since having kids was the main reason I had wanted to marry, I ended it. And I’m not sorry that it’s over. Just the opposite.”
“How does she feel about it?”
Brent shrugged. “She still makes a nuisance of herself on occasion. When she found out I was moving, she took it as a sign that I was too heartbroken to stay in the same area with her.”
“But you’re not heartbroken?” Shadow asked.
Briefly closing his eyes, Brent said, “No. I would have made her a lousy husband, and vice versa. I’d still like to have children someday. But now I know what to look for in a wife.”
“Such as?”
Apparently, as long as he was talking, Shadow was more than willing to listen. He took her by surprise when he reached across the desk to chuck her under the chin.
“For one thing, she can’t be a businesswoman. Too independent. And she would have to be biddable. Someone content to be a wife and mother above all things.”
Shadow smiled in understanding. “What you’re looking for isn’t all that unique, and one of the reasons I don’t plan to marry, even though I’d love to have children, too. I even tried once—marriage, I mean. When I was only seventeen.”
“Seventeen?” She’d been little more than a child. The idea was appalling.
Her eyes a little sad, she said, “I thought I wanted someone who would love me, who would put me first. Now, looking back, I think I just wanted to have sex. With my family upbringing, I couldn’t do that without being married.”
“What happened?” Brent was genuinely curious, which wasn’t at all usual for him. A woman’s personal history had never interested him before. But then, he’d never met anyone even remotely like Shadow.
“We were both young and stupid.” She straightened the papers on her desk, fidgeting, then came to some hidden decision. She looked up to meet his gaze. “He also liked to smack me around. The first time it happened, I kept quiet because I hated to admit everyone was right, that I’d made a mistake. The second time, I left him, but then I let him convince me to give our marriage another try. That was a real mistake.”
Brent stared at her, aware of a slow burn churning in his gut. Someone had dared to hit her? He didn’t care that it was long ago, that it had less than nothing to do with him. He hadn’t even known her and barely knew her now.
But none of that mattered. If she pointed the guy out today, right this second, he’d beat him into the ground. Brent drew a breath, barely getting hold of himself, and asked, “What did you do?”
“The third time he hit me I decided to get even, and when he turned his back on me that night, I surprised him with a baseball bat.”
Brent sat back, amazed. “Good for you.”
“I broke two of his ribs.” She added with a shrug, “He never asked me to come back after that.”
Through the tumultuous mix of anger and disbelief, Brent found a spot of laughter. It amazed him that she could always do that, could always amuse him, no matter what.
Her incredible eyes were still twinkling when he commented, “That was a long time ago. You haven’t had the urge to give it another try?”
“Only once. When I was twenty-four, seven years after my first marriage. I almost tied that stupid knot again, but like you, I luckily found out beforehand what I was getting into. Right before, actually. Two days prior to the wedding, I discovered my fiancé going into debt on the inheritance I’d just received from my grandmother. When I walked away, he was in a killing rage, because he’d promised most of my money on investments and was seriously in debt without it. I wasn’t surprised when he told me he’d only wanted me for my money, anyway. Not that I’m in your league, but Grandmother Harrison did leave me a pretty sum, enough for me to finally decide I could be independent, both personally and financially.”
She tapped the pencil on the desk. “That was seven years ago. Now I’m coming to realize how much I’d like to have children of my own. Of course, in this day and age, you don’t need to tie yourself into a loveless marriage to become a parent. One of my new friends, Annie, says I’m suffering my ‘seven year itch’ since my relationship fiascoes seem to come seven years apart.” Shadow laughed. “I told her I wasn’t, because I had no intention of getting married. But I am giving the parent thing some thought. As they say, my biological clock is ticking.”
“You want to be a mother now?”
“Don’t