14 Valentine Place by Pamela Bauer Page A

contacts?”
    She shook her head. “I had laser surgery.”

    “I should have known there was a reason Mom had it done.”
    That had her pausing with her fork in midair. “You think I told her to do it?”
    “Didn’t you?”
    “No. It was the other way around. When she told me how painless the procedure was and how happy she was with the results, I decided to try it, too.” She could see it wasn’t the answer he expected to hear. “Your mom does have a mind of her own, Dylan.”
    She expected him to give her another skeptical look, but instead he said, “It’s good you took her advice. You have beautiful eyes.”
    The compliment was unexpected. She didn’t want to be flattered, but she was. Heat spread through her and she took a drink of her iced tea, then managed to say, “Thank you.”
    Again a silence stretched between them and it was all because of the change in his attitude. He wasn’t simply trying to be friendly. He was flirting with her. She should have known how to handle it. After all, she hadn’t reached the age of twenty-eight without having men come on to her, yet this wasn’t just any man. It was Dylan, her landlady’s son, the guy she’d fantasized about when she was fourteen.
    She needed to bring the conversation back to safer ground. It was important that she remember why she was having lunch with him—Leonie. “I hope your mother’s trip goes well.”
    “Time will tell,” he said in an almost ominous tone.

    “Is there a reason why you think it wouldn’t?” she asked.
    He shrugged. “Rob Lerner can be brutal with his guests if he doesn’t agree with what they’re saying. That’s why I didn’t think she should go.”
    “And that’s the only reason?” she asked with a lift of one brow.
    “Yes. What did you think? That I was against her going because I wanted her here to make me lunch?” There was a note of incredulity in his voice. “Have you ever seen the show? The guy can get pretty nasty.”
    “I know, but he asked her to come specifically to talk about romance. Why would he give her a bad time?”
    “Because she’s a romance coach. It’s a job a sarcastic male comedian could make fun of without any reservations, don’t you think?” There was no mistaking the skepticism in his voice.
    “And would you be one of those laughing?”
    “Not at my mother’s expense,” he stated unequivocally.
    “But at someone else’s expense?” She set down her fork and leaned her forearms on the table, sensing a battle of words was about to ensue. “Tell me. Why don’t you think being a romance coach is an occupation to be taken seriously?”
    “I didn’t say I don’t take my mother’s occupation seriously. I just wish that she wasn’t talking about it on national TV,” he corrected her.
    “Why? Does it embarrass you that she’s a romance coach?”

    “No.” Again the denial was firm.
    “But you don’t want her talking about it on TV.” She didn’t give him a chance to respond. “Would you have felt better if you had come home and found her helping people with their taxes instead of giving romance advice?”
    “She worked for over twenty-five years helping my dad with taxes,” he answered. “She knows the accounting business. I’m not sure she has the kind of credentials needed to withstand a verbal attack by someone like Rob Lerner.”
    “What better credentials than experience? She put in the same twenty-five years with your father working on love and marriage,” she countered.
    “You talk as if anyone who’s been married is qualified to give advice on romance.”
    “Not everyone, but your mom has good instincts for the subject. And she’s constantly gathering more information—going to workshops, attending seminars, reading journals. She knows what’s she’s talking about, Dylan.”
    She could see he wasn’t convinced and wondered if it wasn’t the subject matter that disturbed him more than his mother’s qualifications. Garret has said he