Again by Sharon Cullars Page B

position, but this time with a little more money, and maybe a little more respect in the bargain.” He perched on the edge of her bookcase, looking quite comfortable. “What about you?”
    Tyne shrugged, embarrassed to admit that she’d been caught with her pants down. Then remembered he had walked in on her adjusting her underwear. “I’m thinking of doing some freelance. I’ve saved up some money. That, plus the unemployment checks, should keep beans in my bowl for a few months while I look around. I should be fine.”
    “Yeah, I expect so. You’re a very talented woman, much too underutilized here. You need to be somewhere where you can be fully appreciated. So, what about that lunch? My treat.”
    Tyne wondered at the odds of getting two lunch offers within minutes of each other. Two men, two very different men. One black, the other white, both culturally dissimilar from her. Both appealing. One disturbing for reasons she couldn’t understand.
    “Yeah, why don’t we do Wall Street?” she answered. “I’m in the mood for a good tuna sandwich.”
    “One o’clock. OK?”
    She nodded and he smiled as he left. She heard him whistling down the aisle.
    She turned back to the phone, stared at it as though it were an invading enemy. After a moment, she picked it up and waited for the prompt that would allow her to erase the message.
    Green eyes flashed in her mind, and her hand paused. In the end, she didn’t move to the erase button. Instead, she dialed his number.

C hapter 10
     
    “S o, what made you finally decide to call?” When David smiled, his eyes brightened and the dimple in his chin deepened.
    Tyne shrugged. “What made you so sure I wouldn’t? Especially since you offered me a free lunch anywhere I wanted.”
    She had chosen the Red Light, which served a Pan-Asian menu. Ray had brought her here once during his wooing phase, when he had cared a damn about making a good impression. She hadn’t been back since.
    Located on West Randolph, the restaurant wasn’t very romantic during the day. She’d wanted to keep things light and casual. She had chosen jeans with a blazer and T-shirt. Again, keeping things casual.
    David wore a black suede jacket, black T-shirt and jeans, and still managed to look GQ fine. He had strong features, sensual lips, an affable smile. He was not someone who’d have to beg for a lunch date.
    “So, it was the free lunch? That’s all?” he asked.
    On cue, the waitress brought their plates of shumai, small dumplings stuffed with pork and shrimp. They had both ordered glasses of red wine.
    Tyne took a sip to settle her nerves. She didn’t know why she had called him back or why she had said yes. Maybe it was just the intrigue.
    “What else would it be?” she countered, daring him by her tone to say it was him. But he only shrugged, took his own sip of wine, effectively avoiding the challenge. She was a little satisfied to see that he didn’t seem so sure of himself now.
    “Don’t you want to know why I called?” he asked after a pause, locking eyes with her. She broke away, looked around. The restaurant was nearly full. It was a popular place for lunch, which was one of the reasons she had chosen it. No chance for intimacy.
    “I assume you wanted to have lunch with me,” she said trying to sound glib but failing.
    “Yes, I wanted to have lunch,” he started. “No, I take that back. Actually I wanted to have dinner with you, but I knew you’d say no because you wouldn’t want to meet in a place where it’s dark and close, where the conversation might lead to less than safe subjects.”
    This was a mistake, she knew now, and she fought an overwhelming impulse to get up and leave. But she didn’t want to be accused of running again. “So, what now, you’re reading my mind? You don’t know what I’d have said if you asked me to dinner.” But he was too close to the mark.
    “OK. Let’s say Friday, then, dinner. You pick the place again.”
    She looked at