"I know," she went on sadly, her attention all on her room. "I can't figure out what's happened! You know, I used to be so good at this kind of thing back when I was a poor, starving college student and all I had to contend with were bricks and boards."
She laughed ruefully, remem bering.
"Now that I have enough money to do what I want, I've somehow lost the touch. And grown-up people aren't allowed to mess around with bricks and boards, are they?"
She smiled at him and he frowned. This wasn't the way it was supposed to go. He'd planned to come in and take charge of the situation, charming her, leading her in ex actly the direction he needed her to go. Instead she'd thrown him off balance from the first, and he couldn't seem to regain his footing. He wasn't used to following along, and it annoyed him.
Her smile faded in the face of his frown, and she looked at him curiously, pulling her legs up under her on the couch and resorting to chattering as a way to smooth over the tension. He was beginning to make her nervous, and yet there was something compelling about the man. Not to mention sexy.
"What do you think?" she asked impulsively. "What style do you envision here? What sort do I look like to you?"
She held her chin out as though that would help him with his assessment. He found himself wanting to grin as he looked her over.
"South Sea Islands," he said suddenly. "I see you un der palm fronds, in a sarong, with a flower in your hair."
The look of shock on her face surprised him.
She stared at him for a long moment, wondering how he knew. Was it that obvious? But of course, she realized with a sense of relief. Mason must have told him about their background.
For the first time she began to look at her male visitor closely and to realize he wasn't at all what she would have expected in a friend of Mason's. This man seemed so... mature. There was something vaguely familiar about him, but she couldn't place the face. He was wearing a suit, and a nice one at that. His eyes were as blue and as penetrating as lasers. Sud denly, she felt, uncomfortable looking into them, and she dropped her gaze to his mouth.
The lips were full, smooth, infinitely sensual. A wariness fluttered through her and she dropped her gaze again, this time to his strong, long- fingered hands, and for some silly reason her heart was pounding just a little too fast and she was breathless.