“Well, I didn’t skip lunch but I’m still hungry,” he said, walking beside her out of the hotel and toward his parked car. “I have quite a hearty appetite. Ac-cording to my mother, it’s because I’m still growing.”
Delphine wasn’t sure if Gannon Steele was still growing or not, but what she saw now was pretty dang impressive.
She couldn’t help giving him a discreet glance as they walked toward the shiny black Tesla. She had to admit, he looked pretty darn good in a pair of black slacks and a white shirt. Almost too good. She had seen photos of him before in different kinds of attire—business suits, jeans, sweats, jogging shorts. She’d even seen him in a pair of swimming trunks when he’d been in one of those male calendars as part of a charity fund-raiser. He’d been Mr. September. She re-membered that quite well, since her birthday was in September, and she’d enjoyed seeing him pinned to the wall in her office. However, she was certain that seeing him in the flesh was altogether different. She preferred the real thing.
“Here we are.”
She paused as he opened the car door for her and then she slid onto the smooth leather seat. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome, Ms. Ryland.”
He closed the car door and she watched him walk around the front of the vehicle to get into the driver’s side. She noticed he had a manly stroll unlike any she’d seen before. It was a purposeful stride, filled with confidence, but not arrogance. After he backed out of the parking lot, he glanced over at her.
“When did you arrive in Phoenix?” he asked her.
“Friday evening. And again, I want to apologize for disturbing you at your brother’s wedding. Lucia had mentioned a wedding in your family, but I thought it was last weekend.”
“No harm done. I’m sure my brother Mercury wished it had been a week earlier.”
“He was that anxious?”
Gannon Steele laughed. “Yes, he was just that anxious to tie the knot, and I’m happy for him and Sloan. They left immediately after the wedding for a three-week honeymoon to Paris, parts of Germany and Switzerland.”
“Sounds nice.”
“For them, I’m sure it will be. Now tell me about yourself, Ms. Ryland. And please call me Gannon. If you don’t mind, may I call you Delphine?”
“No, I don’t mind, and there’s not a lot to tell. I’ve been working for Simply Irresistible for a while now.”
“Was it your first job out of college? You look rather young.”
She shook her head, grinning. “I’m not all that young. I’ll be twenty-six in September. After college I got a job with a small publishing house in New York as an editor. I worked there almost a year before my mother became ill. I left New York to move back to Denver to take care of her.”
“I hope she got better.”
She couldn’t hold back the sadness she knew shone in her eyes. “She didn’t. Mom had MS and died last May.” It was hard to believe the one-year mark was coming up next month. There was never a day that went by that she didn’t think of her. Miss her.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Delphine. That had to have been hard on you.”
She nodded. “It was. Mom and I were extremely close.”
Delphine paused and then said, “Because of the nature of Mom’s condition, she needed full-time care and I wanted to be the one to take care of her, along with the visiting nurses who came to check on her every week. Lucky for me, I was hired by Simply Ir-resistible as a freelancer, writing articles from home. I also became a blogger.”
He nodded. “What about your father?”
She could understand Gannon asking about him. In the world he’d grown up in, both parents had been present. “My parents divorced when I was six. I never saw him again after the day he left.” No need to tell him why her father had divorced her mom, or how both she and her mother had cried themselves to sleep for months after he’d deserted them.
“Do you still live in your mother’s house?”
“Yes. It’s been in our family for a couple of generations, since it used to be my grandparents’ home. I love living there, although I’ve decided to give it a much-needed face-lift,” she said. “While I’m gone, I’m getting my floors redone. Replacing the carpet with wood.”
“Who’s overseeing the project while you’re away?” “My best friend from high school, Mandy. She likes doing renovation stuff. I trust her to make sure things will be done to my satisfaction and within my budget.”
Gannon nodded. “According to Chloe and Lucia, you’re a good journalist—one of the best.”
Delphine appreciated him changing the subject from her personal life to her professional one. “Oh, I don’t know about that, but I appreciate them for thinking so. Lucia’s mother and mine were best friends from their high-school days.”
She thought about how much support she’d gotten from the Conyers family over the years and added, “During Mom’s last days, I don’t know how I would have made it without the Conyerses being there for me and for Mom.”
He nodded again. “It’s always great having good people in your corner when you need them the most.”
He brought the car to a stop. “Here we are.”
She glanced out the window and saw the restaurant. The Grip. There was one in Denver, although she could never afford to eat there. “Nice restaurant.” “One of my favorites,” he said, opening the car door. Just lovely, she thought. She couldn’t afford to eat at The Grip and he considered it one of his favorites, which meant he probably ate here a lot. She tried not to think about the differences in their livelihoods. In-stead, she watched him walk around the front of the car to open the door for her. Normally, she wouldn’t sit and wait for any man to open her door, but she knew from articles she’d read about him that Gan-non had impeccable manners.
W hen he opened the door, she took the hand he offered and got out of the car. It had rained earlier and the scent of damp grass and wet soil permeated the air. And then there was his woodsy scent, which suited him. It definitely suited her since she liked the fragrance on him. She thought it made him even more manly.
As they were walking side by side toward the building, he suddenly took hold of her arm to skirt around a couple of puddles. Why did his touch feel so warm and comforting?
When they reached the entrance, he released her arm and stepped back to smile down at her. She was wearing high heels, yet she knew he was at least six-two or six-three. “Welcome to The Grip, Delphine. I hope you enjoy dining here as much as I do.”
She couldn’t help but return his smile. “Thanks, Gannon. I’m sure that I will.”