Will Not Settle To Just Anyone

She was lying. The evidence was present in her confused look, in her racing pulse, very easily and unobtrusively detected when he took her wrist. And he intended to find out why, because despite his thoughts he would remain unaffected by whatever he discovered when he went to the airport, the sight of the old man, so brittle and somehow diminished, he seemed to be struck by a hammer in his heart. They only spent a little time together, for a long time nothing else was done but to argue and nothing was agreed upon. But Rocco was still his father, and Chris would be damned before he’d let someone take him to the cleaners.

Oh, she was full of reasonable anger for saying that she was not a selfless angel of mercy as she portrays as she is. After all, he didn't expect it. But he also saw how she was able to bring herself closer to Rocco; how successful she was in taking its affection. His father was not the demonstrative type of man, and at least not as far as Chris remembers. So, what he did holding Lara's hand at the airport was proof.

If his assessment of her was correct, snatching her attention would be just as easy. After all, a millionaire who is stronger and more handsome will definitely be able to choose her compared to a jerk. And if he’s wrong... well, a harmless flirtation won’t hurt anyone. Of course, when his dad finds out what he wants, he won’t like it, but when was the last time he approved of anything Chris did?

"You're so quiet all of a sudden," she said, interrupting the flow of his thoughts.

He looked deeply into her dark brown eyes. "Because I have realized that I judged you too much," he replied, doing his best to make the remorse convincing. "But I'm not entirely without conscience. Therefore, if one of us has to leave, let me just go."

He ignored her growl in protest and released her. He opened the door to leave the room and found himself face-to-face with Aida. He could not have orchestrated a better exit. Timing, as he knows in the nature of his work, is what matters. "Let's eat, Lara," he said, standing back to allow Aida to bring several different dishes of food. "Enjoy your meal."

He was over the threshold before she burst out, "Oh, don't be too ridiculous!"

Holding back a smile, he turned around. "There is a problem?"

"If having enough food to feed an army is a problem, then yes."

He shrugged. "What can I say? I love to eat."

"Well, I'm sorry but I can't afford to eat it all, I don't want to refuse the food your father's housekeeper served me and I know she worked hard to cook it all..."

"It's okay, Lara."

She grinned, as if the words that followed gave her indigestion. "You might as well stay and just eat whatever you can."

He stroked his jaw and made a display weighing his options. "It's pathetic to let it go to waste," he eventually says, "especially as this is but the first of several courses."

For a moment, he thought to overplay his hand. Giving him a glance that could stop a flying vehicle at Edsa, she waited until Aida poured her spilled drink, then sat down at the table and said, "Try not to boast, Chris. It's so unattractive."

He was not accustomed to the woman's criticism. The women who were with him were so careful in whatever was said, they had already swallowed their own tongues before uttering such harsh words on his shortcomings. That she suffered no such hesitation appealed to him in ways she couldn’t begin to imagine. He devoted his entire life to challenging unfavorable odds. And took great pleasure in beating them.

Taking the bottle of wine as he passed, he joined her and filled their goblet. There is nothing like dim lights and good champagne to start a flirtation. Raising his glass, he said, "We're here to get to know each other all over again."

She responded with a weak tilt of a shoulder, took a dainty sip, then helped herself to a little carbonara and toast bread.

"Get more," he urged, pushing the tray of bread closer to him.

She selected a grave but ignored his champagne.

"You don't care about Korean food?"

"I'm not very familiar with it."

“There is no Korean restaurant that runs to Vancouver?"

"Hundreds, and I was told they were so delicious. Just don't eat too often."

"Why is that? And please don't tell me you're missing out. Surely your suitors are lined up at your door to invite you to eat out for a date."

"I'm afraid not. Shift work tends to put a crimp in a nurse's social life."

That's right. And you’re so dedicated to your work that you’re never able to have a night off!

He shook his head in feigned mystification. "What's going on with Canadian men, to be easily discouraged? Are they all eunuchs?"

She almost choked on her grape. "Not to my knowledge," she spluttered. "But then, I didn't bother to ask."

"How are your colleagues? As I understand it, hospitals are a hotbed of romance between doctors and nurses."

"The idea that all nurses end up marrying doctors is just a saying," she informed him sternly. "First of all, half of the number of doctors today are women, and even if they aren't, finding a mate doesn't top my list."

"Why not? Don't most women want to settle down and have children? Or do you want to tell me that you are not one of them?”

"No." She nibbled a sliver of bread. “I want to get married and have children someday, but only when the right man comes. I don't want to marry just anyone else.”

“Define ‘the right man’,” he said—a shade too abruptly, if her response was anything to go by.