Jennifer had her key in her free hand, but Jonathan stopped her from putting it in the card slot outside her door. He turned her to him.

"Answer me one question."

"All right."

"Why did you pay $75,000 for a date with me?" Jennifer wanted to be honest with him, but she'd struggled with that same question all night. It was a rash and impulsive move on her part, something she wasn't used to. He watched her as she glanced one way and then the other, trying to find an answer.

"It started out as a way to get you alone for an interview." He'd figured as much but knew there was more to it now. Jonathan prompted her.

"And then?" Again, she had trouble looking at him. Finally, she raised her hands in frustration and locked eyes with him.

"And then I couldn't get your eyes out of my mind." A slow smile spread across his face.

"I like your eyes too."

"You do?" He nodded, his mind made up.

"I do." He took a deep breath. "Jennifer, if I'm going to grant an interview with anyone, it'll be you." Jennifer smiled tentatively at him and tried to keep the excitement out of her voice.

"Thank you. I appreciate your trust."

"When do you have to be home?"

"I planned to be back in New York and at work on Monday, but I can adjust that, if you need me to." Jonathan looked at her intently.

"Well, we have a date tomorrow, if that suits you, and we still need to fit in the interview. I make it a point to not work on the weekends, unless it's unavoidable, so our interview will have to wait until Monday." Jennifer looked at him, slightly confused.

"Oh, I figured that our interview would be the date. Once you knew who I was and what my intentions were, I didn't figure you would want to spend more time with me than you had to." He took a step closer to her, invading her space.

"No. A date is a date. An interview is definitely not a date, and I absolutely want that date that you paid for." Jennifer's stomach began turning in circles with the way Jonathan was looking at her, and his thumb caressing the knuckles on her left hand didn't help any. She was having trouble making coherent thoughts.

"Oh. A date tomorrow sounds nice." Jonathan could see the effect he was having on her, and it helped steady his own somersaulting stomach. A smile stole across his face as he decided to tease her a bit.

"So, you think I'm charming, huh?" Jennifer quickly looked to her left with a bit of a nervous laugh, her telltale sign that she was embarrassed. She knew her brain was scrambled when she didn't have a witty retort ready and was thankful when he let her off the hook, even though his smug smile made her want to find a comeback. "What are some things you like to do on dates?" Jennifer half laughed.

"I'm not sure really. I don't date all that much. In fact, if you ask the last man I dated he would probably tell you that I like to cancel dates more than go on them." Knowing that she didn't date often brought Jonathan an absurd amount of pleasure.

"Well, then, I'll surprise you." A smile bloomed across Jennifer's face and enchanted Jonathan.

"I love surprises." He tucked that piece of information away, along with how to make her blush, for later use. As he leaned in for a kiss, Jennifer put her index finger on his lips.

"Not so fast, buster. We haven't even had a first date yet." Jonathan somehow had the ability to flash a smile that was both a bit chagrined and devilish. He shook his head slightly but never broke eye contact with her.

"I'm sorry. You're just so beautiful that I seem to lose my head around you." Jennifer gave Jonathan a half smile and looked up at him from under thick, dark lashes.

"How often do you use that line?" Jonathan took both of her hands in his and spoke earnestly to her.

"I've never used it, and it's not a line. In fact, I'm not used to feeling out of control. You've done something to me, Jennifer Edwards, and I'm completely out of my element." Jennifer almost found herself leaning toward Jonathan for that kiss after all. She caught herself just in time and looked at Jonathan with a saucy little smile.

"Believe me, the feeling is mutual." She put her keycard in the door, but before she crossed the threshold, she turned around and gave Jonathan a kiss on the cheek. The door shut in his face as she told him she'd be ready by 10:00 am the next morning. He stood for a minute, arms braced on either side of the frame, staring at the door, and wondering how a kiss on the cheek made him so weak in the knees.

She stood for a minute, leaning against the door, wondering how Jonathan swept her off her feet as easily as he did and trying to figure out what she would do now that her wall was crumbling.

...

On the way home, Jonathan asked Max his thoughts on the red headed bomb shell who had invaded his life this evening.

"You mean Miss Edwards, Mr. H.? I think she's terrific." Jonathan was thrilled that Max liked Jennifer. He trusted his old friend's judgement, which had helped him in the past. He rolled his eyes a bit as he remembered Irene Darrow and just as quickly put her out of his mind.

"What did you like about her, Max?"

"Well for one, she didn't yell at me when I stepped on her toes when we were dancing." Jonathan laughed at that. "Second, she didn't take any offence when I told her I didn't want to see you get hurt."

"You said that to her?"

"Of course I did. I'm not going to beat around the bushes. She shot straight with me about who she was and what she wanted. She told me she wasn't looking for love or a rich husband. I also figure she's got to have her own money if she could drop $75 grand on a date with the likes of you." That got another laugh out of Jonathan.

"Oh Max. I love ya."

"Right back atcha, Mr. H." They were silent for a bit before Max started up the conversation again. "You got plans for your date tomorrow?"

"I'm not totally sure yet. I'm picking her up at ten, so we might wander to the beach. I think I'd like to take her to a show but living in New York might make a Broadway Show in LA a little bit of a letdown." Maybe I'll just play it by ear."

"I don't know, Mr. H. She seems like a lady who likes to have a plan."

"Yeah, she does, Max, but she also told me she likes surprises."

"A woman with contradictions. Who'd a thought?" The two men were still chuckling when they pulled into the underground garage of Jonathan's building.