Chapter 10

Clay sat there dazed at the amount of information she'd shared in such a short space of time. He was amazed and thrilled to discover how well she knew herself and how open she's been about it. The only qualm he had about her list was that at the top of her dislikes was dishonest people and what was he but a life of lies and cover-ups?!

He came back to the moment when he heard her say, "So what about you? Do I get the same low down?"

Now Clay was faced with a real quandary. She had been so open and honest with her answers that he wanted to do the same thing, but how much could he do that and stay within the bounds of his cover story? All he could do was try. "Let's see, as far as likes, I enjoy the spring for the flowers, and fall for the colors. Any top car as long as it's sporty and red. House also, and a view would be nice. Favorite desert would be raspberries and cream, but I could live with a drizzle of chocolate over them. And of course I can't forget to put you on the list! Dislikes: disloyal people, coconut, green peppers and yeah fake cheese is pretty bad too. I would also have to put the Count on that list because he probably knows you better than I do. In what little spare time I get, I like horseback riding as well and to dance. I'm not so sure about bubble baths, but love a great hot tub. As for marriage and children, I want both and don't care how many, but would like a son to carry on the family name."

"Well I like to dance too, maybe we could find a place to do so after dinner, and as for Giraldo, the only reason he knows me better is because I've known him longer. I should also add you to my 'like list', Tony, and would like to get to know you even better."

He smiled at her and answered, "Then I'm all for ending dinner early so I can hold you in my arms…" When he saw the knowing smirk on her face he quickly added, "On the dance floor of course!"

"Of course!" she replied with a raised eyebrow, and then added teasingly, "But what about desert? You know about my love of chocolate."

"We could always get desert after dancing," he offered.

"But if we have it now, we could be working the calories off on the dance floor."

He chuckled and told her, "You really don't look like you need to worry about a few extra calories."

"Oh, but you haven't seen how much chocolate I can put away! I'm not ashamed to admit that I have to work out to keep looking like this."

"Okay, desert first," he told her with a grin. "But how do you manage to keep this love of chocolate under control working at the bakery?"

"Who says I do? That's why I walk everywhere I can and go jogging every weekend," she revealed with a sigh.

"Maybe we could jog together some time? I can always use a little extra exercise too."

Tilting her head to one side she smiled and replied, "I'll think about it. We'll have to see how you do on the dance floor tonight. What if you can't keep up with me?"

"Hey! I'm a great dancer! My mother and I even enter contests togeth…" then remembering that his 'mother' was supposed to be dead, he quickly corrected himself, "Well, we used to."

"I'm sorry Tony! It sounds like you were very close to your parents."

Unable to tell her that his closeness to his mother was in part because he'd grown up without a father, he simply said, "Thank you Shane. Now what did you want for desert? If I remember right there were a few different chocolate items on the menu."

With a sigh she admitted, "I know! And I have tried them all. But I can never decided if I like the French or American better."

"French or American?" he questioned and then the light dawned…"Right! International Café! Well what are they?"

"The triple decadence of the white/milk/dark chocolate crème brule, and the double chocolate hot fudge brownie ala mode," she announced in a reverent tone.

"They do both sound delightful. Why don't we order one of each and share them?"

"Why didn't I think of that!? It's a great idea! I love you Tony!"

To be continued…