BACHELOR NUMBER FOUR Read online

  "It's just another date," she said quickly. "Not a boyfriend. I'm not ready for that."

  Bev gave her another long stare. "Arden, you know I lost my husband before I married your dad, don't you?"

  "Of course." Bev's first husband had been killed in a car accident.

  "Do you know how old I was when that happened?"

  She'd never thought about it. To her, Bev had always been Mom, ageless, the same now as she'd been the first time she met her, only now with a few more gray hairs and wrinkles.

  When she didn't answer right away, Bev answered for her. "I was twenty-seven."

  "What?" Arden sputtered a moment. From the back room, giggles exploded into a few whining shouts, then died down again. "Wow. I didn't know."

  Bev nodded. "Younger than you are now."

  Arden shook her head. "I guess I never thought of it."

  "I was thirty when I married your dad. Still younger than you are now. It might surprise you to learn your dad was not the first man I dated in those three years. He was just the last." Bev smiled.

  "How long did it take you to start dating again?"

  Bev thought for only a second. "About six months."

  Again, Arden was surprised. "That seems--"

  "I know. It seems like a short time. Well, Arden, I should tell you those first few dates had very little to do with my being ready to move on, or to find a new relationship. To put it bluntly, I was lonely, and I wanted companionship. Not love, necessarily."

  This was sounding a little too close to home. Arden busied herself with putting away her supplies before she looked up at Bev. "This was Lida's idea."

  Bev rolled her eyes. "I guessed that."

  They shared a laugh.

  "It's just a date, Bev."

  "I know, honey." Bev hugged her hard, then stepped back. "Just be careful, that's all."

  Arden heard the patter of feet and nodded. "My girls are the most important thing in the world to me right now. You know that."

  It was Bev's turn to look surprised. "I didn't think otherwise. I was telling you to be careful about yourself, Arden. I know you'd never do anything that would harm the girls."

  Then they had no more time to talk because Aislin and Maeve had come back into the shop in a whirlwind of chatter, two long pieces of net draped around their heads like turbans, identical grins making it impossible for her to get irritated.

  "Hugs and kisses." Arden squeezed them both to her. "Have fun with Gran and Grampa."

  Bev winked. "We'll have a great time. And you have a great time, too. Don't worry about us. We're going to stay up--"

  "All night!" The girls chorused, giggling.

  "All night," Bev repeated with another eye roll and began to herd them out the door.

  Arden stopped her. "Bev...Mom..thanks for everything. For keeping the girls...for everything."

  Bev reached out to push a piece of Arden's hair behind her ear. "You're welcome, honey. Believe me, it's my pleasure. Have fun tonight."

  The shop seemed extremely empty after they'd gone, but Arden stayed only long enough to turn out the lights and lock the doors. Then she was out to the street, in her car and heading home to get ready for her big night.

  * * * *

  Philip was absolutely, positively gorgeous. Blond hair, bright blue eyes, smile as white as pure mountain snow. He was tall and fit, and a very snappy dresser. In short, he was everything Lida had promised and more.

  Arden had underdressed in an ankle-length black skirt and a striped top, a cardigan thrown over her shoulders in case the restaurant's air conditioning was too high. She'd applied her makeup carefully and pulled her hair into a pretty braid, but still felt dowdy in comparison to the godlike man before her.

  Philip didn't seem to be put off at her non-goddess like looks. He smiled and got up from the car he'd been leaning on. A dark blue Lexus--nice car, just like Lida had said. "Hi, Arden?"

  She nodded and held out her hand, then almost pulled it back. Was it appropriate to shake hands with a man she was supposed to be propositioning? Philip took her fingers and gave them a squeeze. For one heart-stopping moment, Arden thought he meant to kiss her fingers. Relief flooded her when he didn't.

  "Should we go inside?"

  She nodded, then cleared her throat. She didn't want to come off like an idiot, but afraid of sounding overeager, she just said, "Okay."

  Philip held the door for her, pulled out her chair and opened her menu for her with aplomb. And he managed to all of that without making her feel awkward. Bonus points for that, she thought, trying not to stare.

  He was an easy man to get caught up in watching to the exclusion of all else. Kind of like looking at the sun. Beautiful, but it could burn your eyes. Arden blinked and forced herself to look down at the plate in front of her. A single, lonely dinner roll squatted on the plain white china. Tiny pats of butter shaped like roses tempted her to take one. By the time she'd buttered the roll, she was staring at him again.

  "Lida tells me you've only been back in Annville for a couple of months."

  Arden nodded and washed down her miniscule bite of roll with a swig of iced tea. "Six months actually."

  "You have a shop? Bridal shop?"

  "I'm a seamstress," she explained. "My store's right down the street. Across from the Allen Theater. I do bridal gowns, special occasion dresses, costumes for the Renaissance Faire. Stuff like that."

  He made an impressed face she didn't assume was faked. Either he really was impressed, or he was very, very good. "You made the dresses in the window?"

  "Yep. That was me."

  "Wow." Philip chewed his own roll for a moment. "I'm in banking."

  Arden nodded, not sure of what to say. Small talk should be easier than this, especially with a man so smooth. And yet...despite his gorgeous good looks and pleasant personality, she was having a bit of difficulty relating to him. All she could think about was the possibility of being naked in front of him. It made blasé dinner conversation seem a bit purposeless.

  The silence must have stretched on too long for his comfort because Philip leaned across the table to say in a low voice, "Lida told me about your husband. I'm sorry."

  She waved her hand to put him at ease. "Don't be sorry."

  Philip's handsome mouth frowned ever so slightly. "I know you're just getting back on your feet, so to speak. I just wanted to let you know, there's no pressure about tonight."

  Oh, brother. Arden swallowed some more tea, while she thought of what to say. His words were kind and nice, and still made her feel like an idiot. Like the girl in high school who had to settle for her friend's younger brother taking her to the Homecoming Dance.

  Philip smiled. "Let's just have a good time, okay?"

  She nodded and smiled in return, though hers felt false. "Okay."

  To her surprise, from then on, she did. Philip was adept at weaving the conversation around points that interested both of them and steering it away from subjects that led to awkward silence. He asked her about her job without sounding patronizing, her kids without sounding insincere, her interests without sounding flattering.

  Dinner was over before she knew it, and she'd actually eaten. They shared a slice of chocolate cake for dessert, Philip paid the bill, and by the time they were out on the sidewalk again, Arden was even more surprised to recognize she didn't want the night to end.

  "I had a good time," she said. "I mean, I'm having a great time."

  Did that sound too eager?

  Apparently not, because Philip grinned. "Me, too. Want to go someplace else? Or do you need to head home for the babysitter?"

  "No. The girls are with my parents for the night." Shit. That sounded like a come on.

  His eyes flickered, his grin widened a trifle, but he didn't pounce on the chance to seduce her. "Do you want to go have a drink? Go dancing maybe?"

  Arden laughed out loud. "I haven't been dancing in forever."

  "Then it's time, don't you think?" He held out his hand. "