“I want you, Eli,” she confessed. “But I don’t want to want you.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” he said, resting his palm across the back of her neck. Involuntarily, she leaned into his touch. He took her movement as encouragement and lowered his lips to hers.

The moment they touched, Aria sprang away. “You can’t kiss me.”

He looked bemused. “I just did.”

She stomped her foot, feeling ridiculous, but she needed to make a statement. “You’re not listening to me.”

“You’re not making sense,” he teased, cupping a hand under her chin.

She jerked out of his grip. “If you can’t respect my choices, then I can’t have you in my life.”

Finally, he seemed to realize how serious she was, and the smile faded from his face.

“I see.” He was already distancing himself from her, closing himself off, even though he hadn’t moved. It was what she’d asked for, but that didn’t stop the twinge of disappointment.

Eli didn’t say anything else, and she didn’t explain. She couldn’t tell him how messed up she was about men when she didn’t fully understand it herself. As she walked away, her footfalls echoed throughout the house, and the click of the front door was loud in the unnatural silence.

Eli stared at the door. Nothing was going the way he wanted. He’d known his beautiful Aria desired him, and he’d thought he could sway her around to his way of thinking, as he so often did with business acquaintances, but he’d miscalculated. There was more to this than met the eye. He needed help.

Only one person he knew never put a foot wrong with women, and that was Mark Talbot. The prominent lawyer was a playboy of the first degree. He’d dated scores of women and had a reputation for loving them and leaving them. More impressive was the fact that ninety-nine percent of the time, he parted amicably from his paramours.

Eli dialed Mark’s number three times before Mark picked up.

“This had better be good,” his friend said good-naturedly. “I have company.”

“I need help,” Eli said, getting straight to the point.

“Are we talking legal help, or ‘I killed my neighbor and I want to bury the body’ help? Because my company is very lovely and very naked.”

“I need help with a woman.”

“Then you’ve come to the right person.”

Eli could hear the grin in Mark’s voice. “Is it worth your time?”

“Buddy, hearing you ask for help is always worth my time. If it’s about a woman, then all the better. I’ve never known you to be at a loss with a girl. Just give me a moment.” Muffled noises sounded on the other end of the phone. “The lovely Elouise is standing by to give her opinion as well. What’s the situation?”