Whoever her fiancé was, he must be the biggest fool ever to walk the earth. What man in his right mind would mess around with an old girlfriend when he could have this gorgeous little redhead?

“I’m sorry,” she said, placing her hand on his where it lay on the table. “You don’t need to know the details. I appreciate your patience. You’ve been truly kind.”

“Whatever I can do.” Parr forced his thoughts back onto the gallant track.

“Thank you. But we are strangers. I can’t ask you for help—I’ve already presumed too much.”

Her hand began a slow withdrawal. The sensation of her soft fingertips moving over his skin was too much for him. “Not at all.” Parr captured her slender wrist.

She gave him a startled look but didn’t pull away.

Impulsively, he took her hand, brought it to his lips, and pressed a kiss to her palm. Then he released her. She didn’t seem shocked or pleased.

“Sorry.” Parr didn’t know what had possessed him to do that. “I just thought—maybe you needed—”

Her reply was swift. “No need to apologize.”

“Right. But there is a question I’d like to ask.”

“Go ahead. You can say anything you like. This night couldn’t get any weirder.”

“What if I said that I needed you?”

Her lips parted with evident surprise. “Huh? You need me?”

Her startled gaze met his. Parr wished there was a surefire way to get her to understand what was on his mind. But he couldn’t quite define it himself.

“I think I do.”

“Really,” she said, her voice laced with wry amusement. “The love of my life, whom I thought I knew, doesn’t need me at all, and a total stranger apparently does.”

“It was just a question. I’m not sure what I meant by it.”

“That makes two of us. Just the two of us.” She surveyed him warily.

Parr nodded. Just the two of us. He liked the sound of that. Maybe he hadn’t overstepped the bounds of propriety or whatever rules were in effect when rescuing a damsel in distress.

“I guess—well, it seemed to me you needed a kiss, that was all.”

“Is that something you do often? Find an unhappy woman and plant one on her?”

“No. And it wasn’t like I was looking for you.”

That tiny dimple appeared above her slight—very slight—smile. Nonetheless, Parr had a feeling she was taking him seriously, for reasons known only to herself. Maybe she was just used to men throwing themselves at her feet.

Which was all the more reason not to let her walk away. But she honestly didn’t seem outraged by his impulsively romantic gesture and she certainly didn’t seem scared of him.

So far, so good. But where did they go from here?