He shrugged, his expression vaguely uncertain. “Beats me. I just figured all women loved to shop. And much as I love Los Piños, I can see that it’s not exactly loaded with those fancy little designer boutiques, where a hankie costs an arm and a leg.”

“I can’t afford a boutique where hankies cost a hundred times what I’d pay for a pack of tissues.”

“But I can.”

She grinned at his persistence. “You want to fly to Dallas to buy me lunch and a hankie?”

“Or maybe a fancy outfit to wear to a party,” he said, watching her with another of those exceptionally innocent expressions that wouldn’t have deceived anyone with even half a brain.

Janet’s gaze narrowed. “What party?”

“The one I’m throwing on Saturday night to introduce you to a few of my friends.”

“Harlan, I told you I do not want you trying to drum up business for me.”

He scowled, his exasperation apparent. “This isn’t about business, darlin’. This is strictly personal.”

For some reason she didn’t find that nearly as reassuring as she should have. It struck her as being too...personal, she decided, using his own word to describe it. Too intimate. Especially given that unspoken subject hanging in the air between them. Why, why, why? she wondered again. What was he up to?

“I don’t know—” she began, only to have him cut her off.

“It’s no big deal,” he reassured her. “There are a lot of people I owe for inviting me to dinner and stuff. I figured one big bash would take care of all those obligations. I can’t have a big to-do without a proper hostess, can I?”

“And that’s me?” she said skeptically. “The woman who can’t cook a lick.”

“I have Maritza and all of her relatives for that.”

“You also have three very lovely daughters-in-law who would be happy to play hostess, I’m sure.”

He waved off the suggestion. “I want a woman of my own.”

She cringed at the possessive description, but let it pass. “Half the people in town barely say more than hello to me,” she noted pointedly.

“That’ll change when you’re with me.”

Knowing that he was right about that grated. “Harlan, I have to win people over myself.”

“You will. I’m just opening the door, so they’ll give you a chance to show ’em what a brilliant, witty, warm woman you are.” He reached behind her desk and grabbed her purse. “Come on. You can think it over while we fly to Dallas.”

“What about Jenny? What have you done with her since I dropped her off?”

“She’s helping Melissa out with the kids today. I’m paying her ten bucks an hour to baby-sit. She says minimum wage is too cheap for the trouble those kids get into. Had to admit she was right about that.”