Patrick wasn’t sure why his brother hadn’t wanted to come along to the site as they’d planned, but every time he glanced over at the passenger seat of his SUV and saw Phoebe sitting there, he was glad RJ hadn’t.

As Patrick drove, he found his gaze drifting over to her again and again. She had been beautiful the previous night at the wedding, but even in more casual clothes she was stunning. Her figure was great, her pretty features were exquisite, and he could easily imagine kissing those full lips. Very easily…and with great pleasure.

“So where is Rose’s property, exactly?” Phoebe asked, breaking Patrick out of that very distracting line of thinking.

“The plot’s in the Sea Cliff district,” he said. “It’s not much of a drive.”

Which was a pity. He could have driven beside her for the rest of the day quite happily. Unfortunately, she would probably notice if he took a few detours.

“Sea Cliff is an impressive neighborhood,” Phoebe commented. “Donovan and Rose must really be investing in this.” She shook her head. “I’m still a little bit shocked at how easily your brother roped me into this.”

“I’m glad he did.”

He could have sworn Phoebe stiffened before saying, “Why don’t you tell me more about the site?”

The deflection was obvious, but Patrick went along with it. For now. “It’s a great spot. There’s a good view, plenty of space for a garden, too. It’s going to be a fun one to work on, lots of possibilities.”

“You sound like you really enjoy your job.”

Patrick shifted gears going down the hill. “It’s an easy job to enjoy. I get to build places that will make people happy and be lived in for years to come.”

“Seems to me most architects want to leave their stamp on the world. Don’t you?”

Patrick shook his head. “I do that kind of thing when the client wants it. I’ve done it before, but I mostly prefer to create spaces people can enjoy.”

That was always the challenge, to figure out exactly what would make people happy. What, he wondered, would Phoebe enjoy? What kind of date would she love? Houses were personal things, where you had to get to know the people involved if you wanted to have any chance of giving them a space to live and grow in. Patrick liked to think that dates were pretty much the same.

What would it be for Phoebe? Dinner and dancing? Patrick liked to be more original than that, but that very originality had let him down a few times in the past. Women who would have been perfectly happy at a nice restaurant generally didn’t react well to men who suggested hang gliding as a first date. Only, what did those first date dinners ever achieve? They got two people into a situation where they might be willing to sleep with one another afterwards, but they were always so busy playing the game that they never really got to know one another any deeper than that.

He couldn’t see the point. He wanted to know a lot more about Phoebe than that. He was attracted to her a lot more than that. Yet maybe the classic option was the best one in this case. She was as elegant as one of those flowers she arranged so deftly, so maybe she was the kind of woman who would expect a restaurant.

Patrick wasn’t about to risk letting the obvious attraction between them slip away just because a normal first date wasn’t his idea of a great time. Besides, he’d already danced with Phoebe once, and the memories of how good it was to hold her in his arms were still fresh.

They turned into the Sea Cliff District and Phoebe marveled, “You weren’t kidding about the view, were you?”

He couldn’t take his eyes off of her as she looked out at the ocean with wonder in her eyes. He’d wanted to date her from the first moment he’d seen her working at the wedding the night before.

Hoping she felt the same way, he said, “I’d love to take you to dinner. Would you join me?”

Phoebe looked startled by his question, her cheeks flushing beautifully. “You want to go out on a date with me?”

“I enjoyed dancing with you last night, Phoebe, and I’m enjoying being with you now even more.”

She took a step back from him, shaking her head as she said, “Last night, dancing with you, it was a mistake.”

“A mistake?” He frowned, wondering yet again, why she was so skittish around him. “It definitely didn’t feel like a mistake at the time.”

He thought he saw momentary indecision move across her face before she tamped down on it and the light that had been in her eyes dimmed slightly. “We seem to want two very different things out of life.”

He had to know, “What is it you want out of life?”

“That’s a serious question for two people who barely know one another.”

“I’ve already suggested trying to get to know you better over dinner, remember?”

For a moment or two, it didn’t seem like Phoebe would answer. Finally, she shrugged. “What does anyone want? To be happy. To enjoy my life and love what I’m doing.”

“From what I’ve seen, you do love your job, don’t you?”

She nodded. “It’s good. I’ve always liked flowers, and working at the chalet, I get to do more than just produce endless bouquets for guys trying to make up for missing an anniversary or something else they did wrong.”

He felt as if a window into Phoebe’s heart had just been flung open. “Do you really think that’s the only reason people give each other flowers?” he asked softly.

“It’s the usual one.”

“I’ve never given anyone flowers as an apology,” he told her. “Have you ever received them as one?”

She shook her head. “I’ve never gotten flowers from anyone. I guess people think I’ve already got enough with my job.”

That seemed sad to Patrick. If any woman deserved flowers, if any woman would appreciate them, it was Phoebe. And she of all people ought to see that kind of gesture as more than just a way to make up for mistakes.

“What does it matter, anyway?” she asked, breaking the sudden silence. “Like I said, all I want is to be happy, and I am. I have friends and a career I love at the Rose Chalet. Why would I want to go complicating that?”

Patrick could think of all kinds of reasons, but he simply said, “Maybe one day you’ll want more than that.”

“Maybe.” But it was obvious from the way Phoebe said it that she didn’t believe it, which was quickly confirmed when she said, “Don’t hold your breath.”

Common sense told him that he should leave it there, but there were times when common sense had to take a back seat to feelings.

“I’m never going to talk you around to the joys of romance, am I?”

She shook her head firmly. “I think that’s one area where we’re just going to have to agree to disagree.”

“Well, I think we’ve certainly got the disagreeing part down.”

She laughed at his assessment. “I guess we have.”

“So how about if we go on disagreeing over dinner?”

Phoebe rolled her eyes. “You aren’t going to let it go, are you?”

“No,” he said, working up a smile for the beautiful woman in front of him, even though he was as serious as he’d ever been. “I’m not.” Although the truth was, one more no and he was going to have to at least let it go for the time being. “One dinner, Phoebe, as a thank you for your help today. What do you say?”

Patrick had always believed in the power of hard work and dedication, but that didn’t mean he discounted luck. On the contrary, it had smiled down on him many times in his life…but none better than the moment when Phoebe finally smiled and said, “Let’s eat.”

Excerpt from The Wedding Dance: Four Weddings & A Fiasco #2, copyright 2014, Lucy Kevin