Her gaze came unglued from his moving lips and glided over his nose, meeting his stare. Maybe he read her bewilderment . . . her enthrallment.

“Is it okay that I’m so attracted to you?” he clarified somberly.

Her mouth dropped open in amazement. She nodded.

“So you’re not going to back out of going out with me tomorrow night?”

Uncertainty reared its head, breaking through the surface of her lust-addled awareness. This was her chance to back down. Everett may understand what was happening here—he probably had this effect on every woman he encountered. For her own part, she was quite sure this whole thing was a bizarre mistake....