“Six dozen.”
Teri groaned. They must’ve cost a fortune. Six dozen roses? No man had ever given her more than a single rose.
“I hope you like chocolates,” he said next. “I have ten pounds from the top six candy companies around the world. Bobby didn’t know if you had a preference, so he wanted all the bases covered.”
“Ten pounds of chocolate?” No man had ever bought her chocolate. Men generally knew not to give an overweight girlfriend candy.
“They’re in the car, along with the perfume.”
“Perfume?” Hands on her hips, Teri studied Bobby’s driver. “What’s this about?”
“Well, Miss Teri…” James removed his driver’s hat and exhaled. “Bobby asked a colleague what women like, and his friend said flowers, candy, perfume and sentimental cards.”
“Where’s Bobby?”
“In the car,” James told her. “I’m double-parked outside. Bobby’s in there signing the cards.”
“Cards?”
“The sentimental ones. He bought a dozen.”
Sure enough, the stretch limo was parked in a lot reserved for the occupants of the apartment complex. Several of her neighbors had stepped outside to gawk at it. Her neighborhood wasn’t accustomed to seeing cars that required uniformed drivers.
Teri marched past her neighbors and opened the passenger door. Without waiting for an invitation, she climbed inside. Yup, there was Bobby Polgar, pen in hand. Boxes of chocolates were stacked beside him, as well as a pile of sealed envelopes and a stack of expensive perfume boxes.
“Why are you here?” she asked, sitting across from him. She tried to sound stern, and yet she couldn’t deny her thrill of happiness.
“You asked me not to phone you again,” he answered, eyes widening behind the dark-rimmed glasses. “I didn’t call.”
“But—”
“I would’ve arrived two days ago but I was in the middle of a match.”
“Bobby.” He made it so difficult to be angry. “Why are you here?” she repeated, at a loss to understand this man.
He didn’t speak for a long time, and then he blurted out, “I need a haircut.”
“Anyone qualified to cut hair can do that. You didn’t have to fly halfway around the world for me to do it.”
“I didn’t want anyone else.”
“Why the roses and the chocolates—and everything else?” She gestured toward the perfume. According to James, Bobby had solicited advice on the gifts women preferred, and been given these generic suggestions. The real question was why he felt he needed to present her with gifts at all.
He shifted uncomfortably as he glanced around the vehicle. He seemed to look everywhere but at her. “I didn’t know what I’d done that you’d ask me not to phone. I liked talking to you. I looked forward to it.”
“I did, too,” she reluctantly confessed.
“You did?” He wrinkled his brow. “Then why did you make me stop?”
If he hadn’t figured it out, she couldn’t explain it.
“Experts have calculated that I’ve committed to memory over a hundred thousand possible chess configurations,” he said. “I look at a chessboard and within seconds I can figure out how any move my opponent makes is going to play out. I know chess, but I don’t know women. I want to know you. I like you.”
“I like you, too. In fact, I like you a lot and that frightens me.”
“Why?”
She might as well tell him the truth. “I’m not all that intelligent.”
He shrugged, apparently unconcerned. “I don’t think that’s true. But even if it is, I’m smart enough for both of us. Did you like the roses?”
“They’re beautiful.”
“May I kiss you now?”
She laughed and then realized he was serious. He watched her, anticipating her kiss. He met her eyes and extended his hand to her.
Crouching, she made her way toward him. Because of all the candy and perfume stacked next to him, she had to sit on his lap. She slid her arms around his neck, then removed his glasses, folded them and slipped them into his pocket. When she’d finished, she gave him an encouraging smile and leaned forward so their lips could meet.
As kisses went, this one was pretty tame. Bobby might know plenty of chess moves, but that was the only kind of move he knew. He sure didn’t have a lot of sexual finesse. Well…he might possess enough brains for both of them, but she had enough experience.
Bobby cleared his throat after two follow-up kisses, each lengthier and more intense than the one before.
“That was very nice,” Bobby whispered. He seemed to have difficulty speaking.
“Yes, it was. Are you ready for your haircut?”
He cleared his throat a second time and nodded.
Most of her neighbors had gone back inside when Teri emerged from the limousine. Thank goodness for tinted windows! If any of the stragglers recognized Bobby, they didn’t say anything. Bobby gave his driver instructions to return in a couple of hours and accompanied Teri into her small apartment.
Had she known she was going to have company, she would’ve cleaned the place up a bit. Bobby didn’t seem to notice that she wasn’t giving Martha Stewart any competition. In fact, he didn’t seem to notice anything but her.
“What?” she muttered, uncomfortable with the way his eyes followed her every move.
“There’s something different about you,” he commented.