The downpour had already drenched her hair and her dress, and droplet clung to her lashes. She opened her mouth to catch the rain with her tongue and Max could only watch her. Any other woman would be racing for cover, hoping to preserve her carefully tended appearance. But that obviously hadn’t occurred to Angela.

Thunder rumbled in the distance and when lightning flashed, Max leapt to his feet and grabbed her hand. “Come on. Let’s get out of here before we get zapped.”

As they ran to the car, pedestrians were rushing for cover. He unlocked the door and pulled it open, then helped her inside. When he finally slipped in behind the wheel, she was raking her fingers through her dripping hair. “I’m getting your car all wet,” she said. “And my dress is covered with sand.”

“Don’t worry.” He pulled out into traffic and headed north on Lakeshore Drive. “My condo is just on the other side of the zoo,” he said. “We’ll stop there, get dried off and then decide what we want to do with the rest of the night.” He glanced over at the clock in the dashboard and was surprised to see that it was past midnight. “Or, I could drop you back at your car,” he added. “You probably have to be up early for work tomorrow.”

“I really wouldn’t mind getting dry,” she said.

Good, Max thought to himself. He didn’t want the night to end, either. Not yet. Not until he was absolutely sure she wanted him as much as he wanted her.

Minutes later, he pulled into the underground garage of his Lincoln Park high rise. As they rode the elevator up, he pressed her back against the wall and kissed her again, his fingers tangling in her damp hair. “This has been the most amazing night,” he whispered.

She stared up at him, a strange look in her eyes. Didn’t she believe him? Hell, that was all he needed. The first time he found a woman he was truly interested in and she thought he was playing her. So how could he prove he wasn’t, Max wondered. He could forget about luring her into his bed. That would be a good start.