My jaw dropped and I darted a glance toward the hostess to see where she was going to point me. There was no way Adelle had found my savior and set us up on a blind date.

Then he was standing, his eyes brightening with recognition. He walked around to the other side of the table and pulled out the chair, the invitation clear.

“Your waiter will be here shortly with your wine selections.”

The hostess may have been smiling at us before she walked off, but I didn't notice. I couldn't stop staring. I did, however, managed to shut my mouth so I didn't look like a complete idiot.

“Well, isn't this a small world,” he said as he held out his hand.

I slid mine into his, still unable to believe this was real. He raised my hand to his lips just like he'd done last week. This time, I had no alcohol to blame for the way my stomach twisted and clenched as his mouth brushed against my knuckles. When he released my hand, my skin still tingled.

I sat down and let him help scoot in my chair before he walked back around to his seat. Before I could ask him how he knew Adelle, a waiter appeared with a wine menu.

He didn't even glance at it. “We'll have the Invictus Shiraz, two thousand four. And we'll need a few more minutes before we're ready to order.” He turned back to me as the waiter walked away. “Now, Miss Aubree Gamble. It's nice to have a name to put to your lovely face.”

“Likewise,” I said. “My friends call me Bree.”

“That’s a shame.” He smirked.

“Why do you say that?”

He ran his finger around the rim of his glass as he studied me. “Because Aubree is so much prettier. Suits you better.”

Heat bloomed in my cheeks and I blurted out the first thing that popped into my head. “You didn't know who I was.” I made it a statement rather than a question.

“When Adelle asked me to come here?” He shook his head. “No.” He smiled. “I don't need to ask if you knew who I was. The expression on your face said it all.”

I flushed and dropped my eyes.

“I admit it was a pleasant surprise,” Cade continued. “When Adelle mentioned that her friend was getting over a bad break-up and needed to be reintroduced to the world of dating, I expected someone... different.”

I raised my head. “Different how?” I tried to hide the hurt that went through me when I heard that Adelle had told him about what had happened.

He leaned back as the waiter returned with the wine. I resisted the urge to gulp half of mine just to calm my nerves. Once the waiter left, Cade turned his attention back to me.

“I assumed that Adelle's friend would be someone who was unable to find a date on her own, forced to rely on her friend's assistance. Shy, definitely. Most likely plain as well.”

I blinked at the blunt statements. “Excuse me?”

He continued on without an apology. Either he hadn't realized I hadn't appreciated what he'd said or he didn't care.

“Women who've been scorned by men react in one of two ways. They either completely swear off men until they find that they're tired of satisfying their own desires, or they jump right back in the dating pool and find a nice rebound man.” He gave me a once-over and I could see the admiration in his eyes. “Either way, the ones who rely on friends to find them men generally do so because they can't do it themselves.”

I opened my mouth to tell him that I could find a man if I wanted to, but the waiter returned and I looked down at my menu, wondering if it'd be too obvious to order the most expensive thing on the menu.

“We'll have the duck served with a lime glaze on a bed of watercress salad tossed in a light vinaigrette.”

“Very good, Sir.”

My head snapped up as I realized he'd ordered for us both.

He spoke as he turned back toward me. “Adelle mentioned that you liked duck but weren't able to have it often.”

I scowled. “Do you also know my bra size and bank account balance?”

His lips twitched like he wanted to laugh, but he didn't. “No.” He raised an eyebrow. “I seem to have hit a nerve. Tell me, are you annoyed at me, or at your friend for sharing personal details with me?”

I inhaled slowly. He was right. True, I was discovering that my white knight was the kind of confident that was two steps past arrogant, but knowing Adelle had told him personal things about me, that was upsetting.

“Shall we start over?” He extended a hand. “I'm Cade Shepard. I have some lovely red wine here and duck on the way if you'd care to join me.”

I shook his hand, trying to ignore the tingle that went up my hand and arm when we touched. This was a date to get Adelle off my back, nothing more. Okay, so I'd also met my rescuer, but I'd been telling myself for the past two weeks that I didn't want anything more than to thank him. I ignored the little voice in my head that reminded me how much I'd enjoyed that kiss.

“I'm Aubree Gamble. It's nice to meet you.” I gave him a partial smile.

“Now, Aubree, since I'm not the type of man to ask questions about his blind date so as to ensure a pleasant evening, I must ask if you like duck or if you'd prefer to order something else?”

My face burned at his words. I suddenly felt petty and stupid. Adelle hadn't spilled secrets about me. Cade had asked because he wanted to know more about the person she was setting him up with. I'd never even thought to ask about him. Ironically, it had been because I'd been too preoccupied with trying to learn his identity.

“Duck will be wonderful, thank you.” I put as much sincerity into my words as I could. I paused, and then apologized. “And I'm sorry for how I behaved. It's been a rough month.”

He nodded and topped off both of our wine glasses. “So Adelle mentioned, though not the details. I suppose I can let you off with a warning this time.” His eyes shone, but there was something in his voice that made me want to squirm. “After all, I witnessed firsthand part of the difficult month you've had.”

“Thank you.” The words burst out of me and more heat rushed to my face. If I kept this up, I was going to look like a tomato. “For helping me the other night. And making sure I got home safely.”

He raised his glass. “You're welcome.” He took a sip of the wine and then asked, “No thank you for the kiss?”

“Fuck.” I closed my eyes as I realized I'd said the word aloud. This night just kept getting better.

“I don't believe we got that far.” He sounded smug. “If we had, you'd be overwhelmed with gratitude.”

I opened my eyes and glared at him. I wasn't sure which was worse, that he was teasing me or that he was so full of himself.

Our food arrived just then, providing me with enough of a distraction to regain my composure. Everything looked and smelled delicious. I thanked the waiter, then glanced up at Cade. He gestured toward my plate and then cut a piece of his duck. We ate in silence for several minutes. I wasn't sure if he was waiting for me to say something or if he was only enjoying his meal, but there were plenty of things I wanted to say. I just wasn't sure where to start.

Finally, I decided that I wasn't going to let tonight be a total waste. I'd found my mystery male. Or, rather, Adelle had somehow managed to find him for me, and that was a whole other set of questions. I'd thanked him, but there had been something I'd been wondering since I'd been able to think clearly about what had happened.

“Why'd you do it?” I asked.

He raised an eyebrow in question.

“Why did you intervene at O'Mallys with Steven?” I pushed at a bit of watercress. “And why did you take me all the way home? Just putting me in a cab after what you'd done would've been more than enough.”

“Some people would've tried to take advantage of you in your inebriated state.” There was no hint of judgment or mockery in his words.

“But you didn't.”

“True.” He took a drink of wine. “In fact, I seem to remember that if anyone was being taken advantage of, it was me.”