Eye of the Beholder

into you. I can promise you that I'm not going to give you any inside information that concerns Lloyd Kenyon, either. Guess we're even, hmm?"
    "Sort of limits the scope of the conversation, doesn't it?"
    "Yes, it does." She gave him another cool smile. "So what are we going to talk about?"
    "Us?"
    The suggestion caught her completely off guard. "Us?"
    "Why not?"
    "Uh..."
    "We'll stick to strictly neutral territory."
    "Well..."
    The return of the waiter rescued her from having to come up with something more intelligent. Unfortunately, the reprieve did not last long. When they were alone again, Trask looked at her.
    "Let's get the basics out of the way," he said. "I'm not married and neither are you."
    She stared at him. "How do you know that I'm not married?"
    He flicked a glance at her left hand. "My first clue is that you don't wear a wedding ring. Just to be on the safe side, I asked around."
    "You asked around? About me ?"
    "Don't worry, I was discreet. Now, moving right along—"
    "Stop right there." She eyed him narrowly. "What do you mean, you were discreet?"
    "Don't go getting paranoid. It was just a simple precaution."
    "A precaution?"
    He watched her very steadily. "I don't date married women."
    "I see." She wanted to accuse him of something, but she was not sure what. She could hardly fault him for his policy.
    "Are you going to tell me that you didn't know whether or not I was married when you accepted my invitation?" he asked.
    She hesitated and then shrugged lightly. "I'm aware that you're divorced."
    "Who was your source?" he asked very casually.
    "Edward Vale mentioned it in passing."
    Trask nodded. "Fair enough. As I said, moving right along, care to tell me why?"
    "Why what?"
    "Why you're still single?"
    She summoned up a breezy little smile. "It's a matter of opinion. My therapist, Dr. Ormiston , whom I saw for two whole months, told me that I'm not very good at commitments. She said that I'm overly cautious and risk-averse, especially where men are concerned."
    "Risk-averse?"
    "Uh-huh. Means I'm afraid to allow myself to be vulnerable. A result of having had an unreliable father."
    "Ah." Trask nodded wisely. "Risk-averse. Got it. What did you say when she came up with her diagnosis?"
    "I told her that I just hadn't met the right man yet."
    "I see." He eyed her with a considering gaze. "Which opinion is the correct one? Yours or Dr. Ormiston's ?"
    "Danged if I know." Alexa decided it was time to turn the tables. "Why did your wife leave you?"
    "Let me see." He looked briefly thoughtful. "As I recall, she said that I was obsessed with building an empire, that I didn't understand her needs, and that I failed to share my deepest feelings."
    Alexa cleared her throat. "But other than that it seemed like a pretty good marriage?"
    "Yeah. But I didn't have much to compare it with."
    "Was any of it true? The empire building and the failure to communicate, etc., etc.?"
    "Probably. But personally, I think the real reason she walked out was that she never really forgave me for insisting on a prenuptial contract."
    Alexa slowly lowered the chunk of bread she had been about to put into her mouth. "I see."
    "She left me for a software zillionnaire from Seattle who retired at forty and bought a house in the South of France. She said that he might be a nerd, but he was more of a romantic than I would ever be."
    "Meaning he didn't insist on a prenuptial contract?"
    "That seemed to be the bottom line as far as I could tell."
    Alexa hesitated. "Why did you insist on one?"
    "I'm a businessman. I believe in contracts, not fairy tales."
    "Funny you should say that."
    "Yeah?" He looked intrigued. "Why?"
    "I never discussed it with Dr. Ormiston , but I think one of my problems with men revolves around the same issue."
    "A prenup contract?"
    "Yes. I received a rather hefty inheritance from my grandmother on my father's side. It came to me after Dad was killed. Mom turned it over to Lloyd to manage." She paused. "Lloyd is very good at managing money."
    "So I hear," Trask said softly.
    "Early on he convinced me that no matter whom I married I'd better make certain that I had a prenuptial agreement. I agreed with him. But wouldn't you know it? Every time I bring up the subject with a date, the relationship always seems to cool off in a hurry."
    "Hell of a coincidence," Trask said.
    "Struck me that way, too."
    "How come you never explained the facts of life to that therapist who told you that you just couldn't commit?"
    "Like