James Brown laughed, "Well then, come on over, I'll cook for you." He had just finished cooking and had hardly eaten a few bites when the thought of Melody Yoody joining him for dinner seemed like a very pleasant prospect.
"No sincerity. If you wanted to invite me for dinner, why didn't you call me earlier?"
"I didn't want to disturb you at work. What if you were having dinner with some leader and my call negatively impacted you?"
"James, I really appreciate you understanding me. I was afraid you would get angry with me over this." Melody's tone suddenly became gentle.
James's tone was equally gentle as he said, "Although I have a bit of a macho streak, liking you means having enough trust in you, right?"
"Thank you. Even though a lot has changed over the years, I can still feel that you treat me as well as you did before."
"If I don't treat you well, who else would I treat well? You are the woman I've liked most in my life."