She could handle the flirting.
He was all animal grace and golden good looks.
Tall, gorgeous women were Raphaels type, Kate thought, not someone who was five foot four if she stood on her tiptoes, someone who did not have a bad hair day now and again but was having a bad hair life.
The problem washis eyes.
Raphael had a way of looking at her when he said things, a steady way, with that smoky green gaze, while one corner of his mouth crooked up in a secret smile. Like there was something shared between them
Dear Reader,
As the Intimate Moments quarter of our yearlong 20th anniversary promotion draws to a close, we offer you a month so full of reading excitement, youll hardly know where to start. How about with Night Shield, the newest NIGHT TALES title from New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts? As always, Nora delivers characters youll never forget and a plot guaranteed to keep you turning the pages. And dont miss our special NIGHT TALES reissue, also available this month wherever you buy books.
What next? How about Night of No Return, rising star Eileen Wilkss contribution to our in-line continuity, A YEAR OF LOVING DANGEROUSLY? This emotional and suspenseful tale will have you on the edge of your seatand longing for the next book in the series. As an additional treat this month, we offer you an in-line continuation of our extremely popular out-of-series continuity, 36 HOURS. Bestselling author Susan Mallery kicks things off with Cinderella for a Night. Youll love this book, along with the three Intimate Moments novelsand one stand-alone Christmas anthologythat follow it.
Rounding out the month, we have a new book from Beverly Bird, one of the authors who helped define Intimate Moments in its very first month of publication. Shes joined by Mary McBride and Virginia Kantra, each of whom contributes a top-notch novel to the month.
Next month, look for a special two-in-one volume by Maggie Shayne and Marilyn Pappano, called Who Do You Love? And in November, watch for the debut of our stunning new cover design.
Leslie J. Wainger
Executive Senior Editor
Ill Be Seeing You Beverly Bird
BEVERLY BIRD
Contents
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 1
She stopped moving for a split second in the kitchen of one of Philadelphias finer Society Hill brownstones and lookedjust lookedat what she had created. The china shed selected for Dinner For Two, her unique catering business, was a fragile ivory with gold trim. On each plate a filet nested among roasted scallions with a touch of potato thins to the side. Perfect.
Kate smiled and got back to business.
Shed left the couple she was catering for alone for eight minutes now. They had their wine to keep them companyan excellent South Australian 84 Pinot Noirbut the man was rapidly moving through that. It was time to get on with the meals centerpiece. Kate left the plates on the kitchens center island and turned away to retrieve the orange béarnaise and julienne rind that would top the steaks.
A crash splintered the kitchens quiet.
She let out a yelp of surprise and whirled around, her hand pressed to her chest. What she saw was preposterous! Hey! she yelled. Hey, you! No, wait, stop!
And the dog did.
It was a dog! In the kitchen? Her client hadnt mentioned that he had one. But shed left the back door open a crack while the broiler had done its businessit was August, and Kate considered it to be in poor taste to hike her clients air-conditioning up without asking. So shed left the door slightly ajar to let in what scant breeze there was, and a dogsome scrappy little Chihuahua type thinghad come in instead.
Kates skin pulled into gooseflesh. Not just any dog, she thought. That dog.
It looked back at her and wagged its tail. Kate let out a strangled sound. The dog dropped the filet that was clamped in its jaws to bark once, a cheery hello, then it snapped the meat up again and trotted out.
Twelve and a half minutes down the drain, she thought, her blood still jittering with astonishment. So there was no time to dwell on the dog or what it had done. She was preparedof course, she was prepared for any contingency, even this, the outrageous. She had two more filets in the fridge. There go my profits. Reputation was everything. She could salvage this. Twelve and a half minutes behind schedule. She had to move, had to get two more steaks in the broiler wrapped with the bacon shed take off before serving them.
Instead, she rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands.
It had not been that dog, she decided, finally turning back to the broiler. The dog she was thinking of had disappeared into Manhattan four months ago after turning her old roommates world upside down. What had Shawna named the mutt? Belle. Belle had blasted into Shawnas life for two short weeks, leaving love, murder and mayhem in her wake.
Kate cooked new steaks, watching the timer impatiently. She wondered if she should make an excuse for the delay or just proceed blithely and hope no one noticed. She slid the filets onto two new plates, abandoning the filet that the dog hadnt eaten. Then she took a deep breath. She felt perspiration slide between her shoulder blades and hoped it didnt show. She picked up both plates and stepped over the shattered china on the floor. She didnt even want to consider what that plate had cost her.