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Lori had morequestions than ever, but Ander was leaving and she wasn’t able to ask them. Hewas such a fascinating man, with shadowed layers that were just begging to beuncovered. And he had a tantalizing hint of humanness underneath the suavesex-machine surface.

Next time, Loriwould pry even more. Start to figure out more of his history and what made himtick.

She stuck herhead out the door and said, “Have a good evening.”

“You too,” Anderreplied. “I’ll see you two weeks from tomorrow.”

“I’m lookingforward to it.”

She, of course,was looking forward to the sex. But she was also looking forward to findingsome more answers to the enigma that was Ander.

Five

Lori slathered melon-scentedlotion on her legs before she pulled a slinky robe over the Chinese silk gownin deep reds and golds that she’d bought in Hong Kong the week before.

She went overto pull an envelope of cash out of her purse and placed it on the table in thehotel room, just as she heard her cell phone buzz.

Glancing at thecaller ID, she connected and said, “Hi, Sabrina.”

“Hey there! Soyou’re finally back, are you? You’ve been gone forever.”

Lori had calledher cousin as soon as her plane had landed that afternoon and had left amessage saying she’d arrived safely. “I’ve just been gone a month. Hardlyforever.”

“Well, it feltlike forever to me. I guess you were having such a grand time scouting outexotic locales that you didn’t miss me at all.”

Lori chuckled.She’d spent four weeks in Hong Kong doing research for her new book andattending an international fiction conference where she’d given a workshop onwriting romance. It had been a good trip, and she was glad she’d gone.

But itdidfeel like she’d been gone forever.

“So are yougoing to come over tonight? I’ve got beer and we can order pizza.”

“We’ll have todo it tomorrow,” Lori said, returning to the bathroom to run a brush throughher loose hair.

“Why? What areyou doing tonight?”

Lori blushed alittle as she stared at her image in the bathroom mirror. Her hair was shiny,hanging down in big waves around her shoulders. Her cheeks were rosy and hersmooth skin set off by the vibrant colors of the silk. And her eyes weresparkling with excitement.

She was soimpatient she felt like squirming, and it was still fifteen minutes untilseven.

“I have planstonight,” she said vaguely, knowing as she spoke the words that her evasionwould never work.

After a briefpause, Sabrina exclaimed, “You’re seeinghimtonight, aren’t you?”

“Sabrina,” Loribegan, turning the word into a warning.

Sabrina, ofcourse, ignored it. “You are! As soon as you hit ground in Seattle, you rushright into his arms!”

“I’m notrushing into his arms,” Lori said, a little annoyed by her cousin’simplications since it didn’t at all capture her interaction with Ander. “Wejust scheduled an engagement for this evening.”

“An hour afteryou land?”

“Two hours,” Loricorrected. “And that’s just the way it worked out.”

“You keep insistingthat this thing isn’t serious, but tell me the truth. You’re not gettingPrettyWomaninspired daydreams, are you?”

“No! Of coursenot. Give me a little credit. I’m not a fool. I like him. And I like the sex.And I pay him for his services. I’m not pretending it’s anything romantic.That’s just not how we are together. It’s professional.”

“All right. Iguess I believe you. I thought this whole thing was cool and fun at first. ButI get worried every now and then. You’re not using it as a crutch, are you?”

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