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whispered. "Really, Dane."
His hand was clutching hers bruisingly. He realized it and loosened his grip. Neither of them noticed
Kit, who was sipping coffee and trying to be invisible.
"See a doctor, will you?" he asked tightly. "Don't take chances with your health."
"I'll do that," she promised. Her eyes slid to his mouth and she forcefully levered them back up to his.
"Are you all right?" she asked softly.
Her voice made him warm all over. His cheeks went ruddy as he looked at her, and his heart raced.
"No," he said huskily. He drew in a sharp breath, fighting down the need to beg her to come back.
"Maybe I miss you, pretty girl," he drawled, his smile faintly mocking.
"Maybe beans walk," she returned, smiling back.
His broad shoulders rose and fell. "You could do skip tracing for me, I guess," he murmured
reluctantly.
"You've got three skip tracers already," she reminded him, although the offer made her tingle. He had
to miss her a little, even if he didn't want to.
"I'll fire one," he offered.
She laughed. "No. I'm happy with Mr. Short, Dane," she said after a minute. "It wouldn't work out."
"You could give it a chance," he said slowly, with an expression in his eyes that she couldn't
understand.
"The job?" She faltered.
He hesitated. He wanted to say, No, not the job, me. He wanted to ask her to pack a suitcase and move
in with him, live with him, sleep with him. Nothing could be as bad as life without her. Perhaps if she
cared enough, they could build some kind of marriage even if children were impossible. God knew, he
wanted her enough to risk it. She'd loved him once; he knew she had. There might still be time....
But she laughed suddenly again, hiding her own feelings. "I don't want to come back, thanks all the
same," she said, sparing him the embarrassment of knowing she was still hopelessly in love with him.
She didn't want his pity. "I'm very happy, Dane. I like what I'm doing, and Mr. Short even asked me out.
Who knows where it might lead?"
Dane's eyes went black, glittery. "Short's in his forties," he said through his teeth. "Too old and too
much of a philanderer...!"
"Is that the time?" Kit interrupted, seeing danger signals ahead. "Gosh, I've got to go, Tess!"
"Yes, I'll be late, too," Tess said, staring pointedly at Dane, who was blocking her exit.
He got to his feet slowly, vibrating with anger. Short, with his Tess! He felt like hitting something.
Tess got to her feet slowly and clasped her bag while Kit left the
tip.“It was nice to see you,” she said hesitantly.
Dane didn't speak. He looked at her blindly, anger in every line of his tall, fit body. All at once, he
frowned. His eyes went over her like hands and the scowl grew worse.
“You've gained weight, haven't you?" he asked suddenly.
“A little." She avoided his piercing gaze. "Too many doughnuts."
"No. No, it suits you," he said hesitantly.
She bit her lower lip almost hard enough to draw blood. She wanted to tell him. It was killing her not
to tell him. She had no idea how he'd react, and it would probably be a bad thing, with the problems
she'd been having. But it was his right to know. Committed, she raised her eyes to his and opened her
mouth to speak. But before she could form a word, a passerby recognized him and stepped forward,
hand out, grinning.
"Dane Lassiter! I thought it was you!" the man said enthusiastically.
While Dane was fielding his acquaintance's greeting, Tess darted around him and followed Kit out of
the restaurant. It had to be fate, she told herself, her heart racing as she realized how close she'd come
to blowing her cover. She shouldn't tell him yet. Not until she'd seen the doctor. After she found out
what was wrong, she could make decisions.
"I'll bet he followed me," Kit mused as they went to their respective cars. "He isn't a private detective
for nothing. He misses you, Tess. A blind person could see it."
"Missing and loving are two different things," she sighed.
"He had to have cared a little bit. After all, it took two for you to be in that condition," the other girl
began.
"I seduced him," Tess said, flushing. "I had some crazy idea that if I could convince him of how deeply
I loved him, he might start believing in commitment again. But it didn't work. He couldn't shoot me out
of the door fast enough."
"He doesn't look as if he likes having you out the door."
Tess shrugged. "It still isn't enough. I can't go back to work for him. I'd eat my heart out. Especially
now, I don't need to be around him. He isn't stupid. Eventually, my condition will become obvious."
"Forgive me, but it's already getting there. He's bound to find out," Kit said.
"I know. I'll deal with that when I have to. Right now, I have to get back to work. Not a word to Helen,"
she cautioned.
"Not a word to anybody. You know me better than that." Kit frowned. "Tess, I'd do anything I could to
help you. I hope you know you can depend on me."
"I do. You're the only friend I have."
'That works both ways. Keep in close touch, okay? And let me know what the doctor says."
"I will." Tess got into her small foreign car and waved as she started it and drove back to work. She
felt unnerved, and she wondered if it was only because she'd unexpectedly seen Dane. She was uneasy
for the rest of the day, without knowing why.
Chapter Nine
Tess was thirty minutes early for her appointment with Dr. Boswick. She hadn't slept or eaten much
since the day before. The unexpected pains she'd had in the restaurant had frightened her. Dane had
been beside her, holding her hand, and the pain had dissipated much sooner than usual. Mystical, she
thought, as if the child had heard its father's voice and had felt compelled to survive. No doctor, she
was sure, would subscribe to that theory.
Dr. Boswick was right on schedule, so she didn't have to wait long. But the tests he performed told him
something she didn't want to hear. He called her into his office and sat down behind his desk, poring
through test results, having had her come back after work to talk to him.
He laid down the open file folder and looked at her over his glasses. "How badly do you want this
baby?" he asked abruptly. "I know you're single, and not well-to-do, so think carefully before you
answer."
She didn't understand what her financial situation had to do with it, but the question was easily
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