“I didn't say that.”          ‘Oh, hell! Why can I keep my big mouth shut?’ Alanis thought despairingly.          She was going to look like an idiot however this conversation went.“I see... So, you were just enquiring about my ego’s level for the sake of the conversation?” Brody drawled mockingly. “Your own special type of after-dinner conversation, I presume?”“Well… I-I… It…”          Alanis had been right. She was looking like the biggest idiot in the Universe. It was time to calm down, bring her stammering voice under control, and straighten her back against the leather seat.“Mr. McLean…”“Seriously, Alanis? Again with this Mr. McLean thing?”   

         A doctor, returning from an emergency call to an elderly patient, found them just after two, and by three, Alanis was back in her hotel room, lying in the warm, scented darkness, trying to force her mind back into the numbing void she had felt in the car. But it was no good...           She watched as dawn began to weave streamers of gold and pink into the night sky, and then rose impatiently, padding through to the luxurious bathroom and standing under the shower for a full ten minutes while she struggled to come to terms with her shattered emotions.           As the warm water splashed a velvety path over her face and body, Alanis gave herself a mental scolding that was all logic and full of sense… and didn't help at all. Her brain knew that Brody McLean was a brief hiccup in her life. She also knew that the devastating kiss and embrace in the

          The dark voice was deep and husky and unmistakably Brody's.“I-I… How did you know it was me?” Alanis asked weakly as a little shiver snaked down her spine.“I could ask you the same thing, Alanis…” he drawled slowly. “But to answer your question, what other woman would still be working at 9 pm on a Friday? Anyway, I already phoned your apartment and there was no reply… Only the answering machine.”Well… I could’ve been out,” Alanis answered quickly as the shiver was replaced by anger at the fact that he assumed she had nowhere else to go other than home or the office.“Yes, you were out alright... You were at work,” Brody replied calmly. “And don't get on your high horse, Miss Roswell. It was you who told me that your cat and your work filled your days and nights.”“I certainly did not.&rd

“You sure love your house very much. It’s a very pleasant place. Extremely welcoming,” Brody said quietly, after devouring a sandwich in a couple of bites, his gaze lingering on a painting on the far wall. “Wow… That's a Kimler, isn't it?” he asked softly as he turned back to her. “Yes, it is.”           Alanis tried to hide her surprise, which hadn't been very well-received when he'd unexpectedly revealed that he liked cats. Matthew Kimler had only just arrived on the Chicago scene, and although he was an excellent artist and a very pleasant person, he wasn’t well-known and had no influential patrons to smooth his way. “You like his work?” “I know a little about him and his work, but my aunt does. She's followed his progress over the last few years, and she was quite thrilled when he left Seattle and moved to Chicago. By the way, I noticed one of his paintings in that art gallery you promoted. Am I to assu

        A blazing hot June gave way to a sultry, humid July. When, on the second of that month, exactly a month after the first fateful meeting in George's office, Alanis received a late-afternoon call from Brody suggesting that she fly out to his chateau in the South of France to familiarize herself with the house and grounds, she found she could answer with only a trace of breathlessness in her voice. “Of course. I was going to suggest something like that myself within the next week or two. I think we're just about ready for the next stage now, and it would be good to meet the French caterers face to face and settle every detail there.” “Very well, then.”           Brody's voice was remote, almost expressionless. “I'll come with you, Alanis. There are certain points I want to pick up on myself, and it might be useful if I'm there to smooth the way in the preliminaries.” 'There'