Behind the Shadows by Patricia; Potter Page A

sisters,” she finally said, looking back at him.
    She was nearly undone by the look in his eyes. For the fleetest of seconds she saw empathy there, even a flicker of pain. Then it was gone, and she wondered whether she’d imagined it.
    â€œIt must be rough,” he said.
    â€œFrustrating. Sad. To know there are people who can save her and don’t.”
    She realized then how artfully he’d drawn her out. She suspected he was a very good attorney. Ruthless, Chris had said. She had to remember that.
    But now she sensed something else. There was a quality about him that gave her pause. She’d noticed it earlier but she hadn’t identified it until now. A sense of aloneness. Not loneliness. He was too self-contained for that. Instead there was something distant, a part of him standing back and watching. Never quite participating.
    She took a sip of wine and tried to smother the warmth flooding her. He was a walking disaster for her. Everything she knew she should avoid. He was a forty-two-year-old bachelor who, by most accounts, was considered ruthless in business affairs and might well become an adversary.
    But as she looked again, the dimples softened the harsh lines of his face and the green of his eyes deepened. Her thoughts were becoming muddled.
    She’d never been this affected before. In fact, she’d always been wary of quick entanglements. Long ones, too. She’d always been aware her mother and father had met at a concert. He’d been a musician and she a groupie. They’d married five days after meeting.
    He’d left when she was born. So much for one enchanted evening. Or five of them.
    Sudden lust had repercussions. She put her fork on the plate. “I’m really tired,” she said, hearing the tremor in her voice. She hoped he thought it was exhaustion, rather than a rampaging feminine reaction.
    He didn’t protest but signaled the waiter. Instead, Mr. Lucchesi appeared, his expression worried. “The food is not good?”
    â€œIt’s perfect as always,” she said. “I’ve just had a really hard day.”
    â€œYour mama?”
    â€œShe’s hanging in there, but …”
    â€œYou come in here next time before you visit. I give you a dessert that will make her better.”
    â€œThank you. I’ll do that.”
    He handed the bill to her companion. He didn’t pay with a credit card, but with bills. “It was very good,” he told Mr. Lucchesi, and he went up another notch in her estimation, especially when Mr. Lucchesi beamed.
    She led the way out. He touched the small of her back as they went outside, and she felt electricity flow from his hand through her body. The warmth turned to fire as they reached her car, and he touched her cheek. “Thanks for coming tonight,” he said softly. “I enjoyed it.”
    The air sparked and sizzled between them like an exposed live wire. She was stunned by the heat, by the sudden need, by a craving she’d never felt before.
    Then he backed away as if burned. She blindly reached in her purse for her keys. He took them from her and opened the door, holding it as she stepped in.
    He closed it without another word. She glanced at him, and he looked as stunned as she felt.
    She forced herself to put the key in the ignition. Her heart pounded, and her body … Lord, her body was a mass of sensations.
    Go. Go before you do something really dumb .

10
    Her heart pounding against her chest, Kira stood at Leigh’s door and knocked.
    It was exactly 11:00 a.m. Not a moment earlier. Not a second later. She’d used the combination to the gate Leigh had given her earlier.
    She mentally ran over the words she’d so carefully planned. She’d lain awake all night, thinking about how she could explain the inexplicable. Her mind vacillated between how she would persuade Leigh to give a kidney to a stranger and the image of Max Payton’s face. She knew