Liar's Moon by Heather Graham Page A

knew Leif, since it seemed they were all so comfortable together.
    After all the years she had struggled so hard to maintain her anonymity, become totally independent—and nearly invisible! All her determination to stay out of the public eye was ruined. Here she was, dragged back into it all because Leif had fed her to the wolves!
    The desire to throttle Leif rose in her again. She glanced his way through the crowd and saw that he was managing to carry on easy conversations. He laughed at something someone said, offered more champagne. She saw him give a pretty redhead a friendly kiss on the cheek just before the girl left. The kiss bothered her, and she was highly irritated with herself for the stab of jealousy she felt. But he looked good that night—exceptionally good. Tall and lean, both relaxed and elegant, and somehow not quite approachable—an intriguing man with a casual manner, yet whose hard eyes veiled a thousand secrets.
    At long last, Jamie disappeared with his group in tow. Blake was happily playing at the mirror with Jamie’s brushes, Leif idly stretched and rubbed the back of his neck, and Liz asked Tracy if she would like more champagne.
    “I’m really a little sick of champagne,” she murmured.
    “Poor baby!” Leif laughed. “Too much Dom Perignon, huh?”
    “Leif, be nice!” Liz chastised. “And tell me—what are we going to do? With Blake and me—I mean. I told you, didn’t I, that I couldn’t get hotel reservations? The place is full—with groupies trying to get close to Jamie, I think!”
    “Blake can sleep in with me. And Jamie can, too. Then you can have the other bedroom, Liz. Oh, wait—that’s not necessary at all. Tracy—you wouldn’t mind giving Liz your extra bedroom, would you?”
    “No, not at all,” Tracy murmured, but she did. She felt as if she were being sucked into a whirlpool. She hadn’t wanted to see Leif, she hadn’t wanted to go to Connecticut, and she certainly hadn’t wanted to go on stage—but she had done it all. She was falling deeper and deeper into a vortex of the past, and it was frightening.
    And to make it all much worse, Leif was staring at her again. Gray eyes charcoal and smoke, probing, somehow frightening. What was it that he was looking for when it seemed that his eyes burned into her soul, stripped her, ran her ragged, and then raked so tensely over her once again.
    She lowered her head to avoid his gaze. Blake started to talk to Leif about his latest schoolwork, and Tracy felt herself shivering.
    Had Leif ever told anyone about the fiasco between them? No one seemed to know. He had forced her to tell Jamie—but he had defended her smoothly before Mack Arnold’s barrage of questions.
    Tracy could just imagine the truth in the paper! That he and Jesse had fought over Jesse’s daughter. Because Jesse’s daughter had been piqued at her fathe r for forgetting her face…
    Tiger stuck his head into the dressing room suddenly, grinning and offering Liz a ride back to the hotel. “We’ve still got a room reserved for dinner?” he asked Leif.
    “Yes. Did you get a room okay?”
    “Sure—I planned ahead. Liz?”
    “Yes, I’d better get back with Blake. It’s getting very late for him.”
    Tracy swirled around to Liz. “I can go back with Blake, Liz! You’re welcome to stay here and take your time—”
    “Oh, no, no!” Liz protested. “This was Jamie’s big day —all of them in a group, but very especially you. Blake— come on, young man. We’ll get to ride in Tiger’s sports car!”
    Blake hadn’t appeared pleased about leaving his father until Liz mentioned Tiger’s car, then his eyes lit up. He gave Leif a massive hug but a quick kiss and slipped his hand into his aunt’s to leave. At the door he paused.
    “Bye, Tracy.”
    “Bye, Blake.”
    The door closed behind them and Tracy was alone with Leif once again. He didn’t say anything; he just paced around, a bit like a bored panther on the prowl. Tracy stared at him for