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He kissed her flushed cheek, and then her mouth. “That would certainly be my choice.”
There were still shadows in her eyes, but she was smiling when she drew back to take his hand and walk with him toward the bedroom.
11
SOMETIME during that night, Tara made a decision. It was becoming obvious that Blake wasn’t going to open up to her. That he intended to keep his past an enigma. She suspected that there were also things about their current situation that he was keeping from her, things he learned during the mysterious forays he took while leaving her with Stephanie and Jeremy.
Something was going on that he hadn’t told her, she realized. Whether he was trying to protect her, or whether he simply didn’t trust her, his reasons didn’t particularly matter to her. The very fact that he wasn’t being entirely honest with her was enough to let her know that any foolish fantasies she might have been harboring about him were just that—impossible daydreams. It was time to snap out of them. Long past time for her to get a grip on the precarious emotions that had controlled her since she’d lost her job.
She was an attorney. A good one. Though she would probably encounter some awkwardness, she would find another position, and she would make full use of the education she’d worked so hard to attain. Blake had helped her see that, and she was grateful, even if he had come dangerously close to breaking her heart in the process.
All her life, she’d attacked every challenge with determination, intelligence and a refusal to be anything but the best at what she did. It was past time she remembered how to do that, too. She had never in her adult life relied on anyone to take care of her.
As for Blake—well, she could handle him, too. As long as she kept in mind that it ended Friday night, one way or another, she could keep her feelings in perspective. He was the one who’d advised her to take her pleasure where she could find it...and she planned to follow that suggestion.
She would relish the few days they spent together, and then she would put them behind her and move on—Blake’s own personal philosophy, she suspected. Tara McBride had always been a quick study. And in the area of guarding her heart, she suspected Blake had quite a bit to teach her.
DURING THE NEXT three days, Blake tried and failed to figure out what was going on in Tara’s head.
She’d changed since their talk Monday evening, in ways he couldn’t quite define. She seemed more confident, more determined, more self-reliant—more like the woman he’d first met at the law firm. And yet, different. She smiled at Blake’s jokes, held up her end of their conversations, went willingly into his arms at the end of each day...but she held back some private, important part of herself, which was becoming increasingly frustrating for him.
Sometimes he looked at this cool, copper-haired, sexily dressed woman and he wondered what she had done with the real Tara McBride. And he wondered a bit wistfully if he would ever have a chance to be with her again.
She was probably going to hate him by the time this was all over. He’d kept too much from her—his past, his
relationship with Stephanie, the things about this case that he still hadn’t told her. Things she would have to find out, eventually. And she was likely to go for his throat when she learned the truth. She would probably never want to see him again.
Maybe it was for the best. He’d known all along that, their time together was only temporary. He wasn’t the staying-around type. He was following his usual routine, he thought with grim humor. Rush to the rescue, use whatever means necessary to solve the problem, then quietly fade into the sunset when he was no longer needed. It was a satisfying life, on the whole...but a lonely one.
It was the only life Blake knew. The only one he deserved.
ON FRIDAY EVENING, exactly one week after Blake had shown up on Tara’s doorstep, Stephanie stepped back from Tara with a smile of satisfaction. “I’ve done it again,” she bragged. “You look fantastic.”
Tara glanced into the full-length dressing-room mirror to see how she looked in the glittering, colorful costume Stephanie had provided for her. “Is it really necessary for these costumes to be so skimpy?”
From the doorway of the dressing room, she heard Blake’s voice. “Don’t you know why magicians’ assistants are traditionally beautiful women in sexy costumes? It’s a distraction—so the men in the audience will pay more attention to the women’s legs than to the magician’s sleight of hand. Makes it less likely they’ll figure out the secrets.”
Tara turned, and then had to clear her throat. Blake had dressed the part of the stage technician he was pretending to be, wearing faded jeans, a Jeremy Kane T-shirt with the sleeves rolled up on his biceps, and heavy work boots. His hair was tousled more than usual, and a red bandana was tied around his forehead to hold it out of his eyes when he worked. The small tattoo on his right wrist was visible, as was the intriguing scar on his forehead. He looked tough, unpolished, a bit disreputable, far different from the stylishly dressed man who had so often visited the law firm of Carpathy, Dillon and Delacroix.
No matter how he dressed, Tara still thought he was the most spectacular man she’d ever seen.
“And what keeps the women in the audience from watching too closely?” she asked, trying to hide her reaction to him.
“Honey, when Jeremy Kane’s on stage, there’s not a red-blooded woman alive who can concentrate on his hands,” Stephanie quipped. “Especially when he wears those tight black pants.”
Tara laughed. “I suppose I can understand that.”
Blake gave a disgusted snort. “Would you two like me to leave the room so you can discuss this in more detail?”
Stephanie’s grin was wicked. “Not necessary. I’d be perfectly happy to discuss Jeremy’s attributes in front of you. Wouldn’t you, Tara?”
“Please,” Blake cut in. “Spare me.”
“I think my brother’s feeling insecure, Tara. Maybe you’d better tell him how pretty he is to make him feel better,” Stephanie teased, earning a glare from Blake.
“Oh, I think Blake knows well enough how pretty he is,” Tara answered lightly.
Stephanie laughed. “Blake, have I mentioned that I really like her?”
