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“Yes.” She met Colleen’s stare. “More than I ever have before. I think he’s been up front with me from the beginning. I may not have liked what he’s been saying, but at least he’s been honest.”
Colleen smiled and walked over to her closet. She turned around with a pair of sexy black heels dangling from her fingers.
“Remember. Fate favors the bold,” she said.
Deidre made a face. She’d told Colleen the same thing when her sister had shown up at The Pines, heartbroken and avoiding Eric Reyes. “Okay, I may be simplifying things a little out of proportion to the complexities of the situation,” Colleen admitted, handing Deidre the heels. “So I’ll just stick with good luck.”
“Thanks, I think I’m going to need it.”
“You used to jump two hundred and fifty feet off ski ramps. You’ve been known to run into a bullet fray to rescue a patient. You can do anything. You’re my big sister,” Colleen added the last fondly, as if it explained everything.
She laughed and hugged Colleen. “Thank you. Maybe I wouldn’t choose the bullets over Nick, but I have to wonder which situation is more dangerous.”
“Nobody ever said love was simple.”
Deidre?
??s mouth fell open. “Love?”
Colleen shrugged and hid her grin by starting to search for the promised pair of earrings.
* * *
Later that evening Deidre recalled her insinuation that Nick Malone was potentially dangerous. She turned to the side and examined herself in the full-length mirror behind the bathroom door.
She was the one who looked dangerous. Forget “little black dress.” The number Colleen had loaned her was downright racy.
Not that it was indecent by any means. It wasn’t low-cut and it covered her knees. In fact, it was quite elegant. It was more the way it hugged every curve she possessed that made her eyes go wide when she appraised herself. The sexy black pumps did a lot for her legs. Even her small breasts looked somehow...significant in the molding knit fabric of the dress, she realized in rising panic.
She twisted around and examined herself from the back. Oh, no. The dress gently cupped her hips and bottom, leaving little to the imagination. At the top, it dipped in an oval, leaving her upper back exposed. The conservative pearls and earrings she wore only seemed to emphasize the sexiness of the dress by contrast.
Nick would think she was... She didn’t know what Nick would think. He was used to seeing her in jeans and T-shirts and boots.
She raced to her bedroom, intent on changing into something else—a frumpy skirt and blouse, if need be. Anything, as long as Nick wouldn’t think she was playing the sex siren.
His bold knock sounded at the front door.
Deidre paused in the action of whipping a blouse off a hanger. She stared at the garment in rising panic. It was totally unsuitable for dinner at The Embers. She tossed the blouse on her bed and placed her hand on her chest, willing her pounding heartbeat to slow.
Get a grip, Kavanaugh.
She was a grown woman. It wasn’t even as if she hadn’t slept with Nick yet. She had no excuse for hysterics.
“Hi,” she said a moment later when she opened the front door. He stood on the front porch, looking incredibly handsome in his black overcoat, a white shirt and silk tie showing through the opening.
“Hi.”
She blushed furiously when she noticed his stare run over her from brow to toe. His expression looked flat...stunned? She couldn’t have felt more exposed than if she had answered the door stark naked.
He entered and she shut the door. She hastened to get her coat and cover up the dress. He halted her by grabbing her hand and pulling her into his arms.
“You look outrageously beautiful,” he said with quiet intensity.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “You look nice, too.”
A puzzled expression flickered across his face. “Am I being punished for leaving a note this morning?”
Deidre blinked in surprise. “Punished? No, of course not. What do you mean?”
