island, cozy yet airy. This was the first chance he’d had to see how Rachel really lived, to walk around and look at her belongings.
Dec didn’t waste any time, setting the bags down next to the door. “Can I look around?” he asked, glancing at her collection of odd refrigerator magnets.
She shrugged. “Sure. I can take you on the tour if you’d like.”
Nodding, he took her hand as they walked from the kitchen through a short hallway into the front of the house. They stopped in the foyer and Dec walked over to the front door. The lock system was ancient, an old deadbolt and button lock on the knob, with no reinforcement on the doorframe. He could gain entrance with a shove of his shoulder. “We’re going to have to do something about this,” he said.
“My door?”
“Your security,” Dec replied. “Any halfwit burglar could be in here in less than five seconds.” Dec walked over to the window beside the door. “You could use a glass break alarm on this window. If the guy didn’t want to expend the effort to bust the door down, he could just break this window and reach in and unlock it. And you should have sash alarms on every window and motion detectors on the first floor.”
“But this is a pretty safe neighborhood. And I always lock my doors.”
He stepped over to her and took her hand, then kissed her fingertips. “Sweetheart, you’re the expert in sex and I have been happy to defer to you on that. But I’m the security expert and this house is a burglary waiting to happen. I’m going to send some of my guys over here tomorrow morning to spec out a system for you.”
“All right,” she said. “But don’t make it too complicated. I can’t even program my VCR.”
“Don’t worry,” he murmured, dropping a kiss on her mouth. “It’ll come with private lessons taught by the president of the company.”
Rachel pushed upon her toes and kissed him and Dec took the opportunity to give her a kiss that would last for however long they were apart. Hell, four days suddenly seemed like an eternity. “Can I call you?” he asked.
Rachel nodded. “Sure. My number is in the book.”
“Well, that’s going to have to change too,” he said, nipping at her bottom lip. “You should have an unlisted number.”
“Stop,” Rachel said, giving him a teasing slap on the chest.
He grabbed her face between his hands and kissed her again. “I can’t stop,” he whispered. “Don’t make me.” Dec gave her one last kiss, then smoothed his hand through her hair and stepped back. “I should go.”
“You’ll call me?”
“Yeah. And I might jog by your house a few times a day, just to make sure everything is all right.”
“I’ll look forward to seeing you run by,” Rachel said. “Make sure you’re wearing very tight shorts.”
Dec chuckled as Rachel unlocked the front door and walked out with him. They stood on the porch for a long moment before she reached out and grabbed his hand. “Thank you,” she said, twisting her fingers through his. “For everything. For watching over me. For taking me to Maine. For making me feel safe.”
“No problem,” he said. “So, I’ll see you Saturday?”
Rachel nodded. Maybe there was a chance they could make this work, Dec thought. In the beginning, it had been about the sexual attraction. But now, it looked as if they might share more. He drew in a deep breath. Best not to think too far ahead into the future. He would just take this one day at a time.
And if they ended up in her bed-or his-he’d enjoy the experience, whether there would be a next time or not.
RACHEL PICKED UP THE LAST page of the manuscript and carefully read through the bibliography. She felt as if she was finally accomplishing something today. She’d had all three of her Thursday morning group therapy sessions at her office downtown and then, after a late lunch, she’d come back to campus to catch up on all the work she’d missed.
“I think there’s a later edition of that Barrington book,” she murmured. “Do you think we should cite that instead?”
“Which book did you use for reference?” Daniel asked.
“The 1963 edition,” she said.
“Leave it. If they want to change it, they will.”
Rachel handed him the page. “So would you like Simon to type up the edits or are you going to give it to your assistant?”
Daniel chuckled. “Give it to Simon. He’s eager to please. And from now on, when you’re out of the office for more than a day, be sure to give him a call. He was frantically trying to find you yesterday morning. He called me three times to see if I’d heard from you.”
“He’s just doing his job,” Rachel said.
“I think he’s in love with you,” Daniel countered.
“Simon? No, I don’t think so.”
Daniel carefully rearranged the pages of the article. “It’s not so difficult to believe,” he murmured. “Any man that really knew you would have a hard time not falling in love with you.”
Rachel gasped softly, stunned by the look on his face. “Daniel, I-I-”
“You don’t have to say anything,” he continued. “You don’t have to tell me I’m married. You don’t have to tell me my wife loves me very much. And that I’d be putting my marriage at risk. I just had to get that out there.”
“Were you hoping I’d want something more?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Nope. Because, that would be one of the biggest mistakes I’d ever make. You’re a colleague and an old friend and I know better than to put our friendship at risk. But I’m not going to lie to you. There are times, when my marriage is not the best and when I wonder what might have happened if I’d been single when you took this job and you’d been interested.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I just never thought about it. Not because you aren’t a great guy, but because you’re married.”
“And if I wasn’t?”
Rachel shrugged. “Well, there is this man I’ve met and he’s-”
Daniel held up his hand. “Say no more. Declan Quinn seems like a charming guy, although I wouldn’t have pegged him as your type. But I can see you must care for him.”
“How?”
“You look different. Happy. Excited.” He set the article on her desk. “How did you meet him?”
“Trevor Ross sent him over last weekend after I got another threatening letter at the station. He was my bodyguard.”
“He told me he was a salesman,” Daniel said.
“Well, he probably told you that because he suspected you might be my stalker. But they caught the guy sending the letters.”
“Who was it?” Daniel asked.
“Jerry Abler. An intern at the radio station. He seemed like such a nice guy.” She frowned. “They’re still holding him. I was going to go over and talk to him but Ross’s people told me I shouldn’t.”
“They’re right,” Daniel said. “It’s best to just put this behind you.”
“Right,” Rachel said. She drew in a deep breath. “So, I guess we’re done here.”
Daniel nodded, then smiled sheepishly. “Listen, forget what I said before. Just wipe it out of your head. I’m just feeling a little bit battered lately.”
“Are you having trouble with Marcy? If you are, I could help you out with that. Maybe find you a marriage counselor.”
“I think you’re the last person we need helping us out with our marriage,” Daniel said. “We’ll work it out. But thanks for your concern.”
“And thank you,” Rachel said. “You know, you’re the only person I’ve told about my work at the station and my little stalker problem. I’m glad I can confide in you. You’re a good friend, Daniel.”
“I will always be a good friend,” he said as he pulled her office door open.
Rachel watched as he left the outer office, a melancholy smile on her face. There might have been a time when Daniel’s overture would have been welcomed, before he was married, before she’d met Dec. But now, all she could feel was sad that he was so unhappy in his marriage. Everyone deserved to find that one great passion in their life, the one person who could make life exciting. Maybe Daniel could recapture that with Marcy. Rachel made a mental
