"No, he isn't." Sarah couldn't say anything else. Alex hadn't begged to see her. She hadn't even heard from him in four days. After what she'd said, he probably didn't want to see her.

"I'll see what I can do." The hostess left her post in a swirl of musky perfume.

She should just turn around and leave. She'd only come here because she couldn't stop thinking about him. Every night before she went to bed, his was the last face she saw. Every morning, the fact he wasn't there beside her made her stomach hurt.

She'd never obsessed about a man before. She'd never had to close her eyes against a sudden memory of his face or the way he smelled. She'd never had to whisper his name to herself in the mirror simply because she so badly wanted him beside her. Not even William had filled her head the way Alex did.

It was l.u.s.t and nothing more. An itch that should have been scratched on Thursday night. But if that was true, why had she bought flowers? Why had she dialed his number half a dozen times and hung up before the first ring? s.e.x could be a very powerful motivation for action, but this went beyond two people going to bed. She needed to apologize to him because the thought she had hurt him made her ache inside.

She turned to go, unable all at once to face him with so much emotion battling inside her. He would not be home at this hour. She could call his house and leave a message. She could write him a note and mail it so she wouldn't have to speak to him at all...

"Sarah?"

Oh G.o.d. Sarah turned, her hands suddenly trembling. "Alex."

He looked at her warily. Coolly. The way he'd looked when he left her house. Blindly, she thrust the flowers at him.

"These are for you. I just wanted to say I was sorry. I'm such an idiot. This isn't the place. I'm sorry."

Thankful the all-knowing hostess hadn't been there to see her act like such a fool, Sarah headed out of the restaurant. His voice stopped her before she could reach the door. She paused without facing him.

"n.o.body ever gave me flowers before."

She looked back at him and discovered, to her sudden dismay and mortification, tears had welled up in her eyes. She blinked them back. She didn't want to cry. Not here, of all places. Not in front of him.

"I thought you might like them. They're a little wild, and they smell good. Like you." She was babbling now. Heat rose in her cheeks. This was worse than anything she'd imagined.

Alex stepped forward and took her arm. "Let's go into my office."

He walked her quickly back through the restaurant and skillfully steered her around any obstacle, which was good since now the tears in her eyes were blinding her. He opened a door and gently pushed her inside.

"Why did you come here?" Alex led her to a soft chair.

Sarah pressed her cool hands against her flushed cheeks. Deep breath in, deep breath out, until the tears no longer threatened. She looked at him.

"I wanted to apologize for what I said on Friday morning. I was stupid. I'm sorry I hurt you."

"What makes you think you hurt me?" Alex leaned back against the desk. With his arms folded across his chest and his long, long legs crossed at the ankles, he wasn't exactly a picture of welcoming warmth. "You can't hurt someone who doesn't care about you." His hazel eyes were stormy, his lips a thin line.

His words slapped her. Sarah blinked, and the heat disappeared from her face instantly, as though she'd just plunged into an ocean of ice. "I see." Her back stiffened. Once again her fists clenched until her palms ached from the press of her nails against the flesh. She rose to go and did not look at him. If she looked at him, she might slap him or cry and she wanted to do neither.

"Do you?" Alex stepped closer to her and caught her arm to prevent her from leaving.

She pulled her arm from his grasp. "Yes, I think I do."

"I don't think so." He towered over her. "I said you can't hurt someone who

doesn't care about you, Sarah."

She whirled on him, sudden fury rising in her like a tidal wave. "I heard what you said, Alex! I understand!"

The hands that had worshipped her flesh now gripped her tightly enough to

hurt. Refusing to wince, Sarah tried to pull free. Alex wouldn't let her.

"You did hurt me." He moved his face closer to hers, and his voice almost became a growl. His eyes were inches from hers, and she could see flecks of gold glittering in the amber-green depths. It took Sarah a moment to digest what he'd said. As the fight faded out of her, Alex let go of her arms. He rubbed his fingers up and down along where he'd gripped her to ease the sting.

"I do care about you." Alex paused as if to gather his courage. "Why did you come here?"

"To say I was sorry."

He pulled her to him and sought her mouth. She met his kiss eagerly. When he urged her lips to part, she did that, too. His hands crept up to tangle in her hair, and she didn't protest. It was all she'd wanted him to do, since the first time she'd seen him. All she'd thought about.

"So now what?" Alex pulled away from her.

"I like being with you, Alex. Can we leave it at that for now?"

He shrugged. "If you insist."

Sarah gently disentangled herself from his grasp. "I've got to get back. I have

a thousand things to do this afternoon."

"When can I see you again?"

"You'll see me tonight," she reminded. "We have a partnership meeting at the

gallery. We're supposed to be planning the gala opening."

Alex mock-slapped his forehead. "I forgot. I'll be there."

They stared at each other in silence for a minute. Then Sarah reached up to

peck his cheek. Alex captured her shoulders and refused to release her until she had kissed him as pa.s.sionately as before.

"I'd better go." Sarah laughed again.

"I'll see you tonight."

At the thought, her belly quivered. Tonight, indeed.

The rest of the day pa.s.sed in a daze for Alex. He placed three incorrect orders for produce before Emma finally took over. Ordering him out of the kitchen, she grabbed the order book from his hands and shook her head.

"Boss, go put your flowers in a vase before they wilt," she ordered. "Better yet, go home and take a cold shower."

Only a niece who was practically like a younger sister could get away with telling him what to do. Alex didn't care. Sarah had brought him flowers. n.o.body had ever brought him flowers, and though he knew his buddies would make unrepentant fun of him if they found out, it would mostly be out of jealousy. n.o.body had ever brought them flowers either.

"You're in a good mood." Jennifer paused to stuff a handful of menus into a drawer. Now that lunch was over, The Foxfire would be fairly quiet for a few hours until dinner. She and Alex had often spent the time talking.

Not today, though. Visions of dark curls and blue-ice eyes were filling Alex's mind. Visions of Sarah.

"I'm in a great mood." Alex punched the air.

Jennifer smiled flirtatiously. "How come?"

"No reason."

She must have caught the unspoken answer in his voice. She frowned, an expression that didn't flatter her. As if realizing that, she made an obvious effort to smooth the lines of her face into a smile.

"Well, if you're in a good mood, so am I," she cooed.

"Good. Then you won't mind working the dinner shift tonight. I've got to get home early. I've got a date tonight."

It was a good thing he'd been out of range of her nails. He pushed through The Foxfire front doors. Otherwise, Jennifer might have given him a pretty bad scratch. He laughed about it on the way home, but realized how much had changed in the past few days. Even as short as a few months ago, he'd have returned Jen's flirting without thinking twice. They'd never dated, though she and Wendi had sometimes ended up at the same local watering holes he'd used to frequent regularly. It hadn't been hard to see that the hostess and the waitress would have gladly gone home with him, but he'd never taken it that far.

And now, he never would. He laughed again as he pulled into the driveway. She brought me flowers.

Investing in Rivka Delaney's art was the best decision he'd ever made. The afternoon took forever to drag by, but at last it was time to head over to The Gallery on Second. Parking his hunter-green Chevy Tahoe in the back lot, Alex let himself into the gallery with the key Rivka had given him. The lights were dim, but he heard voices from the back.

"Alex!" Rivka rose and kissed his cheek. Mick and Martin stood and shook his hand. Alex turned to Sarah, who smiled and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Not in front of my sister," she murmured into his ear. "She doesn't know."

"We were talking about the opening night party." If Rivka had guessed anything about her sister and Alex, she didn't let it show. "I want it to be the best party this town has seen in a long time!"

"She wants to make it a costume party." Sarah raised one eyebrow. "Sort of a masque."

"Sarai's not thrilled, as you can tell." Rivka nudged her husband. "But we love it, don't we, Mickey?"

"You love it because you want to dress like a sheik and a harem girl." Sarah rolled her eyes.

Rivka rolled eyes shaded in spangled eyeshadow. "So? What's so bad about that?"

Martin cleared his throat and cut off Sarah's response. "A costume ball would certainly attract the right people. The mayor always attends the Art Council's annual masquerade."

"So, a masque it is!" Rivka clapped her hands and shot her sister a triumphant look. "Alex, what do you think? It's mostly your money after all."

"If it's what you want, Rivka, go for it," Alex replied gallantly. "You're the artist."

"See?" Rivka stuck her tongue out at Sarah. "Alex likes my idea."

Sarah raised her hands helplessly. "All right, you win. But I'm choosing my own costume."

The last time Sarah had gone to a costume party, Rivka had insisted on costuming her. Sarah had spent the entire night in the bathroom, scrubbing off the silver paint that was giving her hives. A lovely water nymph she had been ... not.

"Fine ... whatever." Rivka waved her hand airily. Her bracelets jangled. "Come as Gumby for all I care."

Alex wouldn't mind seeing Sarah in a harem girl costume. As if she could read his thoughts, Sarah caught his glance and smiled. The smile lit up her eyes and suddenly had him wanting to bend her over the table and make love to her right there.

"I wanted me and the boyo's to be providing the music," Mick said. "But my Rivka says she can't have me away from her side."

Rivka shook her head. "I'll be too nervous. We'll have a DJ. I need you with me, Mickey."

Martin smoothed graying hair. "I've already made arrangements for the paintings to be hung. We'll have all of Rivka's originals here, even some which have been purchased. The owners have agreed to lend them for the night. Of course, we'll also be offering all her prints for sale. We're going to have a drawing to win one of her latest portraits, too."

"It's going to be fantastic!" Rivka let out a little scream. "I'm so excited!"

Sarah laughed at her sister's antics, but didn't resist when Rivka leaned over the table and gave her a hug. Watching them, Alex noted how much they looked alike.

"The Foxfire is going to do the food, right?" Rivka turned to Alex.

"Sure."

"Can you and Sarah take care of that? I think you two will work great together."

If only she knew. "I think we can manage that. Sarah?"

Sarah bit back a smile. "Oh, I'm sure we can come up with a lot of interesting ideas."

Rivka looked back and forth between the two of them as if she sensed an undertone to their conversation but didn't know what it was. "Great. I'll leave you to it then. Don't worry, Sarai. It won't be hard."

Sarah seemed to be stifling a giggle. "That would be too bad."

Rivka peered at her sister. "If I didn't know you better, Sarai, I'd say you were making a dirty innuendo."

Sarah returned her sister's look with exaggerated innocence. "Me?"