"Okay."

"To call Jeff, I mean."

"Yes, I know."

"I'm going upstairs. For privacy."

"Okay." He raised an eyebrow and waved. "'Bye."

"'Bye." She stumbled, turned, and darted toward the stairs.

Lauren spent the rest of the evening in the guest bedroom, too humiliated to face Drew. And too scared.

Talking to Jeff didn't help. She couldn't answer his questions and didn't care to hear his demands.

"When will your sister stop these crazy games and grow up? Her wild impulses interfere with my life as well as yours. They already ruined tonight's dinner with my parents. Aren't you tired of putting up with this kind of nonsense?"

"Yes, I guess so."

"You guess so guess so?" Jeff's annoyance came through loud and clear.

"It's just that I'm not sure it's nonsense. Meg asked me to come, nearly begged me. She should be here. But she's not, she's missing, and she doesn't even answer her cell phone. No one knows where she is. I can't help thinking something might be wrong."

"What's wrong is that you've let Meg's problems affect our lives again."

Lauren's brows puckered with irritation. "I don't see how Meg's disappearance affects your life, Jeff." Unless he was missing their Thursday night s.e.x date, too. The possibility took her by surprise. She liked to think that wanting her more would make him irritable, but she wasn't sure, since he'd always been uncomfortable talking about s.e.x.

"Lauren, are you listening? I want you here. Do I have to spell it out for you?"

Bingo! She chuckled, relieved that she'd figured it out. Relieved, too, that the secret doubts she'd had about their relationship might be so easily solved. "No, you don't. I understand. You think we need more quality time together, and I couldn't agree more. In fact, I'm in the mood for some quality time with you right now." She chuckled, relieved that she'd figured it out. Relieved, too, that the secret doubts she'd had about their relationship might be so easily solved. "No, you don't. I understand. You think we need more quality time together, and I couldn't agree more. In fact, I'm in the mood for some quality time with you right now."

"Good." He sounded happier already. "Then you'll come home right away?"

He was more eager to expand their s.e.x life than she'd thought. "As soon as I can." Trying for an appropriately playful mood, she asked, "Do you have something planned already?"

"I will, just as soon as we get off the phone."

Trust Jeff to plan everything, even s.e.x. He'd never do anything kinky, but she had to admit to some curiosity. "Give me a hint. Is it something we've never done before?"

"Sure, if that's what you're in the mood for. I can probably find someplace we haven't been."

"That shouldn't be hard." Jeff wasn't good at thinking outside the box, and the box was his bedroom.

"Well, I suppose if we drive to another town..."

She actually frowned at the phone before putting it back to her ear. "Another town? What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about rescheduling our dinner with my parents. What are you you talking about?" talking about?"

"s.e.x! I'm talking about our s.e.x life, Jeff."

Silence filled several seconds. Then several more. "Excuse me?"

She sighed, feeling defeated before she began, but unwilling to back down. "Our quality time together-get it? I think you should take me to bed more often."

She waited through another long pause. "I thought you were happy with our s.e.x life."

She couldn't help noting that he hadn't jumped at the chance for more s.e.x. "I just thought I would enjoy having more. That I might be even happier with more. Is that too much to ask?"

"Um, no. It's fine. What night of the week were you thinking of?"

That wasn't the level of enthusiasm she'd been hoping for. She was fairly certain if Drew's girlfriend demanded more s.e.x, he wouldn't ask her what night of the week. He'd probably do it right then and there.

Don't think about that.

"It doesn't matter when, Jeff. For G.o.d's sake, just pick a night."

"Fine. Um, fine. How about we discuss it during our vacation?"

"Fine." She didn't mind putting it off. The idea was already beginning to lose its charm.

"You will be back in time to salvage our trip, won't you, Lauren? You only have two weeks off work, and we've already lost one day we can't make up. Maybe two."

It was a valid complaint, but somehow it sounded petty when Jeff said it. "I don't want to talk about it tonight, Jeff."

"What will you do tomorrow if Meg doesn't call?"

"I don't know. Why don't we wait and see what happens?"

"You need to change your plane reservations as soon as possible, Lauren, or it'll cost you a fortune."

Lauren usually found Jeff's frugal common sense admirable, but it didn't seem to be the most important consideration right now. "I know, I just don't want to think about it now."

"I need to know your itinerary so I can schedule our dinner with Mom and Dad."

Lauren squeezed her eyes shut. "I have a splitting headache, Jeff. I'll call you tomorrow." She hung up before he could reply. A minute later she realized the headache hadn't been a lie and searched her purse for aspirin before crawling into bed.

Incredibly, she slept a full nine hours. With the early spring sunrise still a gray line in the eastern sky, she made as little noise as she could, washing and dressing.

It didn't matter. When she padded silently downstairs in stocking feet, lights blazed in several rooms. She heard the low rumble of Drew's voice from the kitchen, followed by Gerald's softer tone.

She found them standing at the granite-topped island. Lauren took in Drew's disheveled hair and Gerald's tie-less shirt, with open collar and rolled sleeves.

"Have you two been up all night?"

They exchanged looks, as if her question required consultation. Drew came up with the answer. "Yes."

She didn't need a premonition to guess that something was wrong. A quick stab of fear sent a shiver through her as she walked to Drew's side, refusing to think about why standing next to him might offer rea.s.surance.

"What is it? Have you heard from Meg?" An icy feeling gripped her stomach. "Is she okay?" At least a dozen more questions flew through her mind in the second before Drew shook his head.

"No, we haven't heard from her."

Maybe no news is good news, she told herself. "Senator Creighton?" she asked.

Across from her, Gerald shook his head.

"Then what?" She looked from Drew's weary face, unshaven and shadowed with stubble, back to Gerald's pinched expression. "What were you doing all night?"

"Searching the house," Drew told her. "We hoped there might be a letter, or a notation on the computer, something that would hint at where they'd gone."

They wouldn't look this concerned if the search hadn't been successful. "You found something," she guessed.

"Not right away. Not until Gerald thought to check the safe. Meg told him she was going to the bank when she left here, and she'd been in Dad's office, so we thought-"

"You thought," Gerald corrected. thought," Gerald corrected.

Lauren suddenly realized where this was going. The icy dread inside her mixed with hot anger as she turned toward Drew. "You son of a b.i.t.c.h. You thought she might have stolen something from the safe?"

He didn't flinch. "It was a logical possibility."

A rush of fury pulled Lauren's hands into tight fists at her sides. With her remaining fingernails biting into her palms, she growled at him, "No, it's not logical, not if you know Meg. My sister would never never steal." She whipped her head toward Gerald. "You claim to know her. Did you really think Meg would do something like that?" steal." She whipped her head toward Gerald. "You claim to know her. Did you really think Meg would do something like that?"

Pain creased Gerald's forehead. "No, I didn't."

A tiny wave of relief washed over her. At least someone believed in Meg.

Gerald's sad gaze shifted toward Drew. "I still don't."

Responding to the defeat in his voice, Lauren's stomach clenched with dread. "Still?" She turned back to Drew, nearly shrinking from the hesitation in his eyes.

"Lauren..." Drew began.

She shook her head to emphasize the denial because she knew her voice would sound weak. "No. She wouldn't."

Drew's voice was as hard as steel. "I'm sorry. But she did."

CHAPTER Two.

She didn't believe him. He wasn't sorry. And Meg certainly hadn't stolen anything from Harlan Creighton's safe.

"Andrew," Gerald scolded. "You don't know that for sure."

"You said yourself, the key was there two days ago. Now it's gone."

Lauren frowned. "What key? I thought you were talking about money."

"All the money's there," Gerald told her, with a meaningful glance at Drew. "Three thousand dollars. She didn't take it."

"No, she aimed higher," Drew said. "A fortune in jewelry, left to Miranda and me by our mother. It's in a safety deposit box, and one of the keys to that box is missing. It was in the safe."

"And you think Meg took it?" Her voice fairly squeaked with outrage. "Do you have any idea how incredibly stupid that is?"

Drew closed his eyes. "No, but I'm sure you'll tell me."

"d.a.m.n right." She poked his chest for good measure, ramming her finger into a solid wall of muscle. "My sister is the most honest person I know. She might be a little irresponsible at times, and she might go to a lot of parties, and spend too much money on clothes instead of saving it, and go out with the wrong kind of men-"

Lauren noticed Drew's interested look and changed direction. "The point is, Meg would never do anything to harm anyone else. She wouldn't lie, she wouldn't cheat, and she certainly wouldn't steal steal."

"That's a moving testimonial," Drew said. "But it's not proof. I've met plenty of women in this town who are nice on the surface, but that doesn't stop them from being manipulative gold diggers beneath it."

Lauren flushed with anger. "My sister isn't a gold digger."

"I guess time will tell, won't it? Either the newlyweds show up together with an explanation for the missing key, or my dad shows up alone, while his new wife scampers off with the spoils of her brief but profitable marriage."

She refrained from hitting him, but just barely. "And your dad's office still hasn't heard from him?"

"It happens. You're talking about the Playboy of the Potomac."

Gerald sighed. "In other words, we wait."

Great. Another day of listening to Drew's cynical views on women in general, and Meg in particular. Or, worse yet, risking the disturbing effect of his quiet blue gaze piercing hers. Causing the very sort of wild feelings Meg sought from life, and look where that had gotten her-married to a notorious, skirt-chasing playboy twice her age, raising eyebrows and suspicions, and leaving it to sensible Lauren to straighten out the mess.

No, thank you. Lauren would choose her perfectly ordered life over that sort of chaos any day. In fact, she'd be glad to go home right now and leave Drew to break up the misguided marriage if it weren't for the fact that Meg's disappearance had Lauren worried.

She'd stay just long enough to ensure that Meg was safe. Jeff wouldn't like it, but he'd understand that it was the responsible thing to do. In fact, he'd just lectured her on the virtue of taking responsibility.

Thank goodness she was engaged to a reasonable man.

And in the meantime, she didn't have to listen to Drew's cynical opinions.

"I'll be upstairs," she told Gerald. "I brought some work with me from the office. Let me know as soon as you hear from Meg or Senator Creighton."

She'd almost reached the doorway when Drew called, "Enjoy your phone s.e.x with Jeff."

There was no way she'd give him the shocked reaction he was looking for. "Thanks, I will."

"Who's Jeff?" Gerald asked behind her.

She strained to catch Drew's careless reply. "No one special."

She waited until nine o'clock, when Jeff would be at his desk, finishing his second cup of coffee. He dealt with problems better after a good dose of caffeine.