soon.”
My heart did a little hop and spin, which is a completely ridiculous thing for it to do. However, there was cause. Cordy, Cordelia, has three brothers. One is a minister, whom I hardly know, and one is a bounder, a rat, and I used to know him all too well. Neither were the cause of my heart palpitations. Her third brother, Nathaniel Wright, was the cause. I would like to get to know that man a whole lot better, and I intended to if he ever got back into the country.
Nate owns Tivolini, a catalog of wonderful objets d’art, and he was the one who donated the necklace. I sure hoped he’d be the one bringing it to town.
Except he lived in Dallas, not Austin, and he’d have called me if he was back. At least I hoped he’d have called since we had a serious flirtation going. And if he was back and hadn’t called, well, it didn’t bear thinking about. One more complication to add to the list.
This time I set out to find Beth, since she’d met Nate and even she had to agree he was above average—and way above the average of men I’d dated previously. There must have been a secret trapdoor I didn’t know about because I couldn’t find Beth either. I did spot my brother, Stephen, lurking near one of the food tables.
Stephen is five years younger than I am and very handsome, but he’s never quite grown up. Doesn’t particularly bother me, because I don’t expect anything from him, but it’s played hell with most of his other relationships.
“Hey, Stevie,” I called, using my childhood name for him.
“Hey, Kitz.” The music changed to something more upbeat and jazzy. “That’s a little more like it,” he said. “I thought I’d accidentally wandered into a funeral.” It was too close to the truth to be clever, and he said quickly, “I went over to the quartet and made a request. Looks like they added a guitar player, too.”
“That’s nice,” I said. “Have you heard the latest about what Houston’s done?”
“Our cousin Houston or the city?” He seemed more interested in the musicians across the room than our conversation.
“Our cousin Houston, of course. That man is not to be trusted—”
“That’s nothing new. I was just about to get a drink; can I get you something?”
“No, I’ve got to eat first,” I said. “Anyway, I was telling you about Houston. I think I’m going to need your help on this one. I got a call from some lawyer that Houston hired—”
Stephen let out this long heartrending sigh. “Can we talk later?”
“Why? This is important.”
“I’m sorry, life is just a little complicated right now.”
“Now that’s a first.” Stephen has been married three times, has one daughter, and is perpetually involved in something that isn’t working. “Look, I need—”
“I’m going to grab that drink; I’ll talk to you later.” And he was gone.
“Great idea,” I said to his back. Like a drink was going to make a difference in whatever complication he was facing this time. “And thanks for your support and concern.”
I went for the hors d’oeuvres table and selected a small shish kebab with meatballs and green peppers. I was so hungry I thought about just gnawing the meat off the stick, but the last time I did that, I almost pierced my tongue.
I gathered up a fork and a plate and sat at an empty table. Holding the stick tightly, I used the fork to push the meat. It didn’t budge. I gripped both fork and stick even tighter and tried again.
A deep voice whispered in my ear, “Hello, Miss Kitz. I’ve missed you.” His lips grazed my ear. A shudder of ecstasy shot through me, my hand jerked, and the meatball flew into the air.
The very handsome Nate Wright was standing above me. We both watched as the meatball glanced off the chandelier and headed for Earth. I stood up. “We’d better get out of here.”
He grabbed my hand and we ran to the foyer. “I had no idea you were interested in the space program,” he said.
“Who knew I’d be
My heart did a little hop and spin, which is a completely ridiculous thing for it to do. However, there was cause. Cordy, Cordelia, has three brothers. One is a minister, whom I hardly know, and one is a bounder, a rat, and I used to know him all too well. Neither were the cause of my heart palpitations. Her third brother, Nathaniel Wright, was the cause. I would like to get to know that man a whole lot better, and I intended to if he ever got back into the country.
Nate owns Tivolini, a catalog of wonderful objets d’art, and he was the one who donated the necklace. I sure hoped he’d be the one bringing it to town.
Except he lived in Dallas, not Austin, and he’d have called me if he was back. At least I hoped he’d have called since we had a serious flirtation going. And if he was back and hadn’t called, well, it didn’t bear thinking about. One more complication to add to the list.
This time I set out to find Beth, since she’d met Nate and even she had to agree he was above average—and way above the average of men I’d dated previously. There must have been a secret trapdoor I didn’t know about because I couldn’t find Beth either. I did spot my brother, Stephen, lurking near one of the food tables.
Stephen is five years younger than I am and very handsome, but he’s never quite grown up. Doesn’t particularly bother me, because I don’t expect anything from him, but it’s played hell with most of his other relationships.
“Hey, Stevie,” I called, using my childhood name for him.
“Hey, Kitz.” The music changed to something more upbeat and jazzy. “That’s a little more like it,” he said. “I thought I’d accidentally wandered into a funeral.” It was too close to the truth to be clever, and he said quickly, “I went over to the quartet and made a request. Looks like they added a guitar player, too.”
“That’s nice,” I said. “Have you heard the latest about what Houston’s done?”
“Our cousin Houston or the city?” He seemed more interested in the musicians across the room than our conversation.
“Our cousin Houston, of course. That man is not to be trusted—”
“That’s nothing new. I was just about to get a drink; can I get you something?”
“No, I’ve got to eat first,” I said. “Anyway, I was telling you about Houston. I think I’m going to need your help on this one. I got a call from some lawyer that Houston hired—”
Stephen let out this long heartrending sigh. “Can we talk later?”
“Why? This is important.”
“I’m sorry, life is just a little complicated right now.”
“Now that’s a first.” Stephen has been married three times, has one daughter, and is perpetually involved in something that isn’t working. “Look, I need—”
“I’m going to grab that drink; I’ll talk to you later.” And he was gone.
“Great idea,” I said to his back. Like a drink was going to make a difference in whatever complication he was facing this time. “And thanks for your support and concern.”
I went for the hors d’oeuvres table and selected a small shish kebab with meatballs and green peppers. I was so hungry I thought about just gnawing the meat off the stick, but the last time I did that, I almost pierced my tongue.
I gathered up a fork and a plate and sat at an empty table. Holding the stick tightly, I used the fork to push the meat. It didn’t budge. I gripped both fork and stick even tighter and tried again.
A deep voice whispered in my ear, “Hello, Miss Kitz. I’ve missed you.” His lips grazed my ear. A shudder of ecstasy shot through me, my hand jerked, and the meatball flew into the air.
The very handsome Nate Wright was standing above me. We both watched as the meatball glanced off the chandelier and headed for Earth. I stood up. “We’d better get out of here.”
He grabbed my hand and we ran to the foyer. “I had no idea you were interested in the space program,” he said.
“Who knew I’d be
Similar Books
