Diamond Dust by Vivian Arend Page B

approval.
    Feisty. We like feisty , his bear insisted.
    When she let him go and greeted Justin, Tyler gave himself a firm scolding and shoved the beast further down. This was not the time or the place to have a discussion with his animal half about the kind of woman they were supposed to be consorting with at the moment.
    Although the idea of consorting a lot more intimately? If he was honest, like Caroline had suggested he usually was, then honestly , getting more involved with the woman wouldn’t be a problem for man, or beast.
     
    She should have known this would be one of those days. From the disastrous start with housekeeping, to Evan’s big revelation, to this wonderful twist on her relaxing evening, she couldn’t get an even break.
    Screw it. She was going to have fun tonight, and after discovering her bear with the grabby eyes was actually the head of the Harrison delegation, she wasn’t nearly as worried about impressing him.
    While she was grateful he’d saved her ass, he’d lied to her. That meant he owed her, as far as she was concerned.
    “You find everything you needed in your room?” she asked the real Justin.
    “Very comfortable, thank you. How are you feeling after your mishap?”
    Tyler cussed lightly under his breath, giving himself shit for something.
    Okay, that surprised her. She would have expected someone as high-ranked as he was to be able to keep his comments to himself. Maybe she’d only heard him because his chair had ended up closer to hers as they found their seats again.
    “I’m feeling fine, thank you. I must have dazed myself for a moment or two. No harm done.” She smiled at the waiter as he returned. “Full rack for the fellow beside me, please, and I’ll have the usual.”
    “Sweet Caroline. Of course. And to drink?”
    She faced the table. “Gentlemen? Did you order drinks yet?”
    Tyler was glaring daggers at the server, a low rumble rising from his barrel-like chest.
    Caroline’s give a damn broke a little more. She’d accepted the invite to dinner as a distraction. She didn’t want to deal with any more pissy shifters today, and that glower of his? Said something had cranked the bear’s wrong handle in the last couple seconds.
    She caught his face in her hands and leaned in, speaking softly. “You do not stare at the staff like they are scratching posts. Get it together.”
    He blinked, hard, refocusing on her face. He hooked his fingers around her wrists and lowered her arms until their hands were in his lap. His breathing slowed as he got himself under control then nodded. “Thank you.”
    Justin spoke up. “A bottle of red for the table, please. The merlot.”
    “Chilkoot beer for me.”
    “Double-sized. Of course, Frank.” The waiter slipped away, not even aware he’d been one swipe from being knocked into tomorrow, if Caroline was any judge of shifter attitudes.
    She jerked her arms back, trying to break Tyler’s grip on her wrists. “You want to let me go, big guy?”
    Tyler straightened in a flash. “Sorry.”
    Frank’s gaze flipped back and forth between them like crazy. “You two know each other already?”
    “Slightly.” It was Justin who spoke again, smoothing things over. “Caroline was kind enough to help prepare our suite.”
    Frank grinned. “Damn, girl, you do take care of the details, don’t you?” He elbowed his brother hard enough Tyler coughed out a gasp. “See, she’s got the smarts to deal with anything. You should take my advice.”
    Caroline leaned on the table. “What kind of trouble are you getting me into?”
    The big bear lowered his voice, gaze darting around the room as if making sure no one was listening. “Told them you were good at dealing with shifters. You need to help Tyler here win this election so the rest of the rowdies will get out of Whitehorse sooner.”
    Good grief. Was everyone intent on running her life? “Gee, thanks, Frank. Maybe I’ll talk to Tyler about what he needs, okay?”
    The big bear