Night of the Magician by Stephanie James, Jayne Ann Krentz Page B

get back to this nifty little gadget I’m working on. It’s the solution to a single woman’s fears in the big city.
    It looks like a normal lipstick case, but…“
    “Good night, Drake,“ Ariana interrupted. She wasn’t going to get any more out of him tonight, she told herself wryly. “I’ll phone you when I get back from the mountains.“
    Lucian Hawk reappeared at Ariana’s door precisely on time the following Saturday morning. He got out of the cab carrying a small leather overnight bag and the familiar black jacket. Ariana watched him through the curtains, wondering disgustedly why her pulse had quickened at the sight of the dark-haired magician. She had convinced herself that her body had forgotten the sensuous attack it had undergone on her living room carpet earlier that week.
    Now, as Lucian paid off the driver and loped easily up the steps to her front door she was forced to acknowledge that some forms of illogic died harder than others. The sight of him had an uncanny effect on her, and she wasn’t sure how to fight it. Remember that you know very little about him, she told herself as she went to answer the door. As if she needed that added bit of caution. Wasn’t the fact that he was a professional deceiver enough to make her keep her distance?
    “Hello, Lucian, come on in. I’ll be ready in just a minute,“ she said politely, opening the door and stepping aside.
    He was wearing a pair of faded jeans, a maize-colored oxford cloth shirt and a pair of canvas shoes. Her eyes went over him, assessing his appearance.

    “What’s the matter? Don’t I look acceptable enough to introduce to Aunt Philomena?“ he inquired easily, setting down his leather bag.
    “I think we can fake it,“ Ariana said quickly, aware of a red stain on her cheeks. “It’s not that you look bad or anything,“ she tried to explain.
    “It’s just that I don’t look rich?“ he hazarded perceptively. He smiled blandly.
    “Never mind. You’ll do just fine. Everyone dresses casually these days. Aunt Phil won’t notice the jeans and shoes, I’m sure!“ Hurrying off to the bedroom, Ariana made her escape. What a way to begin the trip! She picked up the shoulder purse lying on the bed and double-checked her own appearance in the mirror.
    She was wearing a sassy loden green wrap jacket over a pair of pleated taupe trousers. A crisp yellow tuxedo-style shirt and a pair of elegant glove-leather casual shoes added to the overall effect of easy sophistication. How was she going to look to Philomena when she stood next to Lucian in his jeans? Ariana grimaced to herself and promptly decided to put the issue out of her mind.
    She could put the matter of clothing aside but not the underlying problem it had pointed out. “I think we should discuss your background,“ she announced firmly to Lucian as she emerged from the bedroom.
    “I beg your pardon?“ He watched her with sudden wariness.
    “Not your real background,“ Ariana assured him hastily. She felt herself flushing again and covered the moment of uneasiness by making a production of collecting her chic yellow cotton duck carryall. “The background we’ll have to give Aunt Phil in order to make you sound like a plausible romance possibility. She’s going to want to know something about you. Only natural, I suppose. When I told her I was bringing a friend she immediately got excited.“
    “Has visions of marrying you off, I take it?“ he said pleasantly enough, following her outside and waiting while she locked the door.
    Ariana glanced at him in surprise and then grinned wryly as she realized that he had no real knowledge of her unusual relative. “Not at all. You need have no fears on that score! Aunt Phil doesn’t really believe in marriage. She thinks a good love affair is far superior to a bad marriage any day. She’d love to see me embroiled in an affair, but I don
    ’t think she has any particular wish to see me married. She’s never been married