The Ties That Bind by Jayne Ann Krentz Page B

would be arriving the following week and she still had several more sample tote bags to print.
    Her heart lightened as she opened the door of her studio and began organizing her printing preparations. She had her work and next weekend she would have her lover. Life was good.

* * *

    ON FRIDAY MORNING Garth was aware of being nearly consumed by his need to be on the road. Outside his office window, San Jose baked in the smoggy heat of a summer's day. All he had been able to think about since he'd gotten out of bed this morning was driving to the coast. With any luck he'd get out of the Sherilectronics office after lunch. God knew he'd spent enough late nights behind his desk this past week to justify an early departure. Shannon was going to wait dinner for him. She had told him so on the phone last night.
    Garth closed his eyes and allowed himself the luxury of thinking of Shannon and the coming weekend for a brief moment. The truth was, he always seemed to be thinking about that subject even when his attention was on work. With his customary self-discipline, however, he generally managed to keep the image pushed back to the edge of his awareness where it couldn't get in the way of his getting done what had to be done. Shannon was in a separate compartment from the rest of his life, and he fully intended to keep her there.
    Garth had no intention of letting Shannon get mixed up with the side of his life that revolved around work. It suited him perfectly that she lived a safe distance from San Jose and thus a safe distance from the occasionally subtle, often blatant warfare that defined business between Sherilectronics and its competitors in the Silicon jungle. Shannon was too gentle and too unsophisticated to live in his world, Garth decided. Her artistic nature needed protection. He would protect her from his world and in the process he would create a refuge for himself. He might be capable of surviving here, but for the past several months Garth knew he had been questioning the effort it took. A weekend escape to Shannon's softness and warmth sounded more inviting than he could have imagined.
    The door opened just as he was sneaking another glance at the clock. His secretary, Bonnie Garnett, smiled her standard professional smile. Bonnie always smiled when she was supposed to smile. Occasionally Garth wondered what she was really thinking behind that cover-girl perfection. She was about the same age as Shannon, but the two women couldn't have been more different. In the five years she had worked for him, Garth had never seen Bonnie when she didn't look as if she could have stepped in front of a fashion photographer's camera. Garth realized how much he liked Shannon's jeans and windblown hair.
    "Mr. McIntyre is here to see you, sir. He has the next section of the Carstairs proposal ready for you."
    "Fine. Send him in, Bonnie." Reluctantly Garth let the image of the coming weekend slide once again to the back of his mind. "Oh, and Bonnie, I'll be leaving early this afternoon. Was there anything crucial on the agenda?"
    "No, sir. I got another call from Mr. Hutchinson's secretary, however, reminding you to keep the twentieth open for the party the Hutchinsons are giving."
    Garth impatiently flicked the tip of his pencil on the black glass surface of his desk. He glared at his calendar. "The twentieth is a Saturday."
    "That's right. One week from tomorrow."
    Garth swore softly. He didn't want to go to the damn party. He rarely attended parties of any kind. But Hutchinson was a longtime business acquaintance, and Garth knew he owed Steve a couple of minor favors. Steve Hutchinson and his wife had both made it clear he could get out of the social debt by attending their one major business party of the year.
    The party was going to kick a big hole in a weekend he'd had every intention of sharing with Shannon. Well, he'd cross that bridge when he came to it. Garth tossed the pencil down on the desk. "Send Wes in, Bonnie,"
    Bonnie's