Just a Whisper Away

It didn’t take long to spot an old enemy.

Wearing a powdered wig and the fancy brocades of an English lord, Abbie’s perpetually controlling father stood beside his table, beaming as the new surgeon in town kept his daughter smiling and engaged.

Morgan Winslow’s venomous tirade thundered in Jace’s mind, as clearly as if it had happened yesterday, but he blocked it out. The words didn’t hurt anymore because he’d used Morgan’s humiliating rant to succeed beyond the banker’s wildest expectations—beyond the town’s expectations.

And suddenly he wanted Abbie to know that, too.

Cutting through the crowd, he tapped Abbie’s partner on the shoulder, all the while enjoying an unobstructed view of the shimmering, halter-style gown that clung like liquid silver to her body. Small diamond earrings winked at her lobes when she jerked her head up in surprise.

“Mind, Doc?” Jace asked with a smile when the surgeon turned around. “We’re old friends.”

“Not at all,” he returned amiably, then grinned at Abbie. “Okay with you?”

Jace met her wide brown eyes and startled features. “How about it, Abbie? Care to dance for old times’ sake?”

For a second, she didn’t seem capable of uttering a word, and Jace found some pleasure in that. Then she murmured, “Of course,” and turned to the doctor. “I’ll see you back at the table, Paul.”

“I’ll be there. Enjoy.”

“Thanks.”

Then Jace opened his arms and Abbie stepped into them for the first time in fourteen years. The first time since her father had caught them locked intimately together in the gazebo behind the Winslow’s country home. Unexpectedly, some of his bitterness faded as her uneasy gaze searched his, and he silently—reluctantly—admitted that it felt good to hold her again.

“Hello, Jace,” she said quietly. “It’s nice to see you again. You look wonderful.”

The dress code for this shindig was always costume or black-tie, and for the first time tonight he was glad he’d worn a tux—the lesser of the two evils. It made a statement that he’d come far since that night in the gazebo.

“So do you,” he returned as she pinned her gaze to his shoulder, and they began to move. “California living seems to agree with you.”

He stole a glance over her head at the crowd. Morgan Winslow’s face had turned to stone, and, sophomoric as it was, Jace’s pleasure doubled.

He spoke close to Abbie’s temple, inhaled the light floral scent of her perfume. “I see you’re not into costumes, either.”

“Not the one my dad chose for me,” she said. But there was a vulnerable look in her chocolate-brown eyes, and Jace knew she was wondering why they were dancing after fourteen years of silence. Her voice softened. “I found this dress in a trunk in the attic. It was my mom’s.”

Jace heard the loving, the missing in her reply and the kid in him empathized with that, but he didn’t comment. Because a dozen feet behind Abbie, his fun-loving baby brother was grinning up a storm and dancing his partner their way. He’d told everyone at the Rogan Logging & Lumber table that he was cutting out early to get some work done—which surprised no one. Now Ty was on his way to see who’d convinced him otherwise.

Jace spun Abbie off in another direction. The last thing he wanted now was small talk from someone wearing a plumed hat and a Cyrano nose. “So, how’s the legal eagle business?”

“You know what I do?”

“Hard not to. Your dad brags you up every time you win a case.” They’d talked a lot back when they’d cared about each other. Fourteen years ago, Abbie the Crusader had wanted to practice law more than anything in life—much more than she’d wanted a roughneck logger with a past people still loved to talk about. “Not that I get the news firsthand,” he added, managing to keep an edge out of his voice. “I do my banking elsewhere.”

Abbie held back a sigh, but kept her thoughts to herself. Anything she said would bring up that wonderful-then-terrible night in the gazebo, and she already had more anxiety in her life than she could handle. That included the dewy warmth radiating between them and the sudden return of libido as Jace’s leg insinuated itself between hers and they moved to the slow, moody rhythm of “The Way We Were.”

How appropriate. Lifting her gaze, she took in Jace’s strong jaw and handsome features. He was more powerfully built now, more attractive in a sexy, rugged…maybe even cynical way. His feathery black hair was long by California attorney standards, but it was neatly trimmed, and his compelling storm-gray eyes held a look of confidence that he’d never had at twenty-two.

The gentle pressure of his hand on her bare back made her tremble as he guided her away from another couple…and suddenly, feelings and regrets she’d thought she’d put aside returned with heart-tugging poignancy. Swallowing, she searched for conversation, but everything she came up with felt awkward. “I’m surprised to see you here tonight. I wouldn’t have guessed you’d like this sort of thing.”

“People change,” he replied, a shrug in his voice. “I guess you’re home for a visit?”

“Yes, I got in yesterday afternoon.”

His smile held a trace of sarcasm. “And already you’re partying at the country club. How long are you staying this time?”

How long? Abbie suppressed a shudder as sniper fire echoed in her mind again. Hopefully, until the Los Angeles Police Department uncovered enough evidence to keep the young man she’d defended last month behind bars. The one who’d sent her the musical greeting card.

The one who wanted her dead.

Forcing Danny Long’s genial choir-boy features from her mind, she answered, “I’m not sure. At least until my dad gets back from his honeymoon. They’ll be gone for two weeks.”

“Morgan’s remarrying?”

“Yes, this Friday night.”

“I hadn’t heard. Then again, it’s not as if we move in the same circles.”

No, she supposed not.

It had been nearly seventeen years since her mother’s death from meningitis, and though Abbie had adored her mother, she was glad her dad had found Miriam to share his life. At sixty—and with Abbie living and working in Los Angeles—her father wouldn’t be alone.

“Actually,” she said, acutely aware of Jace’s leg between hers again, “I tried to back out, but Dad insisted that Paul— Dr. Bryant—needed a dinner date.”

“And how like you to oblige him.”

Abbie jerked her gaze up to his, hearing what he hadn’t said. Sweet little Abbie, always doing her daddy’s bidding. And finally she knew what this dance was all about.

“All right,” she returned quietly. “Let’s get this over with. Does your asking me to dance mean that the cold war is over, or that it’s just regaining stre—”

With a loud crack, something exploded behind them, and Abbie lunged forward, her arms circling his neck in a stranglehold.

“Abbie?” Shocked by her reaction and more concerned than he wanted to be, Jace stilled, then slowly tightened his arms around her. “Hey,” he said softly as laughter and apologies erupted behind them. “You’re okay. That was nothing. One of the waiters just lost a bottle of champagne from his tray.”

It took more than a moment for his words to sink in. Then, flushing deeply, she seemed to regain her composure and put some distance between them again. “Well,” she murmured, “that was embarrassing. I’m sorry. I was just a little startled.”

Jace searched her dark eyes as they began to move to the music again. “That’s not true. You’re shaking. And if that was startled, I’d hate to see terrified. What are they doing to you in L.A.?”

“Nothing,” she replied brightly. “I told you, I was just surprised.” The band finished to a smattering of applause, and Abbie put her hands together, too—a little too energetically, Jace thought.

Smiling again, she backed away. “I should get back to my table and let you get on with your evening. Thank you for the dance.”

“You’re welcome,” he replied, still disturbed by the fear he’d seen in her eyes and damning himself for caring. “Enjoy the rest of your visit.”

“I will. And it really was nice to see you again.”

He should’ve let her walk away. That would’ve been the smart thing to do—the intelligent thing to do. Then Jace caught sight of Morgan’s black eyes and beet-red face, and the past came roaring back. Tossing good sense out the door, he called her name, caught her fingertips…and drew her back to him.

Then his mouth was covering hers, and a tingle he hadn’t counted on was sweeping through his system. Jace jerked away. For a second their gazes locked, and that old breathless current flowed between them. The same snap and sizzle they’d fought from the moment they’d met so long ago. Then he pulled himself together, forced a smile and started away. “See you around,” he called. “Give my regards to your dad.”