Lust and Lies 04 - Pretty Maids in a Row

guilty conscience that made her hear the note of suspicion in his voice. "I also stopped at a dress shop Evelyn recommended. Which reminds me, how long did it take your friend to switch from incinerators to Saturday night's benefit dinner?"
    That got her a chuckle. "Is that a good guess or was Evelyn eavesdropping at my door?"
    "Now, Philip, you know Evelyn never eavesdrops. That would be unladylike. She was probably just passing by. At any rate, are we still on or should I step aside to make way for true love?"
    He leaned forward and crooked a finger at her to come within whispering range. "The only true love you're standing in the way of is ours."
    "Philip..." she warned with a glance at the open door, then eased back in her chair.
    "You know what Saturday is, don't you?"
    Her glance at the calendar was unnecessary but it gave her a valid excuse to look away from the solemn expression in his gray eyes.
    "All I ask is that you consider it, Holly." He reached out his hand, but stopped short of touching hers until she met his gaze. As soon as she gave him a soft smile, he enclosed her hand in his and whispered, "I love you."
    She raised his hand and brushed her cheek against his knuckles. "I'll consider it, but—"
    Swiftly, he touched her lips to silence her. "No buts until Saturday night and this time, I'll have an answer for every but you can come up with." He rose with a closed-mouth grin that didn't quite reach his eyes and left her office before she could object further.
    At least she hadn't had to tell another lie about where she had been for the last three hours.
    Holly had hoped August 15 would pass this year without Philip realizing it. Of course, she had known that wasn't going to happen any more than he had let the last seven "anniversaries" pass.
    Though she had formally met Philip when she was in high school, she hadn't really gotten to know him or his wife, Cora, until she left Dominion and moved back to Butler, Pennsylvania.
    The memory of that time still had the power to knot her stomach. Angry, hurt, and numb with shock, she had shown up at her parents' door with all her belongings in her car and the simple statement that she would not be returning to college.
    As the only survivor of three children, Holly had always been treated like a princess and, in return, had never given her parents a moment of difficulty. They had been willing to give her time to adjust to whatever had happened to her. They never insisted she tell them what had happened to drive her into the solitude of her bedroom, although they concluded a broken heart was involved. Instead, they stood by her, even when she inflicted on them her depression, crying bouts, and temper tantrums.
    When months of patience failed, however, her father demanded she either return to school or go to work in the family's German-style restaurant. She chose to put on a waitress uniform.
    Philip and Cora Sinkiewicz started out as customers of the Kaufman Haus restaurant but quickly graduated to being personal friends of Bernie and Vivian Kaufman. At that time, Holly had thought Philip was much younger than her father, but she realized later that Philip worked at that appearance.
    Where Bernie's waistline showed the results of too much of his own good cooking, Philip maintained a slim physique perfectly proportioned to his medium height through diet and exercise. Where Bernie's hair was now all but gone, Philip had been blessed with a natural thickness and kept it light blond with the help of an over-the-counter product for women. Overall, Philip looked very good for a man who'd passed his sixtieth birthday some years ago.
    It was Philip who had given Holly the final shove back into the real world one evening at the restaurant by drawing her into a conversation about his work. He had finally secured the funding he had been seeking to establish Earth Guard, and delighted in telling Holly his plans to help save the environment. For the first time in months, she had found herself really interested in something.
    Philip had informed her that the fledgling lobbying organization would be needing all the help it could get from intelligent, young people, and that they would have a place for her if she would like to move to Washington, D.C. Within a week she had decided to take him up on his offer.
    They spent a great deal of time together setting up Earth Guard. His zealousness about saving Earth's resources was contagious, and she was soon caught up in his