Risky Business

was an odd feeling. So’s this.”
    “No urge to change the linen or stack the towels?”
    When she chuckled, some of the awkwardness slipped away. “No, not even a twinge.”
    “Liz, when we’re finished with all this, when it’s behind us, will you talk to me about that part of your life?”
    She turned to him, away from the window, but they both felt the distance. “When we’re finished with this, there won’t be any reason to.”
    He rose and came to her. In a gesture that took her completely by surprise, he took both of her hands. He lifted one, then the other, to his lips and watched her eyes cloud. “I can’t be sure of that,” he murmured. “Can you?”
    She couldn’t be sure of anything when his voice was quiet, his hands gentle. For a moment, she simply absorbed the feeling of being a woman cared for by a man. Then she stepped back, as she knew she had to. “Jonas, you told me once we had the same problem. I didn’t want to believe it then, but it was true. It is true. Once that problem is solved, there really isn’t anything else between us. Your life and mine are separated by a lot more than miles.”
    He thought of his house and his sudden need to share it. “They don’t have to be.”
    “There was a time I might have believed that.”
    “You’re living in the past.” He took her shoulders, but this time his hands weren’t as gentle. “You’re fighting ghosts.”
    “I may have my ghosts, but I don’t live in the past. I can’t afford to.” She put her hands to his wrists, but let them lie there only a moment before she let go. “I can’t afford to pretend to myself about you.”
    He wanted to demand, he wanted to pull her with him to the sofa and prove to her that she was wrong. He resisted. It wasn’t the first time he’d used courtroom skill, courtroom tactics, to win on a personal level. “We’ll leave it your way for now,” he said easily. “But the case isn’t closed. Are you hungry?”
    Unsure whether she should be uneasy or relieved, Liz nodded. “A little.”
    “Let’s have breakfast. We’ve got plenty of time before the plane leaves.”
     
    She didn’t trust him. Though Jonas kept the conversation light and passionless throughout breakfast, Liz kept herself braced for a countermove. He was a clever man, she knew. He was a man, she was certain, who made sure he got his own way no matter how long it took. Liz considered herself a woman strong enough to keep promises made, even when they were to herself. No man, not even Jonas, was going to make her change the course she’d set ten years before. There was only room enough for two loves in her life. Faith and her work.
    “I can’t get used to eating something at this hour of the morning that’s going to singe my stomach lining.”
    Liz swallowed the mixture of peppers, onions and eggs. “Mine’s flame resistant. You should try my chili.”
    “Does that mean you’re offering to cook for me?”
    When Liz glanced up she wished he hadn’t been smiling at her in just that way. “I suppose I could make enough for two as easily as enough for one. But you don’t seem to have any trouble in the kitchen.”
    “Oh, I can cook. It’s just that once I’ve finished, it never seems worth the bother.” He leaned forward to run a finger down her hand from wrist to knuckle. “Tell you what—I’ll buy the supplies and even clean up the mess if you handle the chili.”
    Though she smiled, Liz drew her hand away. “The question is, can you handle the chili? It might burn right through a soft lawyer’s stomach.”
    Appreciating the challenge, he took her hand again. “Why don’t we find out? Tonight.”
    “All right.” She flexed her fingers, but he merely linked his with them. “I can’t eat if you have my hand.”
    He glanced down. “You have another one.”
    He made her laugh when she’d been set to insist. “I’m entitled to two.”
    “I’ll give it back. Later.”
    “Hey, Jerry!”
    The easy smile on Jonas’s face froze. Only his eyes changed, locking on to Liz’s, warning and demanding. His hand remained on hers, but the grip tightened. The message was very clear—she was to do nothing, say nothing until he’d tallied the odds. He turned, flashing a new smile. Liz’s stomach trembled. It was Jerry’s smile, she realized. Not Jonas’s.
    “Why didn’t you tell me you were back in town?” A tall, tanned man with sandy blond hair and a trim beard dropped a hand on Jonas’s