Wildest Hearts

industrial espionage.”

    “Oh, my God,” Annie wailed. “What are we going to do?”

    “Put a stop to it,” Oliver said. “We'll discuss it when I get back.”

    “You'll be home tomorrow?”

    “Yes. But probably not until late tomorrow night. I need to talk to some more people down here. I assume you're planning to be back from the beach by the time I get home?”

    “Don't be sarcastic, Oliver. It doesn't suit you. Of course I'll be back from the beach.”

    “All right.” Oliver paused. “Give my best to Joanna.”

    “What about the hot young studs?”

    “Tell them to get lost.”

    Annie smiled. “I'll do that.” She saw Joanna watching her with an amused expression. “Take care of yourself, Oliver.”

    “I will.”

    “I miss you.”

    “Do you?” Oliver sounded deeply satisfied.

    Annie wrinkled her nose in exasperation. “Yes. Now you're supposed to say you miss me, too.”

    “I miss you, too. Goodnight, Annie. Drive safely on the way home tomorrow.”

    “I will.”

    Annie kept the phone close to her ear until she heard a faint click on the other end. Then she sighed and hung up.

    Joanna studied her curiously. “Was Oliver actually afraid you were here with some man?”

    “I don't know.” Annie leaned her head back against the sofa cushions. “The thing about Oliver is that it never occurs to him to simply trust people.”

    “Not even a wife?”

    Annie's mouth tightened. “No. And especially not a wife whom he thinks married him for business reasons.”

    “I see the problem. You did marry him for business reasons.”

    “Yeah, but I didn't start sleeping with him for business reasons. I hope he understands that.”

    “A fine distinction,” Joanna murmured.

    “No, it's not.” Annie was annoyed. “It's a major distinction.”

    “It seems to me,” Joanna observed slowly, “that you have just as big a problem as Oliver does.”

    “What do you mean?

    “I mean, you have to ask yourself why he was so willing to alter the arrangements of your marriage of convenience, don't you? The real question here, Annie, is not why you're sleeping with him. I know the answer to that. You've fallen for him, hook, line, and sinker.”

    “So what's the real question?”

    “Why is he sleeping with you?” Joanna asked quietly.

    Two hours later Annie was still lying awake contemplating Joanna's question. There was a very simple and obvious answer, she told herself. It was the answer Oliver had given her himself. He was sleeping with her because he was attracted to her. Real basic stuff.

    But of all the men Annie had ever met, Oliver was the one least likely to act simply to assuage a physical desire. He had far too much self-discipline to allow himself to be swayed by something as elemental as his hormones.

    Annie sighed. She had firsthand evidence that there was passion in him, but he was definitely the master of that side of his nature, just as he was the master of everything else in his world.

    So why was he sleeping with her, Annie wondered uneasily. She knew he wanted her, but she had to face the fact that he would not have made love to her simply because of that.

    The one thing everyone said about Oliver was that he always had a hidden agenda.

    Unable to sleep with such thoughts mushing about in her brain, Annie pushed aside the covers and got out of bed. She yawned as she padded barefoot down the cold hall to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

    When she passed through the small shadowed living room, she noticed the dark shape of the desk near the window. She glanced at it wistfully. Daniel had liked to sit at that desk when, as a teenager, he had sketched strange, clever machines that looked like objects from outer space. Years later he still sat there when he was doing some of his most creative thinking.

    Annie walked over to the desk. She touched the marred wooden surface with her fingertips. She was in an odd mood tonight, she realized. The old memories of Daniel were combining with her concerns about Oliver to produce a curious uneasiness that she did not know how to combat.

    “Annie?” Joanna appeared in the doorway. She was wrapped in a terry cloth robe. “What are you doing?”

    “Thinking.” Annie smiled wryly. “I don't know if it's a particularly good idea.”

    “What were you thinking about?”

    “About how much time Daniel used to spend here when he was a teenager. He always used this desk when he worked on his