Free Gift of Gold by Jayne Ann Krentz

visiting celebrity. From the expressions on the Griswalds' faces, Rick and Laura had already discovered as much.

    To Jonas's complete astonishment, however, it was soon apparent that Verity and her celebrity artist had hit it off quite well together. The Griswalds were obviously relieved to have someone take the burden of conversation off their shoulders, and Verity clearly had plenty to discuss with Caitlin Evanger. That didn't surprise Jonas as much as the fact that Evanger seemed quite content to talk with Verity.

    Jonas found himself keeping a speculative eye on the two women as he served the other tables. Strange. He'd never thought of Verity as the hero-worshipping type. Or should that be heroine-worshipping type? he wondered vaguely.

    Verity had to keep dashing back and forth to the kitchen throughout the rest of the evening but at every free moment she returned to Caitlin Evanger's table. It was obvious that she was fascinated with her guest.

    Jonas's indulgent amusement over Verity's bright-eyed enthusiasm started turning into outright annoyance somewhere around nine o'clock. It occurred to him that Caitlin Evanger was getting a lot more attention from Verity than either he or the cafe was getting. Jonas was left to keep the dining room running. It was just fortunate for everyone concerned that Tuesday evenings were quiet, he told himself grimly. If Verity ran the place like this on a regular basis, the No Bull Cafe would have gone broke a long time ago.

    By ten o'clock the restaurant was empty except for the Griswalds and Caitlin Evanger. Verity sat down at their table once again and this time she stayed there, leaving Jonas to finish cleaning up the kitchen alone.

    That did it. Enough was enough. Jonas tossed aside the pan Verity had used to mix a dish of fettuccini and peapods and stalked out to the dining room. Verity's crystal laughter greeted him. She turned around in her seat as he approached.

    "Jonas, you'll never believe this. Caitlin knows you."

    A sudden, cold alertness washed through Jonas. He glanced speculatively at the other woman. "Is that right?" he asked calmly. He was dead certain he had never met Caitlin Evanger before. No man would ever forget this chunk of ice.

    Caitlin lifted her wineglass to her lips, her eyes on him. When she spoke her voice was as cool as the rest of her. "Vincent College. About five years ago. You gave an undergraduate history lecture on Renaissance warfare techniques and equipment. You used slides of several Renaissance paintings to illustrate your points. I was taking some art-history classes there at the time and I dropped into the hall to hear what you had to say. I had heard about you."

    Jonas hesitated a beat before answering. His stomach tightened as if someone had just put a sixteenth century blade in his hand and told him he might have to use it. This was the last thing he needed right now. How much did this strange woman know about him? he wondered. How much had she heard, and why was she here tonight? Something felt very wrong. Dangerously wrong.

    "You have an excellent memory, Ms. Evanger."

    The gilded blond head nodded once in satisfaction. "I thought you looked familiar. When Verity mentioned your background in Renaissance history I began to put it all together." Her gray eyes pinned him. "How on earth did you wind up here? You were making quite a name for yourself in academic and museum circles, as I recall."

    Before Jonas could find a way to deflect the pointed question, Verity interrupted. Her gaze was on Jonas's face. "What sort of name was he making for himself, Caitlin?"

    "At the time I took the classes at Vincent, Mr. Quarrel was well known on campus. In addition to his growing list of publications, he had recently exposed a fraudulent necklace that was supposed to have dated from the sixteenth century. It had actually been made in 1955. He saved a well-known museum a fortune. Apparently there had been other such instances in which he