Free Wait Until Dark by Karen Robards, Andrea Kane, Linda Anderson, Mariah Stewart Page A

it's you and Tracy." She wished she knew where Stuart's head really was, what he was and wasn't guilty of. "Honestly, Stuart, I really can't. I don't have time for lunch. I don't know my way around Newport, and I don't have time to ask directions - "
    "I'll drive you," Nicholas interrupted.
    Her head whipped around. "What?"
    "Wherever it is Stuart wants to meet, I'll take you there."
    "Is that Nick?" Stuart jumped in eagerly. "He knows where the restaurant is. He can join us."
    Lindsey was on the verge of refusing when Nicholas plucked the phone from her hand. "Stuart? Where and when?" A pause. "We'll be there." He pressed END and handed Lindsey the phone.
    Resentment simmered through her. "Why did you do that? I have no desire to meet with - "
    "Because I want to find out if either of them had anything to do with that phone call you got last night,"
    Nicholas broke in. "I can read them better than you can. Plus, I think you should hear what they have to say. We both should - for different reasons, maybe, but equally valid ones." He met and held her gaze, although he didn't elaborate on that statement. "The contractors I referred you to are all pros. They don't need you here every minute. Trust me. Let's have this lunch."
    Her indignation slowly abated. "You have some kind of agenda, I wish I knew what it was."
    "Trust me," he repeated.
    Slowly, she nodded, wondering if she was going to regret this. "I do."

9
    THE RESTAURANT WAS CHARMING, elegant in a Newport-vacationer kind of way. Lindsey was glad she'd stopped off at Nicholas's house long enough to drop off her bags, freshen up, and change out of her jeans and into a pair of linen slacks and a blazer before heading off to this farce of a meal.
    Nicholas seemed to sense her tension, because he wrapped a steadying arm around her waist as he escorted her through the lounge and up to the reservations desk.
    "Hello, Henry," he greeted the maitre d'.
    "Mr. Warner, how are you?" Henry waited politely for Nicholas to respond before he plucked out two menus and gestured for them to follow him. "Mr. and Ms. Falkner are already here. I'll show you to your table."
    They made their way to a quiet corner table near the open French doors that had a magnificent view of the ocean and plenty of privacy. Stuart and Tracy Falkner were seated there, drinking wine and having a heated discussion.
    From the corner of his eye, Stuart spotted them, and cut short whatever he'd been saying. With a cordial smile he rose, his gaze lingering on Lindsey as if he still couldn't believe her resemblance to his family.
    Tracy followed her brother's gaze, angling her head in their direction and watching them approach, her expression closed and emotionally contained. But the tight, arrogant set of her jaw told Lindsey that the restraint she was demonstrating was costing her, and that it was all an act.
    Then again, this whole lunch was probably an act.
    "Thanks for coming," Stuart said, addressing Lindsey but shooting a grateful look at Nicholas. "I know you're busy."
    "Yes. Busy supervising the work you're doing on the family vacation house," Tracy added.
    "I am." Ignoring the accusation lacing Tracy's tone, Lindsey slid into the chair Nicholas held out for her. "But whatever you needed to see me about sounded important. And Nicholas offered to drive me. So here I am." In response to the waiter's quiet request, she turned and ordered a glass of sparkling water.
    "You don't drink either?" Tracy inquired, arching a brow. "I'm beginning to think you don't have any weaknesses."
    Steadily, Lindsey met her gaze. "I have several. One is a bad temper - which I lose when my privacy is invaded, when I'm bribed, and when I'm patronized. By the way, I do drink - just not in the middle of a workday. I'm an architect, not a figurehead CEO. I do designs, not business lunches."
    A tight smile curved Tracy's lips. "You certainly have the cutting Falkner tongue," she noted. "I'll try to remember that." At Stuart's warning