Free Dance to the Piper by Nora Roberts

that Reed would make it worth his while.
    It was precisely the sort of restaurant Maddy had thought he would patronize. A bit staid but very elegant, quietly chic without being trendy. Floral pastels on the walls and subdued lighting lent an air of relaxation. The scent of spice was subtle. Maddy took her seat at the corner table and glanced with frank curiosity at the other patrons. So much polish in one small place, she mused. But that was part of the charm of New York. Trash or glitz, you only had to turn a corner.
    "Champagne, Mr. Valentine?"
    "Maddy?" Reed inclined his head, holding the wine list but leaving the decision to her.
    She gave the maitre d' a smile that made his opinion of her rise several notches. "It's always difficult to say no to champagne."
    "Thank you, Jean-Paul," Reed said, handing back the list after making his selection.
    "This is nice." Maddy turned from her study of the other diners to smile at Reed. "I really hadn't expected anything like this."
    "What did you expect?"
    "That's why I like seeing you. I never know what to expect I wondered if you'd come by rehearsals again."
    He didn't want to admit that he'd wanted to, had had to discipline himself to stay away from something that wasn't his field. "It's not necessary. I have nothing creative to contribute to the play itself. Our concern is the score."
    She gave him a solemn look. "I see." Slowly she traced a pattern on the linen cloth. "Valentine Records need the play to be a hit in order to get a return on its investment. And a hit play sells more albums."
    "Naturally, but we feel the play's in good hands."
    "Well, that should be a comfort to me." But she had to drum up enthusiasm when the champagne arrived. Because rituals amused her, Maddy watched the procedure—the display of the label, the quick, precise opening resulting in a muffled pop, the tasting and approval. The wine was poured in fluted glasses, and she watched the bubbles rise frantically from bottom to top.
    "I suppose we should drink to Philadelphia." She was smiling again when she lifted her glass to his.
    "Philadelphia?"
    "Opening there often tells the tale." She touched her glass to his, then sipped slowly. She would limit her intake of wine just as religiously as she limited her intake of everything else. But she'd enjoy every bit of it. "Wonderful. The last time I had champagne was at a party they threw for me when I left Suzanna's Park, but it wasn't nearly this good."
    "Why did you?"
    "Did I what?"
    "Leave the play."
    Before she answered, she sipped again. Wine was so pretty in candlelight, she mused. It was a pity people stopped noticing things like that when they could have wine whenever they liked. "I'd given the part everything I could and gotten everything I could out of it." She shrugged. "It was time to move on. I have restless feet, Reed. They dance to the piper."
    "You don't look for security?"
    "With my background, security doesn't come high on the list. You find it first in yourself, anyway."
    He knew about restlessness, about women who moved from one place to the next, never quite finding satisfaction. "Some might say you bored easily."
    Something in his tone put her on guard, but she had no way of answering except with honesty. "I'm never bored. How could I be? There's too much to enjoy."
    "So you don't consider it a matter of losing interest?"
    Without knowing why, she felt he was testing her somehow. Or was he testing himself? "I can't think of anything I've ever lost interest in. No, that's not true. There was this calico-cat pillow, an enormous, expensive one. I thought I was crazy about it, then I bought it and got it home and decided it was awful. But that's not what you mean, is it?"
    "No." Reed studied her as he drank. "It's not."
    "It's more a matter of different outlooks." She ran a finger around the rim of her glass. "A man like you structures his own routine, then has to live up to it every day because dozens of people are depending on you. A great