Free SecondSightDating by Marianne Stephens Page B

option.
    Never happened before. Couldn’t be happening now. He’d
always been a good judge of character except, well, when it came to his
ex-wife. Dan snorted. Real piece of work.
    Serena wasn’t like her. Right? He marched to
the door.
    The door swung open after his rapid knocking. “Gino”
appeared. “Oh. You. We met in the office, right?”
    Dan glanced around him, trying to locate Serena. “I came to
return Serena’s sweater. She left it in my car.”
    With a shrug, the man offered, “Fine. Come in. She’ll be
right out.”
    Dan’s head swiveled toward a hallway as Serena appeared,
dressed in a bathrobe. She stopped short, surprise masking her face.
    “What are you doing here?”

Chapter Eight
     
    Dan’s insides roiled with disappointment. This didn’t look
good. Serena, in a bright pink fuzzy bathrobe, freshly scrubbed face, bare
feet. The man with his jacket off, tie undone and some opened buttons on his
shirt. Nope. Not good at all. The scene played out as a picture of lovers about
to embark on some wild night of passion and that rankled his innards.
    Did he care so much that she apparently had a lover or that
the man wasn’t who she said he was? Or, both?
    Deep in his gut, he had to admit his trust in her dropped a
few notches. Bottom line, she lied about “Gino”. What possible excuse for that
could she offer? Only a guilty person, someone with something to hide, would
resort to this charade.
    Dan found his voice and finally answered. “I, uh, came to
return your sweater.” His eyes roamed from her to “Gino”, carefully
scrutinizing both.
    Nose tilted up slightly and eyes narrowed, Serena replied in
a clipped tone, “How did you know where I live?” He detected a slight hint of
pink coloring her cheeks.
    Hell. Her question, tone, accused him of…what? He had
nothing to feel guilty about. Her shrinking innocence image just ditched down
further into the murky waters of suspicion and probable guilt.
    In a stern but calm voice, he responded, “I tried to catch you
at the office, but you were in your car so I followed you here.” He glared at
her then at “Gino”. “Sorry if I’m interrupting something.”
     
    Serena panicked as Mike took a tentative step toward Dan.
Oh, no. Although her brother probably wanted to defend her, this wasn’t the
time for a battle. She quickly moved to her brother, resting her hand on his
arm.
    “Would you wait in the kitchen for me, Gino? I’d like to
speak to Dan in private.”
    Her brother’s warning stare before he reluctantly strode
away spoke volumes. He wanted to deal with Dan his own way, but to appease her,
he’d back off for now. She’d better handle her client, send him on his way and
spend the rest of the night soothing Mike’s ruffled feathers. Satisfying his
curiosity later and appealing to his detective skills couldn’t hurt either.
    Serena turned her attention to Dan. “You shouldn’t have come
here. I like to keep my personal life private from my work.”
    “Isn’t Gino a client, too?”
    Damn. Think fast . “Actually, we’ve been talking about
him becoming my partner.” Even as she uttered those words, Serena wondered at
her own sanity. It even sounded phony to her, but desperation made people say
stupid things.
    Surprise registered on his face. Did he buy her excuse?
    “You need a partner? Are you in financial trouble or just
expanding your business?”
    Now even more annoyed, her nerves danced on the brink of
shattering at his game of twenty questions. Hands on hips, she glared at him.
“Business is booming and I’m considering adding a partner. However, I don’t see
where that’s any of your business.”
    He relaxed his stance. “Oh. I see.”
    She shivered as a mixture of senses bounced off Dan back
onto her. Strange. All she deciphered pointed toward disappointment and relief
intertwined. Did he dislike the fact that her business was booming and she
sought a partner? Or, happy and relieved at her success?
    Dan eyed