Free Tidewater Lover by Janet Dailey

seeing. There was an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. A nervous reaction to the night's tension, she told herself.
    "It didn't go very well with Bowman, did it? " Cole observed, crossing the room to where Lacey stood.
    She blinked at him in surprise, then had to look away again to avoid the disturbing study of his eyes. He was much too observant and astute. As he stood tall beside her, tanned and vital, she also had to admit that he was rather overpoweringly male.
    "No, it didn't," she answered truthfully.
    "Didn't he believe you?"  
    "Mike believed that the arrangement was all perfectly innocent all right." Lacey laughed shortly without humor. "He just doesn't approve."
    "I suppose you argued and that's why he left so early?"
    Lacey shook her head in denial. "We didn't argue."
    Maybe it would have been better if they had, but it would have meant an open breach between them. After tonight, she guessed that they would just drift apart—be employer and employee and nothing more. In a way it was sad that it was going to turn out that way.
    "I knew you worked for Bowman, but it never occurred to me that you were going with him," Cole mused.
    Her sideways glance observed him gazing out to sea, a thoughtful expression on his bluntly carved features. The suggestion of grimness around his mouth made her want to reach out with her fingers and smooth it away. It reminded her too much of the autocratic Mr. Whitfield who had so often infuriated her over the telephone.
    "It's nothing serious between Mike and me," she said, correcting his impression that she was going with Mike. "We've dated a few times, that's all. It isn't likely to develop into any more than that, either."
    "Because of tonight?" Again the dark blue eyes were studying her profile, alert to any nuance in her expression.
    "No, not really." Which was true. "Mike just naturally shies away from any relationship that starts to become serious. I think you can truly say he's a confirmed bachelor." Lacey smiled.
    "And that doesn't bother you?" An eyebrow flicked upward in curiosity.
    "No. I enjoy working with Mike and he's good company away from the office—no more than that." A breeze stirred the edge of the drawn curtain, briefly ruffling the hair curling near her ear.
    Out of the corner of her eye, Lacey saw Cole stifling a yawn with the back of his hand. She felt a twinge of guilt. He had stayed away to give her and Mike some time alone. He had probably intended to have an early night after a quiet, relaxing day.
    "You'd better get some sleep," she suggested. "You have to work tomorrow."
    "Are you calling it a night?" he questioned, tiredly rubbing his neck.
    "Mmm, I don't think so." A smile flitted across her lips. She wasn't sleepy. "I'm not the least bit tired, and since I'm on my vacation, I can sleep as late as I want in the morning. I think I'll go out on the balcony for a while and enjoy the night air."
    Cole didn't move as she stepped past him to the glass-paned balcony door. She strolled to the railing, leaning both hands on it as she gazed at the moon-silvered rippling of the ocean's waves.
    It was a warm, languid night spiced with the tang of salt air. A firm tread sounded on the board planks of the balcony and she glanced over her shoulder, momentarily surprised to see Cole join her at the railing. She had thought he was turning in for the night.
    "What's the matter, Lacey?" he asked quietly.
    "What's the matter?" she repeated blankly, and faked a laugh. "Nothing is wrong."
    "Isn't it?" persisted Cole.
    His dark eyes were as midnight blue as the sky, shimmering with mysterious, indistinguishable flecks of starlight. They seemed fathomless to Lacey, and disconcerting as they remained steadfastly focused on her face.
    "I don't know what you mean." She stared straight ahead, fixing her attention on the gleaming path of moonlight on the water.
    "Don't you?" His fingers caught her chin and turned her head toward his searching gaze.
    "When I walked in