Free Under the Covers by Rita Herron Page A

her just enough time to notice that his dark hair was still damp, the long strands feathering down his neck around his collar. He also wore some kind of gold cross around his neck. And he probably needed to shave three times a day.
    "Why not, Victoria?" He reached across the table, pried her hands from the edge, and pulled them into his, a slow smile curving his mouth. "You know I've been interested in you for a long time."
    She had to look away. This was not going as planned. She'd met with him only to pick his brain for information about Lenny. "I'm afraid I might have misled you."
    "Oh?"
    "Yes, I wanted to ask you a favor."
    His smile faded slightly. "All right. But let's order first." He flicked a hand at the waitress, who glided over and took their order. Before she could refuse a drink, he'd ordered wine, a dark, rich red that soothed her nerves slightly.
    "Now, what was that favor?" He tore off a chunk of bread and she averted her gaze, determined to resist his potent charm. She gathered her senses enough to relate her fabricated story and ask about Lenny.
    "So a client of yours was jilted by this guy and you want me to see what I can find out about him?"
    "That's right."
    He took a long sip of his drink, letting his fingers curl around the base of the long-stemmed glass. She imagined him stroking her skin with those nimble fingers....
    "I suppose I could do that." He leaned forward, and Victoria's eyes were riveted to his mouth. "Now, will you do something for me?"
    She swallowed. "That depends."
    A low chuckle escaped him. "What's wrong? You don't trust me, Victoria?"
    "I don't trust any man."
    His dark brow shot up, although he didn't look surprised. "Care to fill me in?"
    She shrugged. "Comes with the job, I guess."
    "And the family?"
    "What do you know about my family?"
    "Nothing." He offered a sad smile. "Just guessing."
    Embarrassment heated her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Stefan. I didn't mean to be rude."
    He folded his napkin, his gaze meeting hers. "Don't apologize for being who you are, Victoria. Just promise me one thing."
    "What?"
    "That you'll give me a chance to prove you wrong."
    * * *
    Abby had hardly slept all night for wondering if the police or reporters were onto her. And then her publicist had phoned at five A.M. to spring her own surprise—she'd scheduled Abby for an appearance on a local talk show called BookTalk. Abby had balked, but Rainey had finally convinced her that one interview might quiet the hoopla surrounding her, so she'd agreed. She just prayed it worked.
    Summer heat bowed the blades of grass and shimmered off the pavement as she parked in the guest space at the TV station and climbed out of her car. The downtown area buzzed with traffic and sirens and blaring horns. Her heart raced as she mentally ticked off the disasters dogging her.
    She was a normal, rational, basically good person; she even attended church and gave a regular tithe. But she'd achieved success only to discover the very same day that her marriage was fraudulent, and that her fake husband and possibly a criminal, was gay and now she'd been thrust into a TV interview that she didn't want to do in order to avoid having to do a string of other publicity stunts.
    She had never had secrets in her entire life. She'd always been an open book.
    Now her life's pages had been smeared with smut, and she needed to superglue them together to keep them from being placed on display for the public to read. She imagined her face plastered on a grocery store tabloid—the headlines: Lunatic Therapist Professes Love but Leads Double Life, Sex Therapist Nothing but a Fake.
    How much more could a sane body take?
    Frantic and debating over whether or not she should skip the country like Lenny, she rushed into the studio at eleven-thirty, praying the interview was short and sweet and to the point. With a name like BookTalk, surely the show and staff would be professional and serious, none of that invasive suggestive, smutty stuff about Dr.