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Kevin groaned.
    They compromised and went to a new musical which had just come to town and which Hilary enjoyed thoroughly.
    „So romantic,“ she exclaimed afterward as she drove Kevin back to his cottage. They had flipped a coin to see who
    would do the driving and she’d lost.
    „So unrealistic,“ he groused cheerfully. „You know, sometimes you still surprise me, Hilary love. One would think
    you’d prefer something more substantial and more true-to-life than that drivel!“
    „Who knows,“ she chided lightly, „Maybe I’ve got a secret layer of undiscovered passion lying dormant deep
    within my mercenary little business soul.“
    „Care to come inside and experiment?“ Kevin invited wickedly.
    Hilary looked disappointed and regretful. „Gee, Kevin, I’d really love to give it a whirl, but you know how it is. I’m
    an early riser and I really should be getting home to my own bed. Tomorrow I’ll have to spend a lot of time on my
    books for the restaurant and I like to be fresh when I tackle my finances!“
    „Excuses, excuses,“ he said, climbing out of the car and closing the door. „Take care of yourself, love,“ he went on,
    leaning down to speak to her through the open window. „I’ll give you a call in a couple of days. I’m working on
    something I’d like you to see. It’s for a local bank that’s opening a new office and wants a landscape for one of the
    walls.“
    „Commercial art, Kevin?“ Hilary queried mockingly.
    „Art that pays,“ he corrected smoothly. „Anyhow, I’d like your opinion.“
    „A sort of businessperson’s point of view?“
    „Exactly.“
    „How flattering,“ she teased. „Don’t worry,“ she added quickly. „I’ll be glad to critique it.“
    She drove back up the hill that led to her condominium complex with the kind of absent awareness one uses when
    driving a familiar route. But even if she had been more alert, Hilary probably wouldn’t have paid much attention to the
    strange car parked near her driveway. She would have assumed it belonged to friends of one of the neighbors. As it
    was, she barely even glanced at it. She had a lot to think about.
    Perhaps she had overreacted this morning when she’d first seen her father with Logan Saber, she told herself,
    switching off the engine and climbing out of the vehicle. If Crawford had taken a personal liking to Logan it was
    conceivable that, even if the restaurant deal wasn’t going to work, he still might invite Logan to spend some time at his
    Santa Barbara retreat. But that didn’t wash, either. Crawford’s friends tended to be much closer to his own age. Except
    for the women friends, of course, Hilary thought wryly, walking up the steps to her front door and fishing around
    inside her bag for the key.
    Well, she thought as she turned the key in the lock, there was still another alternative. Perhaps Crawford really had
    decided to sell the restaurants, regardless of whether or not the buyer was willing to marry into the family as part of the
    deal. Her father certainly didn’t need the profits. His business investments over the years were more than sufficient to
    allow him to continue to maintain his choice of lifestyle. But he had seemed so adamant about using the restaurants to
    snag a proper mate for his daughter that she couldn’t get rid of the instinctive feeling he was still trying.
    Her hand was groping for the hall light when a voice spoke from the dark depths of a living room chair.
    „Hello, Hilary,“ A deep, gritty, velvety voice that Hilary would have recognized anywhere.
    „Logan!“ she said in a muted screech, startled nearly out of her wits. „What on earth are you doing in my home?“
    she went on, saying the first thing which came to mind. The adrenaline induced by the surprise was pumping madly
    through her bloodstream and she had to take a couple of deep breaths to calm herself. She finished the task of flipping
    the lightswitch which succeeded in throwing Logan