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two nights ago, but it looked like the rain was holding off…for now.
    If she hadn’t been looking forward to this date so much, she would have scheduled it for another night, but all day long her mind had flashed back to last night’s conversation. It had been a soul-baring experience, and if he’d asked more, she would have told him without reservation.
    If he’d asked, she would have told him she’d drowned her grief in a whirlwind of activity that had included becoming a reserve police officer and volunteer firefighter. She’d have told him how she still felt guilty about inheriting Brian’s money.
    Yeah, she would have told him all of it, and it didn’t make any sense. While sex with Scott had been phenomenal, it shouldn’t have started her heart thumping at the thought of seeing him again. Shouldn’t have made her want to tell him things she’d never mentioned before.
    The outer door opened right on time. Scott stopped dead in his tracks as he caught sight of her.
    Oh, damn. She’d overdressed. He still wore his blues, short sleeves straining against the corded muscles of his biceps. The sky blue shade set off his complexion to perfection, making his unfettered eye that much more vivid.
    “Jesus, Cassidy, you look amazing,” he breathed, his gaze raking her from head to toe in one scalding sweep. The little black dress and three-inch heels made her look good. Even knowing that hadn’t prepared her for seeing herself from his perspective. The fact he appreciated the change made her pulse thump unsteadily, sending a charge through her body, lighting her nerves on fire.
    “Thanks,” she replied breathlessly, “but I probably need to change.” She gestured at him with a weak wave of her hand.
    That brought him up short. “No, I came straight from the office because they just issued a tornado watch.” He dropped his eyes to his feet. “If anything happens, it’s probably headed this way, and I, um, I wanted to let you know.”
    Cassidy was speechless. The commanding lover was gone, replaced by an endearing, and, dare she say it, shy young man, who’d thought of her safety first. The dichotomy floored her, and cracked her heart wide open in a way nothing else could have. She stood there, frozen, for a long moment, not sure what to say or do.
    Erica’s pell-mell entrance through the café’s front door broke her moment of indecision. The waitress breathed rapidly, her eyes startled and wide. “A tornado just hit the outskirts of the city.”
    Cassidy laid a calming hand on her arm. “How many customers do we have?”
    “Only a few.”
    “If, and, I repeat, if the siren sounds, get them back here. Keep them in the living room, it’s the safest. Right now you need to stay calm, all right?”
    Erica took a deep breath. “Okay. Wait. What about you?”
    Cassidy turned to Scott, who had already stripped down to his T-shirt, draping his dress blue overshirt across the easy chair. She quirked an eyebrow at him.
    “Blues burn too easy…polyester. Stay here. I’m going to head into the city and see if they need medical assistance.” His demeanour had changed completely from his earlier shyness. Now he was in his element.
    “Let me get some sneakers on. I’ll drive.”
    “No…”
    “To hell with that, Scott. With all the shit in the air, we’ll need two good eyes on the road.” He flinched in response to her statement. “I’m sorry, but you know I’m right.”
    “Doesn’t mean I’m supposed to like it,” he muttered at her departing back.
    She scooped her sneakers off the floor and pushed her nylon-clad feet into them, realising she looked ridiculous in her going-out-to-dinner clothes and fancy hairdo, but not really giving a damn. Something urged her to do this, to be there with Scott. She’d never ignored that Aries part of herself, and wasn’t about to begin now.
    When she re-emerged into the living room, he was waiting impatiently for her, and Erica was nowhere to be seen.
    She