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cars and the cool lobby of the fancy Phoenix resort.
    And even greater than the number of tuxedos were the number of sequins in the lobby. Most of the evening gowns that accompanied all those tuxedos were bespattered with sequins and glitter and shiny beads of one kind or another.
    Glancing down at her own nonreflective dress, Sandy had to smile. Compared with most of the others, this dress that she had worried so much about wearing was simple and elegantly understated. Short as all get-out, she’d have to admit, but nowhere near as attention seeking as, say, the dress covered with imitation peacock feathers that just walked in the door.
    Sandy spotted James Vandenberg near the entrance to the room they would be using for Harcourt’s speech. He looked good in a tuxedo. His dark hair was slicked back from his handsome face, and his eyes glistened from the excitement and anticipation that seemed to boil throughout the lobby.
    Her stomach clenched with nervousness as she tried to imagine carrying on a conversation with James. She could handle the business end, but after they finished discussing scheduling and camera work, she wouldn’t know what to say. She was lousy at small talk, and she had absolutely no idea what the man was interested in. No idea at all.
    As she watched, another man in a tuxedo shook hands with James. Sandy slowed her steps. God, didn’t it figure that all the men who looked like Greek gods would know each other? The second man had his back to her, but the expensive fabric of his tuxedo looked as if it had been cut and sewn with his body in mind. And what a body. Taller than James, this man was lean and strong, with shoulders that were almost as broad as…
    No, it couldn’t be.
    Just then, James turned to survey the crowd and caught her gaze. His eyes widened slightly and then he smiled. With his eyes still on her, James said something to the man standing next to him.
    That man turned around, hoisting a handheld video camera onto his shoulder.
    It
was
McCade.
    But oh, my God,
what
a McCade! Sandy felt her pulse kick into triple time as her mouth went dry. She had never seen him with his hair this short, she realized. She’d never seen his ears before, at least not for any length of time. He had really nice ears. He had really nice everything. Without the beard, he somehow looked more familiar, yet still so different. It had to be the hair, Sandy decided. The way he was wearing it pushed up and back, so much more of his face could be seen.
    McCade was outrageously handsome when half of his face was hidden by his hair. With his whole face showing, he was beyond description.
    As Sandy met his gaze a smile curled around the edges of McCade’s mouth. His eyes looked like liquid turquoise.
    “Hi,” she said, her voice sounding breathless.
    “Hi,” he echoed her. He turned and Sandy followed his gaze, looking straight at James.
    James! Oops, he was standing next to her. “Good evening.” She took the hand he offered and shook it. “Ready for this?”
    “Absolutely,” James told her with a flash of his even white teeth. “You look terrific.”
    He was still holding on to her fingers. “Thank you.” She awkwardly pulled her hand free. From the corner of her eyes, she saw McCade fade into the crowd. He was deserting her! No, he was giving her privacy, she realized. But she didn’t want privacy. She wanted McCade’s quick mind and dry wit near her, ready to take a faltering conversation and revive it.
    From across the room, McCade watched as Sandy talked to James. She was tense—her shoulders tight. Her entire body seemed to close in on itself, turning her into a giant bundle of anxiety.
    She needed more help. It was going to take more than clothes and a new hairstyle to get Vandenberg’s attention. Sandy needed a major attitude adjustment.
    As McCade watched she said something and James laughed. But it wasn’t a real, honest-to-goodness belly laugh; it was much too polite. They shook hands