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    He grinned and she had the impression he understood much more than he was letting on. He used their intertwined fingers to guide her out of the office and onto the sidewalk.

    * * * *
Fiach enjoyed dinner. It was such a rare occurrence he hated for it to end. As he paid the bill, he pretended not to notice when Cilia left the tip. Since they had each driven to work, they separated long enough to drive back to the brownstone. Fiach found himself waiting on the steps as Cilia parked and walked to where he perched on the wide stone stairs.
    “I really enjoyed dinner,” he ventured.
    She nodded and brushed past him into the lobby of the building. They took the small flight of stairs in silence. As they walked down the hall, Fiach let Cilia lead until they came to their respective doors. He opened his mouth to say goodnight just as she spoke.
    “Would you like to come inside for coffee?”
    He was tempted to say yes, but had the feeling she was offering more than an after-dinner drink, and knew it would be wrong of him to take it. Not if he wanted more than what they’d experienced yesterday. And he did.
    “I’d better not.”
    Relief and disappointment mingled on her face.
    “We both have to be at work bright and early tomorrow.” He grinned. “Care to carpool?”
    “That would be nice.”
    An awkward silence hung between them. Fiach ended it by leaning down and pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Sweet dreams, Cilia.”
    “Goodnight, Fiach.”
    Cilia slipped inside her apartment and left him alone in the hall. He unlocked his door and stepped inside. The keys were tossed on the counter as he walked into his borrowed bedroom and stretched out across the mattress.
    “She has enchanted me,” he said aloud.
    *
    Cilia curled up on the couch and drew an afghan around her shoulders. She picked up a book, but flipped through the pages unseeing, and let it drop from her hand. The remote dug into her side, so she flipped on the television to break the quiet. Her fingernails clicked on the plastic, debating.
    The cordless phone rested on the side table. She picked it up and stared at it, willing it to ring, but nothing happened. Then inspiration hit. She had Stella’s number, but she had never given Fiach her phone number. It wouldn’t be forward of her to call and leave him a way to contact her. With his sister and nephew out of town he might need… She groaned and dialed the number before she could change her mind.
    The line hummed. Her pulse raced through the first ring, then the second. Her palms started sweating and she wiped them on her pants. The third ring came and went and she began to feel foolish. On the fourth ring a deep voice purred into the receiver.
    “Hello?”
    She stifled the wave of pleasure just from hearing his voice. “Hi, Fiach, it’s me.
    Cilia.”
    He chuckled darkly. “So I assumed. I’d know your voice anywhere.” Then he paused. “Was there something you needed?”
    She stuttered her response. “That’s why I was calling. I wanted to give you my number in case you needed anything.” She dutifully recited the digits and another awkward silence filled the line. She listened to his breath caressing his mouthpiece and her own quickened with arousal.
    “So what’s going on across the hall?”
    “Nothing much. What are you up to?”
    His low growl lifted the hairs on her neck. “That is a loaded question.”
    Cilia flushed red to her hairline. “I didn’t mean…”
    He changed tactics. “Why did you invite me in tonight?”
    She exchanged questions with him. “Why did you turn me down?”
    A weighty sigh brushed over the line. “If I had gone into your apartment I wouldn’t have left until morning.”
    “I thought you might not be interested in me that way after,” she cleared her throat,
    “what happened. Last night in my kitchen.”
    “I’ve thought about it. Much more than I should,” he admitted.
    “I’m sorry I did that to you.”
    His wry laugh loosened her