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sneak into a man and leave him defenseless. Her eyes shone beneath the single spotlight and she seemed to be staring directly at him.
    He felt the connection between them across the empty room and a solid punch of desire crashed into him. His body tightened, his mind went blank. All he could see, all he could hear and feel, was the woman on that stage. Her body moved with the rhythm of the song and her voice called to him.
    His heartbeat thundering in his chest, Parker fought to find the control that had long been his mainstay. He wasn’t a man to jump into anything without careful thought. Without looking at every option from every possible direction. But now…all he wanted was to stalk across the room, sweep her into his arms and carry her off. He wanted…
    The song ended, the last note quavering in the stillness as if it had a life of its own. He watched her as she turned to the pianist and whispered something that Parker had no hope of overhearing. The older man frowned slightly, shot a quick look at Parker, then glanced again at Holly. Whatever he said to her wasn’t welcome, because she stiffened slightly. Butan instant later she was kissing the man’s cheek, then stepping off the stage to walk toward Parker.
    He stood as she approached and hoped to hell the light in the room was dim enough that she couldn’t see for herself just what kind of effect she had on him.
    “You came back,” she said unnecessarily.
    “Couldn’t stay away,” he said, though he hadn’t planned to admit that.
    “I’m glad.”
    He looked past her to the stage. “I don’t think your friend’s real happy about it.”
    Holly sighed, glanced back over her shoulder briefly, then turned to Parker again. “He’s…worried.”
    “About me?”
    “No,” she said with a laugh. “About me. Tommy thinks I should keep my distance from you.”
    That stung. “And what do you think?”
    “I’m standing right here, aren’t I?”
    “So you are,” Parker said, avoiding looking at her friend again. “You were great, by the way.”
    “Thank you, but singing those songs, it’s easy to be great.”
    Parker shook his head. “No, it’s not. Jazz needs heart. And your voice is filled with it.”
    Her eyes widened and a small smile curved her mouth. “I think that may be the nicest complimentI’ve ever been given.” She waved a hand at the table beside them. “Would you like to sit? Have a drink?”
    “Actually…” Parker chanced a quick look at the man still sitting at the piano. If looks could kill, he figured his body would already be cold by now. “I would. But not here.”
    She nodded, clearly understanding. “Okay, where’d you have in mind?”
    “Willing to take a walk with me?”
    Tipping her head to one side, she considered him for a couple of heartbeats. “I guess you look trustworthy enough.”
    “Thanks—even though you did have to think about it for a minute.”
    “A girl can’t be too careful.”
    “What happened to the ‘follow your instincts’ approach to life?”
    “That still holds. I’m going on the walk, my instincts are only insisting that I step a little cautiously.”
    His smile slipped away. “You’ll be safe with me,” he said, then nodded in the direction of Holly’s accompanist. “Trust me, I don’t want to do anything that would make your friend over there come after me.”
    “Good plan,” she acknowledged. “You should see what he puts his daughters’ potential boyfriends through.”
    Parker held out one hand toward her, and when she took it, he felt a slow burn start within him. Maybe it was a good thing for both of them that she had such a fierce guardian angel.
    Outside the hotel, she pulled him to a stop. “So where are we headed?”
    “I want to show you something,” he said, and realized that this was what he’d had in mind all along. He wanted to show her his café. Wanted to talk her into singing for him at his place.
    Now that the notion was front and center in his