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climb had little to do with it. She was so keenly aware of Constantine’s presence behind her all the way up that it had taken an effort to focus on the steps to keep from tripping. She threw him an uneasy glance as they reached her floor and she turned down the hall toward her apartment. “This feels really strange,” she muttered when she reached the door and inserted the key in the lock.

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    “How so?”
    Bronwyn frowned, wishing she hadn’t voiced her thoughts aloud. “I don’t know.
    I just hadn’t expected to run into you, I guess … and I’ve never taken anyone to my apartment before.” Never taken any man into her home, let alone a man like Constantine!
    He looked so completely out of place in her living area that she felt her face beginning to heat with embarrassment. “It isn’t much,” she mumbled, “but I didn’t need a big place and I didn’t bring anything in the way of furniture with me when I moved.”
    She could tell by his expression that he wasn’t keen on the idea of sitting on her couch. “I had it cleaned when I moved in. I know it looks awful, but it’s clean.”
    He smiled faintly. “I apologize if I’ve made you uncomfortable. If it makes you feel better, I’ve been in worse places—lived in worse.”
    Bronwyn looked at him in surprise. “Really?”
    “I wasn’t born to wealth. I … acquired it.”
    It did make her feel better. She smiled at him a little more easily. “Would you like something to drink? Juice? Tea? I don’t keep a bar.”
    He shook his head. “Don’t concern yourself. I’m perfectly content to wait.”
    In spite of his comment, Bronwyn was uneasy about making him wait, afraid that he’d grow impatient. Leaving him to his own devices, she went into her room and locked the door behind her—just in case. A quick shower revived her and excitement was already threading her veins as she patted herself dry and headed for her new black dress hung in her bedroom closet. She’d worried that she’d wasted the money, but she was so glad, now, that she had splurged on it! At least she had something to wear that wouldn’t make him ashamed to be seen with her!
    While her hair was air-drying, she applied a touch of makeup and perfume and then used her blow dryer sparingly until her hair was just barely dry. She was glad, now, that she hadn’t allowed the hairdresser to whack all of her hair off in a ‘stylish’ short cut.
    Instead, she’d gotten him to layer it and trim the ends. It looked far better than any cut she’d ever had before and was still long enough to make her feel feminine.
    She hadn’t admitted, even to herself, that she hadn’t wanted to cut it short because she thought Constantine might like it long—it was the only thing about her that anyone had ever complimented her on, her pretty hair—or that she wasn’t comfortable with the idea of having shorter hair than he did. Of course, he wore his smooth against his head and tied back, but she’d noticed it was really long and she thought that must mean he liked long hair.
    He looked surprised when she came out, which disconcerted her. “Too much?”
    she asked uneasily.
    He blinked, meeting her gaze finally. A faint smile curled his lips. “Almost too much for my heart—beautiful.”
    Embarrassed at his extravagant praise, Bronwyn laughed and blushed at the same time. “The dress is gorgeous,” she said, smoothing a hand over it happily. “I couldn’t resist it.”
    He closed the distance between them so swiftly that she blinked in surprise when she lifted her head and discovered he was towering over her. “The dress is lovely. You are beautiful.”
    “Oh!” Bronwyn said, charmed and breathless at his nearness. “That’s so sweet! I 23
    had my hair done, too! Do you like it?”
    Something flickered in his cool blue eyes as he studied her. A faint frown appeared between his brows. “You’re sweet. Where ever did you come from, little Bronwyn?”
    Bronwyn smiled wryly. “Is