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He
dropped his eyes to the slice of cake, all his concentration on
dissecting it with his long fingers.
    Kate looked away. He was simply being
polite. The invitation was blandly spoken, almost off hand.
Allowing her plenty of room to refuse.
    Or accept.
    No way. Her heart went cart-wheeling with
dismay.
    Pushing her slice of cake aside, she
sipped her coffee. Her mind suddenly threw up a mental picture of
him at the end of a long run, his beautifully tanned olive skin
bronzed with sweat, long powerful legs wide braced, his broad, hair
roughened chest rising and falling to the rapid pace of his
breathing as he reached up to run his fingers through his sweat
dampened hair and—
    " Oh! " She jumped at the graphic image.
    She forced back a groan. She had enough to
cope with just working beside Spencer Stelanos, without getting
into deeper water with him.
    " Thanks, but I think I'll stick to doing
sit-ups in front of the television." She managed to toss him a dry
look. "If it gets painful and ugly, only I will know."
    " Boring." His mouth turned down. "Any time
you want to escape into the real world, give me a call. Jamie can
always come too." He paused before continuing smoothly, "If you're
feeling nervous around me."
    Her mouth dried. What had he seen in her
face? "Heavens, what, on earth, makes you think I'm nervous?" she
asked, on a sharp laugh.
    " Good. I was beginning to think it was me.
That somehow I scared you." He leaned against the kitchen bench,
crossing his long legs at the ankle. "That was never my intention.
We must work together after all. We like to think of everyone who
works here as family. We look out for each other."
    " I understand that, but you don't
intimidate me." She told the lie with straight face. "Really, Dr.
Stelanos, I don't know what could've given you such a strange
idea."
    " Spencer," he said, with terse emphasis.
    " Dr. Stelanos. I really do prefer to keep
my professional relationships on a formal basis." She looked deep
into those hard, watchful eyes and knew she could never tell this
man the truth.
    That her need for solitude was fast becoming
far more important and necessary to her peace of mind than ever.
She knew she had nothing to offer in any intimate relationship and
was better off alone. Any new relationship would demand total
commitment and she was fresh out of that.
    She forced a note of wry humor into her
voice. "As for the running, I simply prefer not to have an audience
while I work out."
    " Fair enough. But the offer still stands.
Just say the word. I find running clears the mind."
    But not the heart. She shook her head
against the temptation of going running with him.
    Intent on changing the conversation before
it became too personal again she latched onto the first thought
that came into her head. "Why New Zealand?"
    " I'm sorry?" That mobile, dark eyebrow
winged up as he drank his coffee.
    " Despite your name, you're obviously
Australian." She tried again. "I just wondered why you've chosen to
live here in New Zealand."
    " My family immigrated to Australia from
Santorini when I was barely three years old." His dark gaze roamed
her face. She managed to keep her expression politely enquiring as
he continued to speak. "I've lived in a few different countries
over the years. But when I was working in Melbourne the hours
became impossible with no time for a decent family life. Jake
offered me the partnership here and I knew this was a great place
to bring up kids. Even Katerina enjoyed it in the beginning. The
skiing and the tourist night-life were her thing for a
time."
    His face hardened. "They were close enough
to town to keep her entertained for a year. Then she got restless.
But I like it here, so I've never been tempted to move on. Start
somewhere new."
    " It certainly is beautiful." She turned to
look out the kitchen window towards the towering shape of the
distant volcanic mountain that gave the town its name. It looked
awesome in its remote and splendid beauty.
    Right now