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food!"
    The remark echoed, almost verbatim, one recently made by her mother. Only she'd been referring to Tess's breakfast coffee habits. Her parents were known to be overly protective—it came with the territory as the only child of older parents—and she wasn't about to argue about it in the food court with a man she hardly knew.
    "No one's going to rescue you, you know."
    He was a mind reader, too? "I don't need rescuing."
    "A year ago, I'd have said the same thing." Dan grew more serious than she’d ever seen him. "Tess, you've got to slow down."
    "I don't have time."
    "Make time!" His hand settled naturally over hers. "Do you have any idea what it's like when you've pushed too far? I do, and I don't want to think of the same thing happening to you."
    Too susceptible to the man's touch, she extricated herself from his clasp. "What happened?"
    Briefly considering her question, he shrugged. "I crossed the line. Until a year ago, I worked as a financial consultant for an international firm." He mentioned a well-known corporate name, his smile cynical. "I was the classic executive with an eye on the top.
    "Somewhere along the way, I lost my perspective. I became obsessive. Driven. I was one step away from a senior partnership when I got sick."
    And he'd walked away altogether? Everyone got sick on occasion. To simply throw it all away as he'd done was arbitrarily extravagant. Her disapproval was impossible to hide. "No one makes it to the top without a little drive."
    Dan shook his head, frowned. "At what cost? Who determines which goal is important?"
    "There's always a price to pay, no matter what your choices."
    Who would know that better than her? She'd been paying for her choices, one way or another, most of her adult life. It became the driving force behind everything she did the instant she'd looked down on her father's broken body in that emergency room ten years ago. Her ex-fiancé hadn't stood firm against that force. Evan left her in ICU holding her father’s cold, motionless hand and never returned. The bastard had moved out of their apartment before she learned her father wouldn’t actually die from his injuries.
    "Well, I won't pay that price anymore." Dan's vow rang with conviction. "It's taken me a year to recover my health, rethink my priorities. My only regret is that I didn't leave Chicago sooner."
    "Why San Francisco? And, why lingerie?"
    "I've been A Touch of Silk & Satin partner for years. When Mom opened her first boutique after Dad died, I financed her. After that, I slipped to the background while she and Aunt Mary did their thing. When mom got engaged in the middle of their west coast expansion, my aunt hunted me down and browbeat me off the lake."
    "Lake?"
    His entire demeanor changed. "I was in Florida on one of the prettiest lakes you ever saw. The fishing was great, but it was the sunrise each morning that kept me from moving on. The way the mist rose off the water...I can't begin to describe it. You'd have to see it."
    It sounded peaceful, restful. Nothing to do all day besides savor the scenery. With her fear of water she'd never tried fishing, but she loved camping. It was one of the few pleasures her parents could afford as she grew up. They'd pack up the tent and take Tess whenever they could get time off from work. The last time, they'd traveled the coast for her eighteenth birthday. It was the last trip her father had been able to manage.
    So much was lost in that following year, including Michael Emory's mobility and most of Tess's fairy tale illusions.
    The memories, her regret, were as vivid—as painful—as if they weren't ten years old. "So, what are these new priorities of yours?"
    Dan lifted a finger for each point. "Learn to play. Keep a closer eye on my health. Get a personal life." He stopped to elaborate. "Someday, before I'm too old to appreciate them, I'd like a wife and a couple of kids." Another finger came up. "And more immediately, help my family launch their new