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consultant.”
    â€œMaybe.” He shrugged. “Personally, I’ve pretty much decided to skip the whole happily-ever-after thing.”
    She stared at him, startled. Very few people went around announcing that they planned to skip the happily-ever-after thing . Even if one were personally inclined to avoid marriage, family and social pressure proved too strong for most people. Folks who didn’t get serious about marriage after a certain point in life found that their careers stalled, invitations from one’s peers—all of whom were married—dried up, and people began to regard the unmarried individual as exceedingly odd.
    In spite of her annoyance, her consultant instincts kicked in immediately.
    â€œNever say never,” she said bracingly. “I’m sure the right person for you is out there somewhere.” She couldn’t believe that for a while there she had actually thought that person was her.
    â€œYeah, sure.” He did not look convinced. “What about you?”
    â€œMe?” Good grief, was that her voice? The word had come out sounding like a squeak.
    â€œAre you involved with anyone at the moment?” he asked with an air of great patience.
    This was getting awkward. She cleared her throat and tried to appear nonchalant. “No, not at the moment. Life has been very busy lately. New job, you know.”
    â€œCare to go out to dinner and discuss something besides marriage and relics?”
    She went blank. “Huh?”
    He smiled a little. She could see the sexy heat in his eyes. Psi energy tingled in the atmosphere, hers as well as his. She was shocked to realize that her insides were starting to melt.
    â€œGot a feeling a date with you might be interesting.” He paused a beat. “Or am I picking up the wrong signals here? If so, my apologies.”
    He was daring her to take the leap with him, challenging her.
    â€œI usually don’t date—” she began.
    â€œHunters. Yes, I got that impression. Let me make it clear that, while I come from a Guild family, I don’t make my living as a ghost hunter.”
    â€œI was going to say that I usually don’t date people I meet at work.”
    â€œI’m not a client.”
    She took a deep breath. In spite of his incredibly seductive psi patterns, they had nothing in common. Even if they got past that monumental hurdle, he had made it very clear that there was no long-term future for them together. Dating a man under these circumstances violated all the matchmaking rules, but she had never felt this way about any man in her entire life. She might never again meet someone who had this effect on her senses. Why shouldn’t she take the opportunity to experience a romantic fling?
    Once again she reached up to touch Araminta.
    It would have to be a terribly discreet fling, of course. Professional marriage consultants had to be exceedingly careful about their reputations.
    â€œWell,” she said, “I suppose that might be all right.”
    â€œAre you free tonight?”
    She stopped petting Araminta. She could do this.
    â€œYes, as a matter of fact, I am,” she said. Belatedly, a thought struck her. “I can’t stay out late because I’m going out of town tomorrow morning and I still have some last-minute packing to do. But tonight is definitely clear.”
    Great. She sounded just like Amberella in the fairy tale. After midnight the beautiful amber carriage turned back into a large squash, and a shoe went missing.
    â€œIf you’ll give me your address, I’ll pick you up at seven. I promise to have you home before midnight.”
    â€œMy address,” she repeated. A tiny chill of uncertainty swept through her. What did she really know about Davis Oakes? She had only just met him, and she was probably not thinking clearly, because standing close to him like this stirred all her senses.
    He owned a security firm, she reminded herself. Okay,