Sleight Of Hand
stared at a slice of bright red tomato as
she tried to wrestle her plan into some kind of acceptable action.
Which was a problem. Chance had to think she was interested in
exploring...well, things with him.
    Out of the corner of her eye, she watched him
methodically eat his supper, as if it were an unpleasant task that
had to be done. His shuttered look masked whatever he was thinking.
When he raised his fork, she noticed his knuckles were stretched
white.
    She pushed her plate to one side and hid her
trembling hands under the table. Chance was not a man to be toyed
with. If he were hunting any other man but her father, she'd be on
the next plane back to England.
    "What's wrong now?" Chance's harsh tone
scraped against her raw nerves.
    "Guess I'm not hungry."
    He pushed his empty plate toward the middle
of the table and leaned back. "You're probably just tired. Want to
leave now?"
    "Yes." A crisp walk back to the cabin might
give her the courage to start executing her plan.
    Chance stood, threw two twenties on the table
and grabbed her jacket from the coat tree at the end of the booth.
He held it open, waiting to help her on with it.
    Chance the gentleman. That was a match she
hadn't expected. Oddly pleased, she slipped out of the booth and
shrugged into the heavy jacket, then walked to the front door.
    "Hey." Chance came up behind her and thrust
her camera into her hands. "Cameras and cell phones. Do you leave a
trail of them behind you?"
    She clasped her camera to her chest before
slipping the cord around her neck. "I can't believe I forgot my
camera. That's never happened before."
    "I imagine a small ticket item like a camera
wouldn't put a dent in your budget." He opened the door, took her
elbow and guided her outside.
    Stung more from his chilled voice than the
damp fog that had rolled up from the shore, she dug her heels in as
he ignored the slushy sidewalk and tugged her out to the road.
    "This is the first camera I ever owned. It
was a gift from my father."
    "Oh." He kicked at a lump of snow by his
feet.
    "I'm not rich. I work for a living."
    His head reared up. "But you don't have to.
Your father complained all the time about you working. And as far
as I know, those finishing schools in Europe don't come cheap. So,
if you're not rich, where did all the money come from?"
    She hunched her shoulders against his attack
and started walking down the middle of the plowed street.
    He caught up to her, grabbed her elbow and
pulled her around to face him. "You don't know how he got that
money, do you?"
    Not quite able to look him in the eyes, she
looked past his shoulder at the lights of a car that slowly moved
toward them.
    "Sarah?" He shook her arm.
    "No," she admitted in a low voice. "I
don't."
    "But you have a good idea, and that's why
you're here, isn't it?"
    She squinted into the harsh glare of the car
headlights a few yards behind Chance. "Chance, that car doesn't
look like it's moving over. Maybe we better get on the
sidewalk."
    "Answer my questi--" The rest of the word was
drowned out by the roar of the car motor.
    Chance twisted around, then spun back to her.
"Move it."

Chapter Three
    Before she had time to react, Chance dragged
her off the street. He slipped just as they reached the sidewalk,
and they tumbled down into the low lying fog and a wet pile of
snow.
    He grunted as she fell on top of him. Pain
stabbed her chest. She scrunched down. Air whizzed past her as the
car screeched off into the night.
    Then silence. Chance ran his hands over her
back as if to reassure himself she was still in one piece. He
cupped the back of her head and pressed her face into his neck.
    "You okay?"
    "Yes." Pain shot through her chest again as
she tried to move her head back far enough to see him. "Ow. No. I
hurt."
    His arms tightened around her. "Where?"
    "My chest, I think."
    "Okay, here's what we're going to do. I'm
going to help you put your arms around my neck, like this." He
encircled her wrists with his hands and slowly drew

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