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don’t know, Grace. He just insisted we meet for dinner.”
    “Be careful, Katie.” Her friend said sternly.
    “Grace, I swear, I’m not interested in Mac that way.”
    Her friend almost chuckled at the other end of the phone. “Come on, Katie. It’s Mac for Christ’s sake. Everyone’s interested in him in that way.”
    Patroon was buzzing when Kate arrived a fashionable ten minutes late. Mac was still at the bar sipping his first martini when he spotted her.
    “Katie!” he waved her over. Kate wore a tight fitting black dress that set off her sleek figure and dark hair. Mac couldn’t help but notice how her hips moved under the fabric.
    “Hello, Mac. I see you’ve started without me.” Kate smiled.
    “Just one, Kate. Why don’t you order something, then we’ll get our table?”
    “Sure, but only if you promise to tell me what we’re here for. The suspense is killing me.”
    Mac lifted the glass to his lips, sipped at his martini, and drew his lips into a slight smile.
    “I’m sorry, Katie. I didn’t mean to keep you on pins and needles, but this is so big. I wanted a special moment to tell you.”
    Kate was truly perplexed; she had no idea what it could be. “What?” she asked. The bartender walked up just then, taking her order.
    “Let’s wait for your drink,” Mac said mysteriously, throwing her a broad, welcoming smile. Kate was certain that many women had fallen in love with Mac just based on his smile alone. Fortunately, she wasn’t one of them. She was here for business, and damn it, she wanted him to tell her, but she knew better than to push.
    “You’re killing me,” she laughed.
    The bartender quickly set her drink down and Kate picked up the glass. “I’m ready now.”
    Mac turned in his chair to face her. “Okay, here goes. You know the success we had from The Promise , yes?”
    Kate frowned. “Of course I do, Mac. I mean, we’ve all lived through it.”
    “Well, there’s more. Much more. MD has decided to publish a sequel to The Promise , written by one of the authors who contributed to the original book—Michael something or other. I can’t recall right now, but anyway, the book will be called The Continued Promise, and we’re scheduling it for a fall release. No one knows about this but Edward and me. Nothing has officially been released on this yet. I wanted to tell you first before we announce it.”
    Kate was confused. “But, what does this have to do with me?”
    Mac placed a hand on her arm. “We want you to be the lead publicist on this book.”
    When The Promise eclipsed a million copies, Kate had wondered at the time what it would be like to work on such a runaway bestseller. Margaret Leeds, who had been with MD for years and was one of the most unpleasant people Kate had ever met, led the brigade to publicize The Promise . Despite Kate’s misgivings of Margaret, she had been in awe of her. Every detail was executed to sheer perfection, and Kate couldn’t fathom if there was a sequel out, why on earth Margaret wouldn’t be handling that too.
    “I know what you’re thinking, Kate,” Mac whispered, “but let’s just say that Margaret’s off the case. In fact, she’s leaving MD next week, but no one knows this yet.”
    “So, I got this book by default. Fun.” Kate sipped her martini. Just what she wanted to be—the last choice on the list.
    “No, Katie, not at all. You know there are a lot of senior people who should have gotten this before you, but Edward insisted you get this job.”
    Kate smiled, “Edward insisted? Or you insisted to Edward.”
    Mac shrugged his broad shoulders. “I just think it’s time you get to work on a book that matches your talents. You’ve done well for MD, Kate. This is your chance to prove it.”
    Kate was stunned. Mac had gone to bat to get her possibly the biggest book of her career. In the back of her mind, she knew what Grace would say about this, that Mac was teeing her up for sex—that Mac only wanted one