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“How
about Aydan Kane?” he suggested hesitantly. “We could go as husband
and wife. I hate to use that as a cover, but it’s the only way you
can introduce yourself using another name and still be plausible if
somebody recognizes you.”
    I grimaced. “It’s a
lousy cover. It’d just never happen.”
    There was a short
silence. “What are you trying to say?” Kane asked in mock
indignation.
    I laughed. “Nothing
personal. Anybody who knows me would know I’d never change my name.
And I wouldn’t get married again, either. I had one shitty marriage
and one good one, and I’m not looking for a tie-breaker.”
    “Really?” Something in
Kane’s voice made me glance over, trying to read him.
    I trod carefully.
“Have you ever been married?”
    “Once.”
    I eyed his
expressionless profile. “I guess it’d be pretty hard to maintain
any kind of relationship when you have a job that could take you
away for months at a time without even telephone contact.”
    “No, I was still in
the army then,” he replied slowly. “I was away on training a lot,
and then I saw combat in Yugoslavia and came back pretty messed up.
Alicia was devastated when she found out she couldn’t have
children, and I wasn’t there for her. In the end, we just fell
apart.”
    “I’m sorry,” I
murmured.
    “But you had a good
marriage, and you still wouldn’t do it again?”
    “No.”
    “Why not?”
    I drove in silence,
thinking. “In a good marriage, you give away part of yourself. I’m
not willing to do that again,” I said finally.
    “Mm.”
    I couldn’t interpret
that, so I didn’t bother to try. “Anyway,” I said, “I don’t think
it really matters. I likely won’t meet anybody there who knows me
well enough to know this stuff. So we might as well go with the
marriage cover. I’d rather do that than give my real name.”
    “Okay,” he agreed.
“We’ll need rings.”
    “Shit.”
    “I’ll take care of
it,” Kane assured me. “What size do you wear?”
    “Seven, but don’t
bother. I brought my diamonds with me since it’s a black-tie. I’ll
just wear one on my left hand instead of my right.”
    He glanced over at my
naked hands. “I didn’t figure you for the diamond type.”
    “I’m not. But Robert
loved to buy me jewellery. I kept trying to get him to buy me
tools, but he only listened part of the time.”
    Kane laughed. “He got
you some good tools. I’ll never forget you swinging around on me
with that air nailer. I thought I was going get a spike through my
forehead.”
    I laughed, too.
“That’s what you get for charging into my bathroom with a
sub-machine gun.”
    We drove for a few
more minutes in silence, occupied with our own memories.
    “But getting back to
the party,” I said. “How black-tie is this black-tie? What’s the
age range you expect to be there? Are we talking long gowns, or
just your typical cocktail dress type of thing?”
    “I’d guess most people
there would be in the thirty to sixty age range. And I’d say
probably cocktail dress. But wardrobe isn’t exactly my area of
expertise.”
    I sighed. “Mine
either.”
    I glanced at his tired
face and felt a tug of sympathy. “Why don’t you see if you can grab
a nap? That’s all the questions I can think of at the moment.”
    “Just one more thing
we need to talk about.” He hesitated. “We need to clear the air
between us.”
    I frowned puzzlement
in his direction. “Okay. What’s on your mind?”
    “I owe you an
apology.”
    “For…”
    “For my inappropriate
behaviour at your house before I left in March.”
    “Oh.” I grinned at
him. “I don’t recall any inappropriate behaviour. I thought it was
all very appropriate.”
    Kane shook his head.
“I should never have kissed you.”
    “Yeah, you really
forced yourself on me.” I chuckled at his expression. “Come on,
John. Don’t tell me you thought I wasn’t into it.”
    His lips crooked up,
despite his obvious seriousness. “Well, I didn’t