A Fare To Remember

CHAPTER ONE

IF HANNAH HADN’T PACKED twenty-seven cans of tuna in her suitcase, she would have taken the bus from JFK.

She’d researched it, and the bus stopped a mere two blocks from her hotel. Her hotel. Just knowing she had a room reserved in a New York City hotel almost gave her an orgasm. She’d flown in on a red-eye, which had two things going for it-the el cheapo price and the 7:00 a.m. arrival, which meant she wouldn’t have to worry about muggers.

Besides, muggers weren’t a problem if you walked with purpose and didn’t wear your hair in a ponytail they could grab hold of. She’d left her hair loose and she always walked with purpose, so she wasn’t the least bit afraid. But the flowered suitcase weighed close to fifty pounds thanks to the tuna, and wrestling it on and off a bus didn’t fit her picture of how she wanted to make her Big Apple entrance.

Logically she should be exhausted after being up all night, but she was wired and ready for the adventure of a lifetime. She, Hannah Robertson, was lining up at the taxi stand outside JFK, waiting for a bright yellow cab to take her to the place she’d dreamed about ever since reading the Eloise books as a kid.

She’d finally made it! So what if she wasn’t staying at the Plaza? Her hotel was in Manhattan, and that was all that mattered. So what if her first deep breath of genuine New York air made her cough? She wasn’t expecting clean, dry Arizona air. She’d had her fill of clean, dry Arizona air.

She wanted this place, gasoline fumes and all. She wanted Times Square, Central Park, the Empire State Building, Fifth Avenue, the Statue of frickin’ Liberty! It was all she could do not to spread her arms wide and shout Hey, New York! Hannah’s here!

OUT-OF-TOWNER. After spending all his sixty years in NYC, Mario Capelli could spot a newcomer with one eye closed. But any fool could see that the redhead wearing a taxi-yellow sundress and pulling a flower-print suitcase hailed from somewhere other than New York. For one thing, she was smiling. New Yorkers didn’t smile while waiting for a cab, especially coming off the red-eye.

For another thing, she had all that color going on-yellow dress, blue-and-yellow purse, gaudy flowered suitcase. Mario counted the cabs in front of him and the people standing in front of the redhead. Unless he’d miscounted, she’d be his fare. Perfect. From the minute he’d seen that smile and that cloud of dark copper hair, he’d started thinking of Zach.

Mario didn’t believe in coincidences. He did believe in fate. For six months he’d wanted to find somebody for Zach, somebody who could save him from becoming a jaded corporate hack, somebody whose glass was not only half-full, but seriously overflowing. Mario thought he might be looking at her.

As he inched up to the head of the line, so did she. The more he studied her, the more he could see her with Zach. She was stacked, and Zach liked stacked women. It didn’t hurt that she had a pretty face, either. Mario even liked the way she stood so straight, with her shoulders back. Too many women slouched these days, trying to look like a magazine model or a bored superstar.

Her red hair was a bonus. Adrienne was blonde, and Mario didn’t want to introduce any echoes of Adrienne into the equation. Anyone who’d dump a guy like Zach for somebody with a bigger bank account wasn’t worth remembering, but Zach was sensitive enough to remember, and he might be off blondes for the time being.

Of course, Zach would object if he knew Mario was trying to fix him up. He would hate it, in point of fact. So Mario would have to be sneaky about the whole deal. He could do that. He hadn’t spent thirty-five years with the NYPD for nothing.

Reaching for his cell phone, he speed-dialed Iris, who would have opened her coffee stand by now. Iris Rivera made the best espresso in the city, but that wasn’t what kept Mario coming back. It was more about the whiteness of her teeth against her olive skin and that dimple when she smiled at him.

She was a kind person, so he wasn’t sure if she really liked him, but he thought she might. That was a miracle, that a woman like her could be interested in a guy with more gray than black in his hair and the beginnings of a paunch. He hadn’t decided what to do about his feelings for Iris, so until he did, buying coffee was a good excuse to see her a couple of times a day.

“Sì, Mario!” She always yelled into her cell phone because she couldn’t believe the thing worked in the first place.

He didn’t care if she yelled. He just loved hearing her Puerto Rican accent, which made him think of swaying palms and swaying bodies. “Has Zach come by for his espresso yet?”

“No! But I expect him soon!”

“When he comes by, can you stall him until I get there? I want to talk to him about something.”

“I’ll try! Zach, he’s in such a hurry these days!”

Exactly. That’s why Zach needed a girl. “Sell him a pastelito and he’ll have to stick around to eat it.” Thinking of those pastries made his mouth water.

“Okay! Are you trying to fix him up?”

“I am, but don’t you dare tell him.” The taxi in front of Mario pulled away from the curb, so Mario eased his foot off the brake and coasted to the front of the line. “Gotta go!” Snapping his cell phone closed and throwing the cab into Park, he jumped out and came around to help the redhead with her flowered suitcase.

“Be careful,” she warned. “It’s really heavy.”

Mario had guessed as much. “No problem.” He gave the redhead an indulgent smile. Out-of-towners always overpacked. They hadn’t caught on to the concept of basic black, which meant you could get away with a much smaller wardrobe. Flexing his knees, he lifted the suitcase.

Shit, it really was heavy. A little flowered job like this wasn’t designed for this much weight. “You got bowling balls in here?” he asked.

“No. I just brought-”

She was interrupted by the rip of fabric giving way and the clatter of cans hitting the pavement. Tuna cans. Mario dropped the suitcase and grabbed a couple before they rolled under the cab. By the time he stood, the redhead was frantically trying to stuff the cans back through a fifteen-inch-long tear along the seam.

Her face was the color of a stoplight. “It wasn’t an expensive suitcase.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Mario ignored the impatient honk from the cab behind him as he adjusted his Giants baseball cap and surveyed the situation.

“We’re holding up the line.”

“I know. Don’t panic. If I lift the suitcase up flat, it’ll go in the trunk without spilling. When we get to where you’re going, I’ll throw some duct tape on it.”

She blew out a breath in obvious relief. “Thank you.” Still blushing, she stood back while he maneuvered the ripped suitcase into the trunk of the cab. He only lost one can.

Snatching it from the pavement, she threw it in the trunk before he closed it. “Okay, let’s go.” She wrenched open the back door and got herself into the cab in short order.

Mario hurried around to the driver’s side. Tuna? As he pulled into traffic, he wondered if his instincts had been off. He didn’t want to saddle Zach with a nutcase. “Where to?” he asked.

“The Pearson Hotel, please. It’s on-” She gasped as Mario cut across traffic.

“Hey, don’t worry.” Mario usually had to reassure first-timers. “I know what I’m doing.”

“I’m sure you do.” She took a deep breath. “They say that New York City cabdrivers are the best drivers in the world.”

“And they would be right. Anyway, I know where the Pearson is.” Her choice of hotel told him a little more about her. The Pearson was on the seedy side, but safe enough for a woman traveling alone. The combo of the Pearson and the tuna meant that his passenger was pinching pennies.

In the backseat, the redhead cleared her throat. “Uh, Mr. Capelli?”

That startled him, until he realized she’d taken the time to read his name on the license displayed on the dash. “I usually go by Mario.”

“Okay, Mario. You-”

“I know. I changed lanes kinda fast back there, but trust me, it’s how you have to do it if you want to make good time.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything about your driving. I thought you must be wondering about all those cans of tuna.”

“I’m sure you have a good reason for them.” He hoped to hell she wasn’t a skinflint. A skinflint wasn’t the right personality type for Zach.

“They’re for the homeless.”

“Oh.” Okay, so she had the generosity gene. That was good, although most of the street people he’d known would prefer a fifth of vodka to a can of tuna.

“See, I knew that I’d want to give them something, but if I gave them cash, they might use it to buy booze. At least the tuna’s nutritious.”

“Provided they can get it out of the can.”

She sighed. “I know. I thought of that, too, but I couldn’t afford to buy a can opener to go with every can of tuna, so I hope they can figure that one out.”

“It’s a nice idea, cans of tuna.” Mario wondered what Zach would think of such a thing. He’d probably say it was impractical to be hauling tuna cans all over creation, but Mario hoped the generous impulse behind it would impress Zach. Still, Mario decided that when he mentioned this woman, he wouldn’t lead with the tuna.

“They were having a big sale on it at the Safeway near my apartment in Phoenix.”

Phoenix. Mario made a mental note. Zach might be intrigued by somebody from Arizona. If Mario remembered his geography, Phoenix wasn’t too far from the Grand Canyon. Surely Zach had some interest in the Grand Canyon. Everyone did.

Time to trot out one of his stock questions. “What brings you to New York?”

“I’m interviewing for a job in publishing.”

Mario smiled. She wasn’t a tourist. She intended to get a job and stay, which meant his instincts were still working. “Who are you interviewing with?”

“I was able to get appointments at two of the houses, and the others I’ll try to set up while I’m here. I just got my English degree at ASU. I probably seem a little old to be graduating, but I had a few interruptions. Oh, look! The skyline!”

Mario’s heart squeezed at the reverence in her voice. He didn’t have to ask if this was her first trip. Or whether she had the faintest idea how competitive the job field was. He was no expert on publishing, but this time of year a hoard of Ivy League graduates descended on the city looking for jobs. And they all had connections.

“Do you know anybody here?” Mario hoped she knew somebody. Or maybe Zach had clients in the publishing world.

“Nope. I’ve lived in Arizona my whole life. My brother and sister thought I was nuts to want to move here. But I love books, and if you love books, New York is the place.”

“That’s a fact.” Mario decided that even if the redhead didn’t take to Zach, or vice versa, she could use some help with this job quest. “I know somebody who might have a connection at one of the publishing houses.” That was stretching things a bit, but odds were it was true. A glance in the rearview mirror told him the redhead was smiling again.

“Look at that,” she said. “I’m already networking.”

“This guy I know is an investment counselor. Name’s Zachary Evans, but he mostly goes by Zach. I’m pretty sure one of his clients works for a publishing house.” Put that way, it sounded kind of lame. Mario wondered if she’d question the value of talking to Zach.

Instead she seemed eager. “Great! Do you have his number?”

“Not on me, but I should be seeing him this morning. I can give him your name and have him call the Pearson.”

“That would be terrific. My name’s Hannah Robertson. I don’t have any business cards, but I could write it down for you.” She rummaged in her purse.

“That’s okay. I’ll remember.” As a cop, Mario had been famous for his recall. He still prided himself on that.

“All right, then. I’ll look forward to hearing from Zach Evans.”

They rode in silence for a while. Mario could have asked a bunch more questions, but he’d learned that too many questions could make a passenger suspicious of his motives. So he waited for her to make the next conversational move.

Finally she spoke again. “You know, it’s nice that you have pictures of your family taped on your dash. It makes the cab look homey and cheerful.”

“They’re not exactly my family.” So she’d been studying his pictures. Ordinarily Mario was happy to talk about his matchmaking hobby, but not when he was in the process of trying to hook people up. People got hinky if they thought he was doing that. “Just a bunch of good friends.”

“Well, that’s still nice. Everybody looks so happy in those pictures. You must have a lot of good-natured friends.”

“Life’s too short to have bad-natured ones.” Mario only matched up people who were pleasant. Maybe that was why he had such an astounding success ratio, ninety percent.

“Is Zach Evans in one of those pictures?”

“No, I don’t happen to have a picture of him yet.” But if everything works out the way I’m hoping, I will soon.

IRIS DIDN’T USUALLY GIVE Zach a hard sell, so he wondered why she was suddenly pushing the pastelitos and urging him to buy a second cup of espresso. He hoped she didn’t have money troubles. A woman as fiercely independent as Iris would die before admitting that she had problems in that area, but she might increase the sales pressure to generate better cash flow.

What the hell. He’d started going into the office an hour early, so it wasn’t like he’d be late to work if he hung around the coffee stand a little longer. There’d be another bus along later. And two espressos might be exactly what he needed today to nail his monthly quota and secure his move to that corner office Drake Medford had promised him.

An image of Ed, the guy currently in that corner office, flashed through his mind. Ed had been around for years and no longer seemed to care about his monthly quota. If you worked for Drake Medford, that was a bad thing. Zach told himself not to think about where Ed would end up. That wasn’t his responsibility.

So he drank his second espresso, munched on a flaky pastelito and listened to Iris’s favorite Celia Cruz CD while some guys in dreadlocks went strolling by. At times like this he wondered what the folks back in Auburn, Illinois, would make of it all. No one in his family had expressed any desire to visit, so he’d had to make trips home in order to see them.

Because that only happened about once a year, he’d constructed his own little support group in Manhattan, and Iris was definitely included. He would hate to think she’d fallen on hard times. Maybe he could smoke out some information on her financial picture and see if he could guide her in some way.

He waited until she’d served a couple who looked like they might be honeymooners judging from the way they held hands and couldn’t stop gazing at each other. Their obvious affection sent a pang of regret running through him. Adrienne had never looked at him that way, which should have given him a clue.

When the coast was clear, he wandered closer to the coffee stand. “I hope your tax guy advised you to take a deduction for your CD player and the music you buy,” he said. “That’s an integral part of your business.”

Iris nodded as she tucked money in her cash drawer. “I have many deductions, mijo.”

“That’s good. Keeping a business afloat isn’t easy these days. You need all the breaks you can get.”

Iris smiled. “Sì. I’m lucky that people like my coffee and my pastelitos so I won’t end up a beggar when I’m old.”

She said it with such confidence that Zach had to believe she was solvent. That left him still wondering why she’d urged him to spend more at her coffee stand this morning.

“Aha! Here’s Mario!” Iris sounded delighted, as usual. No doubt there was a romance blossoming there.

Zach was also happy to see the guy. A chance cab ride with Mario about a year ago had resulted in a growing friendship, and Zach considered Mario part of his New York family, too. Mario had introduced Zach to this little piece of espresso heaven, and Zach always enjoyed running into him here.

“Hey, Mario.” Zach brushed the crumbs from his fingers and held out his hand. “How’s it going?”

“Can’t complain.” Mario shook hands before glancing over at Iris. He touched the brim of his Giants cap in greeting. “Morning, Iris. That’s a good color on you.”

“Ai, this old thing?” Iris blushed like a teenager as she looked down at her red blouse. “Your eyes are tired from being up all night. You need coffee so you can see better.” She reached for the small porcelain espresso cup she kept especially for him.

“My eyesight’s fine, but I’ll need that coffee to go,” Mario said.

“Oh.” Iris’s smile faded.

“I’m giving Zach a ride to the office. I’ll be back.”

“Oh.” Iris’s smile returned.

“You don’t need to give me a ride.” Zach didn’t want to get in the way of this flirtation. “The bus is almost here. I’ll just-”

“Ah, get in the cab and pretend you’re a rich guy.” Mario picked up the foam cup Iris handed him and used it to gesture toward the curb where he’d parked. “I need to discuss a little matter with you.”

Zach shrugged. “If you insist.” He didn’t mind the expense once in a while, especially when the money went to a guy like Mario. Besides, riding in Mario’s cab was an experience. He drove the cab the way he’d probably driven the cruiser when he was a cop, except now he had to substitute the horn for the siren.

Because they were friends, Zach rode in the front, which gave him an excellent view of all the happy couples taped to Mario’s dash. Mario’s romantic streak was touching. Zach had asked him once why he wasn’t married, considering how much he supported the institution.

Turned out Mario had lost his wife some time ago, and still seemed to be hurting. But time had passed, and he definitely seemed interested in Iris. Zach thought the two of them would be good together.

Mario climbed behind the wheel and set his cup in a plastic holder before starting the engine. Then he turned off the meter.

“Hey, I want to pay,” Zach said.

“Nope. This one’s on the house.” Mario gunned the engine and tires screeched as he plunged into traffic.

Zach held on to the armrest for balance, but he wasn’t the least bit nervous. Mario drove fast, but he never wrecked. “If you want a hot stock tip,” Zach said, “you’ll have to wait until I get to the office. But as of last night, your portfolio was looking good. I wouldn’t change anything, but if you want to add, then-”

“This isn’t about the market.” Mario surged through a yellow light, honking the horn to warn off anyone who dared get in his way. “It’s about a woman I picked up at the airport.”

Suddenly Zach understood Iris’s strange behavior and Mario’s offer of a ride to work. “Oh, no.”

“What do you mean, oh, no?”

“You’re ready to fix me up with her, aren’t you?”

“Hell, no, I’m not!” Mario veered sharply around a parked van. “She needs some help looking for a job, that’s all.”

“Yeah, sure. Listen, Mario, thanks, but no thanks. I know this is your mission in life, but I have no interest in getting taped to your dash. Forget it.”

“But I only thought-”

“Nope. Nix. Nyet. Non. Negative. Not going there, Mario. You’d better dig deep in your Bag o’ Bachelors and come up with another candidate, because I’m so not meeting the woman you picked up at the airport.”

“How can you make a statement like that? Sheesh. And I didn’t even tell you about the tuna!”

CHAPTER TWO

THE PEARSON HOTEL LOBBY wasn’t much bigger than Hannah’s living room back in Phoenix, and there were exactly two armchairs available. She probably should have guessed that her room wouldn’t be ready at eight-thirty in the morning, but she hadn’t spent much of her life in hotels and wasn’t totally familiar with the routine.

Both lobby chairs were occupied, one by an elderly man reading a newspaper and the other by a young woman filling out a job application. So Hannah stood, being careful not to jostle her duct-taped suitcase. The desk clerk had offered to keep the suitcase in a storage room, but Hannah was afraid it wouldn’t survive being manhandled by a bellhop. She hadn’t seen a bellhop, but this was a New York City hotel, so there had to be a bellhop somewhere on the premises.

Well, this was awkward. The desk clerk had predicted it might be another hour or two before a room became available. She could feel the hum of the city just beyond that lobby door, and she was desperate to get out there and take her first New York City walk.

On the drive in she’d spotted some homeless people who probably could use her tuna. At this point she could use some of that tuna, herself. The peanuts and Coke she’d had on the airplane had worn off quite a while ago. But she had no can opener and she’d also promised herself a hot pretzel from a street vendor once she hit the pavement.

The lobby door opened and she turned to see if it might be the bellhop returning from a coffee break. Whoops, not a bellhop. Not even close to being a bellhop. Instead she was eyeball to eyeball with a gorgeous specimen of New York manhood tricked out in a crisp gray suit, power tie in red-and-gray stripes, and a shirt that looked white at first but upon closer inspection displayed fine vertical lines of gray running through the fabric.

She wondered if he’d dressed to match his eyes, which were the color of campfire smoke. Add to that a movie-idol smile and wavy brown hair. If this guy was staying at the Pearson, she had definitely picked the right hotel.

His gaze moved from her face to the duct-taped suitcase at her feet. “You’re Hannah.”

Her mind clicked rapidly through the possibilities. She only knew one person in New York, and that was the man who had duct-taped her suitcase. He’d promised to mention her to his friend. She wished he’d left out the part about the duct tape.

She swallowed. “And you’re Zach.”

“Right.” He held out his hand. “Zach Evans.”

“Hannah Robertson.” She shook hands with what she hoped was the right amount of firm, businesslike pressure. He was so delectable that she wanted to hang on a while longer, but she didn’t dare. She was supposed to network with this Adonis, not jump his bones.

“I called the hotel and they said you weren’t registered. That got me worried, so I decided to come over and make sure you were okay.”

Hannah’s faith in the desk clerk slipped a notch. They darned well knew she was standing in the lobby. “I tried to register. The room wasn’t ready.” Surely the desk clerk could have said she was here, couldn’t he? Maybe not. She didn’t know New York City hotel procedure.

Zach glanced around the small lobby. “So you’re kind of stuck.”

“Oh, not at all! I was just about to ask them to store my suitcase so I could leave the hotel and explore the city.” To hell with the suitcase and the potential for tuna cans all over the storage room. She was not about to appear helpless and stranded in front of her network, all one of him.

“Oh! Well, that’s a good idea.” He eyed the suitcase. “I guess.”

“It’ll be fine. I know the suitcase looks a little…”

“Compromised?”

“You could say that.” She wouldn’t mind being compromised by Zachary Evans. But she had to cool it. There were probably lots of guys like him walking around this city. He happened to be the first certified NYC hunk she’d seen, so she was probably overreacting. And she was starving, too, which didn’t help.

“You could ask them to tie something around it,” Zach said.

“I’ll do that.” She realized that the networking hadn’t begun yet, and maybe it was up to her to do something about it. “Mario mentioned that you had a contact in publishing.”

“I do. He’s an editor.”

“Really?” Hannah hadn’t expected to be this lucky. “For what house?”

“I can’t remember the name, but I have it at the office. I know they mostly do cookbooks and travel guides. Is that what you’re interested in?”

She was tempted to say yes, just to make the connection stronger, but she hadn’t come all this way to work on cookbooks and travel guides. “I have a degree in English literature. I’m hoping to edit fiction.”

“Oh.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Then Percy might not be the guy to help you.”

“I’d be glad to talk to him, even so.” Maybe she could learn to love cookbooks. No, probably not. She was a nuke-’em-and-scarf-’em-down kind of person. Her theory was if you took enough vitamins and ate tuna once in a while, you’d be okay.

“It could be a waste of time if you’re into fiction.” Zach checked his watch. “Look, I have to get to the office, but I can ask around. Someone else might have a better lead than I do.”

“I hate to put you to the trouble.” Actually, she didn’t. Anything that would keep that tenuous connection between them worked for her. But she had to give him a graceful way out if he wanted to let this go.

“No trouble.” He paused. “If you don’t have other plans, we could go to dinner tonight. I could tell you what I’ve found out.”

Other plans? She’d arrived in the city less than two hours ago! She knew no one! How could she possibly have other plans? But she hesitated, as if considering her packed schedule. “That might work.”

“Seven?”

“Seven would be okay.”

“I’ll ring your room.”

“Great. See you then.” She watched him walk out of the lobby and controlled the urge to jump up and down.

Her first night in New York and she had a date! Not only a date, but one with a guy who came recommended by her very friendly taxi driver. Even better, this highly recommended, date-worthy person looked like he’d stepped out of the pages of GQ. New York was going to be incredible.

MARIO RETURNED TO THE coffee stand feeling smug. Maybe he shouldn’t take credit, though, because he’d been wrong about not leading with the tuna. The tuna had made all the difference. He only hoped this Cupid operation wasn’t too late.

After finding a parking spot near Iris’s stand, he sauntered over, unable to hold back a smile of triumph. He waited until Iris had finished serving an espresso to a long-haired college student toting a heavy backpack.

She counted out change to the student. “Gracias, señor.” Then she turned to Mario, her dark eyebrows arched. “Well?”

“He’s calling her this morning.”

“Bueno!” Iris clapped her hands together. “That boy needs a sweetheart.”

“You’re telling me. He’s so focused on success after Adrienne worked him over that he’s ready to bulldoze some poor guy out of a corner office.”

“That’s bad.”

“It’s not so much him as that boss of his.” Mario took the small porcelain cup of espresso Iris handed him. “Thanks, Iris.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out some money, but she waved it away. “Hey.” He tried again to give her the money. “You can’t be serving me free coffee.”

“You can give free taxi rides but I can’t give free coffee?”

He met the challenge in her dark eyes. She had spirit, and he admired that. “Thank you.”

“Da nada. So Zach will take away someone’s job?”

“I don’t know about that, but he definitely has his eye on a big bonus and a better office, which is currently occupied by a guy named Ed. Ed’s older and isn’t producing like he used to. Zach thinks the big boss wants to squeeze Ed out, even though he’s a nice guy and treats his clients great.”

Iris clucked her tongue.

“Yeah, it sucks. I know it happens all the time, but I hate to see Zach buying into it. If he doesn’t watch out, he’ll get as ruthless as the boss.”

“This woman, you think she’ll be good for him, then?”

Mario pictured Hannah Robertson in her yellow sundress and flowered suitcase held together with duct tape. “Oh, yeah. She’s exactly what the doctor ordered.”

ALL THROUGH THE DAY Zach kept telling himself that just because he was taking Hannah Robertson to dinner didn’t mean he’d end up taped to Mario’s dash. If and when the time came for him to find someone and settle down, he would do the picking, not some guy who’d seen Fiddler on the Roof once too often. Although matchmaking was cute when it happened to other people, Zach wasn’t about to fall for that program.

But a guy would have to be made of stone not to be kind to a woman who brought cans of tuna to New York so she could pass them out to the city’s homeless population. It also didn’t hurt that she’d looked like a ray of sunshine standing in that dingy hotel lobby. Her red hair was glorious, a deep copper color. She also had brown eyes, which might explain why her sundress had revealed a golden tan rather than pale skin dotted with freckles.

Taking Hannah Robertson to dinner would be no hardship. Getting her the right publishing contacts might be. Zach had asked around, and the consensus seemed to be that Ed had a client who was a publishing bigwig. This was the day that Drake Medford would inform Ed that he would probably be losing his corner office come the first of the month. Under the circumstances, Zach thought asking Ed for a personal favor today was just wrong.

So he’d called his cookbook guy and milked that contact for a couple of tenuous leads. It wasn’t much, but it was better than going to dinner empty-handed.

Partly because he didn’t have much to tell her and partly because he kept thinking of how good she’d looked in yellow, he bought a bouquet of daisies and yellow roses before hopping on the bus that would take him to the stop closest to the Pearson. Going to dinner with Hannah was turning out to be the best part of his day. Every time he’d passed Ed’s office he’d cringed at the idea that he was driving the guy out. Although he’d told himself not to worry, he was worrying, anyway.

So dinner was a terrific distraction. He’d made reservations at a Thai place on Restaurant Row, and they could walk there and back from her hotel. He wasn’t opposed to taking a cab, but Mario wasn’t on duty yet and Zach had become picky about his cabs after riding with Mario.

Fire trucks drove screaming past the bus as it stopped where Zach wanted off. When the sirens abruptly quit, Zach paused at the front of the bus, bouquet in hand, to lean down and peer through the bus’s windshield to see where the trucks had ended up. Damn it, the fire trucks, lights flashing, sat smack-dab in front of the Pearson!

Galloping down the steps to the pavement, Zach headed off at a run. The Pearson wasn’t as tall as some hotels, but tall enough, more than thirty stories. The fire escapes were probably old and rusty. A horrible image of Hannah dangling from a rope made of knotted sheets made his stomach churn.

Hotel guests came streaming out of the tiny lobby as the firefighters went charging in. Zach couldn’t see any smoke, but that didn’t mean anything. The fire could be in a hallway or an elevator shaft. Now he could hear the hotel’s fire alarm, a grating beep, beep, beep that sent sweat running down his spine.

Then Hannah-barefoot and wearing a thin flowered bathrobe-came out of the hotel. Relief emptied his lungs, making him dizzy as he stood a few feet away catching his breath. Now that he could see she was fine, he felt a little silly. He’d pretty much overreacted, considering he barely knew her.

What was that all about? It was probably Mario’s fault. The guy had portrayed Hannah as an innocent plopped down into the big, bad city. The message had been clear-Zach was supposed to be her knight in shining armor.

He’d thought that message had rolled right off his back, and yet the evidence said otherwise. When he hadn’t been able to reach her this morning he’d hopped a bus and dashed over to make sure she was okay. Then he’d raced to the hotel because a couple of fire trucks were sitting there. And he still hadn’t seen any smoke.

Hannah looked upset, though. Wending her way through the guests, she padded over to a fireman stationed by the front door and started an earnest conversation, waving her arms as she talked. Zach couldn’t help but notice how sexy she looked standing there in her bathrobe and bare feet, her hair catching the glow from the revolving lights on top of the fire engine.

Finally he decided to walk over and make his presence known. Everything she owned could be going up in flames right now. He pictured himself taking out his credit card, just like in the commercials, and buying her a new wardrobe while “My Girl” played in the background. It was a stupid idea, but it ran through his head, anyway.

As he walked toward her, she stuck her hands in the pockets of the bathrobe and gazed up at the fireman. “So I’m really, really sorry,” she said. “But the room smelled so stale and musty.”

“Next time, buy some Glade, lady.” The fireman turned away and clicked a button on the walkie-talkie clipped to his shoulder. “Sammy, check out Room 538. Seems one of the guests was burning sage as an air freshener. That could be the problem.”

Zach groaned. Far from being the victim, Hannah had been the perp.

At the sound, she turned and gasped. “Zach! Omigod, is it seven already?”

“Five after.” Zach tried not to stare at her cleavage, but the bathrobe had gaped open and he could see…a lot. He now knew that she was wearing a black lace bra with a front clasp, that she had no discernible tan line so she might have been out in the sun topless, and that she had a cute little mole on her left breast.

“I am so embarrassed. The room didn’t smell good, so I found a little shop that sells incense and stuff. Sage works great at home. I was afraid the smoke was a little too heavy, so I tried to get the window open but it was painted shut.” She gestured around her. “You see what happened.”

“I see.” He was seeing way too much for a first date, that was for sure, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy the view.

“And you brought flowers.” The way she said it sounded as if he’d brought her the Hope diamond.

He’d forgotten he was clutching them. In the two-block dash to the hotel, he’d broken a couple of daisy stalks, and the blossoms hung their little heads. “Uh, yeah.” He plucked the blossoms off and stuck them in his pocket. “Here.”

“They’re beautiful.” She buried her nose in the bouquet and one of the naked stalks almost poked her in the eye.

“Hold on a minute.” He jerked the bouquet back.

She looked startled. “What’s the matter?”

“Stalks.” He pulled them out and handed it back to her. She was showing signs of being accident prone. In a place like New York, that wouldn’t be good.

“I don’t mind a few stalks.” She held the bouquet out and admired it. “I’ll bet you bought this from one of the sidewalk vendors.”

“I did, actually.”

“I love that. I’ve been in New York a mere twelve hours, and I’ve already eaten a soft pretzel, passed out five cans of tuna and received a bouquet from a sidewalk flower shop.” She threw both hands in the air like an Olympic athlete at a medal ceremony. “I’ve arrived!”

“I guess so.” Zach wasn’t used to dramatic displays in a crowd of people. He glanced around to see if anyone was staring. They were. “I’m glad you like the flowers.”

“I don’t like the flowers.”

“You don’t? I thought you just said-”

She laughed. “I love the flowers.”

“Oh.” Zach couldn’t remember the last time he’d been with someone who had this much energy, and according to Mario, she’d come in on the red-eye. “I guess you took a nap today, huh?”

“Are you kidding? Who could sleep on their first day in New York? I’ve walked up and down Fifth Avenue and through most of Central Park. I would have gone up to the top of the Empire State Building, but I ran out of time.”

“All clear, folks!” said the fireman stationed at the door. “You can return to your rooms now!”

Hannah produced her key from the pocket of her bathrobe. “Come on up with me while I finish getting dressed. The lobby’s too small to hang out in. Well, my room’s not very big, either, but I can’t make you wait in the lobby. Someone’s usually sitting in the chairs.”

“That’s okay. I can wait in the lobby.” Zach was already on sensory overload with all those peeks at her black bra. Being alone with her in her room might bring on some unwanted developments, like a woody. He prided himself on having more control than that, but Hannah pushed all his buttons.

Had Mario known that would happen? Maybe Zach had seriously underestimated the taxi driver’s skills when it came to matchmaking. Nah, not even Mario could have predicted that Hannah would end up on the sidewalk in her bathrobe, which turned Zach’s thoughts to bedrooms, and soft sheets and naked bodies.

“Oh, come on up,” Hannah said. “I won’t compromise your virtue. I’ll get dressed in the bathroom.”

If he didn’t go along with her suggestion, he’d look like a prude. “Okay. Sure.”

The ride up in the elevator posed no temptation. The elevator was crowded with people returning to their rooms.

A cross-looking woman standing next to Hannah glanced at her. “Were you the one who set off the fire alarm?”

“I was.” Hannah looked repentant. “And I apologize.”

“I should hope so!” The woman looked indignant. “I was watching the Yankees, and Derek Jeter was up to bat. I hate it when I miss one of his times at bat.”

“Here.” Hannah pulled a rose out of her bouquet. “Take this as a gesture of peace.”

The woman blinked. “Um, thanks.” She took the rose and brought it slowly to her nose. “Smells good.”

“Anybody else want a rose?” Hannah held up her bouquet. “I’m the bad guy here, but thanks to my friend, I have a way to make amends.”

“I’ll take one,” said a guy in a T-shirt and jeans.

“Me, too,” said an older woman in a baggy sweat suit. “I’m twenty minutes late for my medication. I need some aromatherapy for the stress.”

“Be my guest.” Hannah presented a rose first to the T-shirt guy and then to the lady who’d missed her meds.

“I wouldn’t mind one,” said a young woman sporting several tattoos. “I just broke up with my boyfriend so this fire alarm makes a bad day even worse.”

“Then here you go,” Hannah said. “By all means.”

Zach wanted to protest. Four of the six roses in the bouquet were gone, which made it look a lot less festive. But he’d given her the flowers, so he no longer had any say-so as to what happened to them. Fortunately nobody else made a bid for a rose.

One little girl wanted a daisy, but he didn’t mind that so much. He’d trashed two himself. Then they reached the fifth floor, and that was the end of the flower giveaway.

“I hope you don’t mind,” Hannah said as they walked down a hallway covered by a faded carpet. “It really was my fault, and I felt the need to make amends.”

“No problem.”

“Oh, now, see? You’re hurt because I gave away your beautiful flowers. But I’ll find a way to make it up to you.”

His imagination danced through that possibility for at least ten seconds. Surely she hadn’t meant it to sound as suggestive as it had seemed. Or maybe she had. What did he know? Mario had thrown him into the deep end, and he was hoping to hell he could swim.

CHAPTER THREE

HANNAH FELT COSMOPOLITAN and daring, inviting a man up to her room on her first night in New York. It wasn’t a particularly elegant room, but she couldn’t imagine making him wait down in that cramped lobby. He was her new best friend and she wanted to treat him right.

He’d brought her flowers, too. Even with a few of the roses and a couple of daisies missing, it was a fabulous bouquet. She’d been a little worried that he was watching out for her as a favor to Mario, but if so he wouldn’t have brought flowers. She’d tuck one in her hair for the night and put the rest in the ice bucket. A daisy would look great with the peacock-blue-and-yellow dress she’d planned to wear tonight.

“Here we are, home sweet temporary home.” She pushed her card key into the lock and opened the door. The minute she stepped on the carpet and it squished under her bare feet, she suspected a problem. When she glanced at the bed where she’d laid out all her dry-clean-only, sale-priced interview clothes in preparation for ironing them, she knew disaster had struck.

“Sprinklers,” she said, moaning as she walked across the drenched carpet to her equally soaked clothes. “The smoke set off the automatic sprinklers.”

Zach closed the door and stared at the mess. “Can’t you just dry them somehow?”

“Not these. I mean, look at them.” A sick feeling settled into the pit of her stomach as she picked up what used to be a bold purple-and-kelly-green-striped dress. Purple and green oozing together made brown, something she’d learned in kindergarten with finger paints.

A neon-green suit decorated with big white tulips had rust splotches all over it. The rust had probably descended when the old pipes disgorged their supply of water all over the room. Her peacock-blue-and-yellow dress, a combo of silk and rayon that had been a steal at fifty percent off, was covered with ugly water stains and seemed to be shriveling before her eyes. That left her with the yellow sundress, which she’d hung in the closet after taking it off this afternoon.

She turned to him, determined to be a big girl about this. “Well, I’m clothes-less! Down to my underwear, a sleep shirt, my yellow dress and this bathrobe. Know any cheap stores?” Her voice barely quivered. She hoped he couldn’t tell that she was close to tears.

From the way he was looking at her, he probably could tell. “There are some resale shops in the Village.”

“Yeah?” She was determined to maintain a brave front. “Shopping in the Village would be very cool. I’ve always wanted to. Now it looks like I have a great excuse.”

“If you want, I could go with you during my lunch hour tomorrow.”

She was touched that he’d offer, but there were limits to how much help she could accept. “That’s sweet, but you really don’t have to. Shopping for clothes can’t be your favorite way to spend free time.”

“I don’t mind. I’d be happy to do that.”

“Because you feel sorry for me.”

He hesitated. “Look, it’s natural to feel a little sorry for somebody who just had her entire traveling wardrobe sprinkled into oblivion. But that aside, I’d like to help. And the fact is, you need me.”

She was afraid that might be true, for a variety of reasons, but she wasn’t ready to admit it yet. “Why is that?”

“I drive a hard bargain. No offense, but knowing how you pass out tuna and roses, I’m guessing you don’t.”

That made her laugh. “You’re right, I don’t. My sister refuses to take me to garage sales with her because I pay whatever’s marked on stuff, which she says violates the basic law of garage sales.”

“That’s absolutely true. It’s settled, then. Did you know your message light’s blinking?”

She glanced at the phone, and sure enough, the red light was flashing. “But I don’t know anybody.”

“You know the people in the hotel.”

Her tummy churned. “Oh, God. Do you think they’re going to charge me for this disaster?”

“No, but they might want to talk to you about it.”

She stared at the blinking red light and wondered if she could pretend she hadn’t seen it. If Zach was wrong and the hotel wanted to charge her for the inconvenience and water damage, she’d rather not find out right before her first big night in New York.

But she’d worry about that blinking light all evening, so she might as well get it over with. Picking up the phone, she punched the message button.

An official-sounding male voice came on the line. Ms. Robertson, we understand the sprinklers discharged in your room.

Hannah closed her eyes and hoped that her shaky financial situation wasn’t about to get a whole lot worse.

We apologize for the inconvenience. When you’re ready, we’ll transfer you to another room.

She let her breath out in a whoosh. “They want to switch me to a different room. That’s all.”

“As well they should,” Zach said. “You can’t sleep in that bed tonight.”

“Guess not. I hadn’t thought of that. But I don’t want to take the time to change rooms now. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

“And our reservations are for seven-thirty. I could call and change them, but-”

“No, don’t. I’ll let them switch me while we’re gone.” With no choice in the matter, she hurried to the closet and took out her yellow dress. Draping it over one arm, she pulled a rose from the bouquet. “Be right back.”

Then she stuck the rose between her teeth, flung her free hand in the air and cocked her hip in a flamenco dancer’s pose before dashing into the bathroom. His startled laughter was exactly what she was after. She might be a clueless newcomer who had trashed her clothes immediately upon arriving, but she didn’t want Zach to think she was totally pathetic. She still had flair, damn it.

FOR SEVERAL SECONDS ZACH stood staring at the closed bathroom door as he processed that last provocative image Hannah had given him. There was no getting around it, the woman was hot. Hot and generous. Zach’s imagination latched on to those two attributes and came up with one obvious conclusion. He wanted some of that.

But just because she aroused him didn’t mean he’d end up taped to Mario’s dash. It didn’t even mean he and Hannah would end up in bed together. He had no idea if he was the only one thinking about sex, although the rose between her teeth suggested she might be having thoughts along those lines, too.

He ran a hand over his face and took a deep breath. The rustling sounds coming from the bathroom did nothing to calm him down. He pictured the black bra and panties and realized she would have to take off the bra in order to wear the thin-strapped sundress. If she had spent some time sunbathing topless, which he suspected, her breasts would be golden and gorgeous.

This was insanity, standing here on a squishy carpet imagining what was going on behind that bathroom door. He should have waited in the lobby. At the rate he was going, he was liable to do something inappropriate, like grab her and kiss her the minute she walked out.

And then what, genius? Throw her down on that soggy mattress? Very classy.

Actually it sounded kind of kinky and exciting. The wet sheets might feel interesting against their hot bodies. He’d never had sex on a soaked mattress before, and the experience might prove educational and moist.

Oh, for God’s sake. He’d invited her to dinner, and they would have dinner. Then he’d walk her back to her hotel and go home like the sophisticated urban professional he was. He would not spend the entire meal wondering if she’d invite him back up to her new and improved, much drier room afterward. He would not hope that he could get her to do that routine with the rose one more time.

Mostly to give himself something to do, he pulled out his cell phone and moved the reservation ahead fifteen minutes so they wouldn’t lose it. There shouldn’t be a problem on a weeknight, but he didn’t want to take any chances. The evening had already had its share of detours.

As he was closing the phone and clipping it back on to his belt, Hannah came out. She wore the same dress, so the sight of her shouldn’t have affected him, but it did, anyway. Maybe it was how she’d done her hair.

After piling it loosely on top of her head, she’d tucked daisies into her curls so that she looked like a wood nymph, or at least what Zach thought a wood nymph might look like. He felt as if they should be running hand in hand through a meadow in slow motion before settling down on a bed of soft grass to…yeah, to have sex. Face it, Evans, you’re officially obsessed with the subject.

As a hormone-driven teenager he’d devoured a copy of Lady Chatterley’s Lover, and daisies had been involved in one of the sex scenes. He’d forgotten that until this very minute and wondered if the scene in the book had anything to do with his own fondness for daisies.

Hannah smiled at him. “Ready?”

You have no idea. “Sure. Let’s go.”

“I put the rest of the flowers in the ice bucket. Wait a sec. I should probably throw my undies and makeup in the suitcase and put the wet clothes in the laundry bag.”

“Probably should.” And he shouldn’t watch her do that, either. But he did, anyway, torturing himself with a view of silk and lace in various colors being tossed from a drawer into the duct-taped suitcase she’d taken out of the closet.

She ducked back into the bathroom and returned with her cosmetics bag. Then she grabbed two cans of tuna and dropped them in her oversize purse. “For tonight, in case we pass any homeless people.” Finally she turned to him. “Now I’m ready. You’ve been extremely patient.”

“It’s easy.” And it had been, which should have surprised him. Normally he didn’t like waiting for people.

“It’s not easy for everyone. A lot of people are very impatient. They have to have everything happen right this minute, but you don’t seem like that. You seem like the kind of person who’s willing to delay gratification.”

“That probably depends on the gratification.” He was very much afraid that everything he was thinking was showing on his face.

She met his gaze and a becoming pink tinged her cheeks. “I suppose it does.”

He wanted to kiss her so much he ached. But it was too soon. “Let’s go get some dinner.”

“Yes, let’s.”

As he followed her out the door and closed it behind him, he wondered if this was the way things had gone for those other couples taped to the dash of Mario’s taxi. A feeling of inevitability was settling over him.

THE EXCITEMENT OF SHARING a restaurant meal with a certified New York City bachelor wiped out any lingering sadness Hannah felt over the loss of her clothes. They hadn’t been practical in the first place, being dry-cleanable, but the price had lured her into buying them. Tomorrow she’d look for washable clothes and let Zach drive his hard bargain.

And didn’t that sound sexy? She kept admiring how good he looked as she sat across the table from him at the Thai restaurant. He made her chicken with peanut sauce taste like the best meal she’d ever had. The restaurant had chosen blue neon as the light of choice, and the eerie glow turned the customers into a crowd of the undead, but Zach was the most handsome zombie in the room.

She was developing a giant crush on her one-person network. Standing in her hotel room talking about delayed gratification had nearly done her in. How embarrassing if she’d jumped the gun and planted one right on him.

That would have been jumping the gun, too. Instinctively she knew that. She didn’t want to come across as some eager hick from Arizona who didn’t know the rules. Of course she’d seen Sex and the City, but that was all about sophisticated New Yorkers getting involved with other sophisticated New Yorkers. She didn’t want to come off as green as grass or hopelessly lacking in subtlety.

She could do subtle. She would let Zach make the first move toward getting physical. From the way he looked at her, she thought he wanted to, but he was restraining himself. That was her cue to restrain herself, which she was doing.

“Mario said you’re an investment counselor,” she said. “That seems like a very New York thing to be.”

He made a face.

“What, you don’t like it?”

“I like working with clients, but…the atmosphere of the company is very competitive, especially lately. There’s this guy named Ed, who’s in his fifties, been there a lot of years, but he doesn’t push like he used to.”

Hannah nodded. “Seems like people deserve to cut back at some point.”

“Not according to my boss. He’s ready to kick him out of his primo office location and put a top producer in there.”

“Would that top producer by any chance be you?”

“Yeah, it would.” Zach took a sip of his Thai iced coffee and set it down on the table. “And I appreciate the recognition, but I feel crummy about taking that office away from Ed.”

“So don’t take it away.”

Zach laughed and shook his head. “You don’t know Drake Medford. He’d see that as a sign of weakness. I’d lose all the ground I’ve gained.”

“Excuse me for saying so, but your boss doesn’t sound like a nice man.”

“Nobody’s ever accused him of being nice, that’s for sure.” Zach reached into his pocket. “Before I forget it, here are some people to contact about job interviews. It’s not a huge list, but-”

“Are you kidding? This is great!” She glanced at the three names and numbers he’d written on the back of his business card. She didn’t recognize any of the publishers listed after each name, but she might have to start at a small house and work her way up to the big boys and girls.

Even better than the numbers on the back was the info on the front. Now she had contact points for Zach, something she’d been missing. She should give him contact points in return.

Reaching into her purse, she pulled out the little notebook-and-pen gizmo her little sister, Cara, had given her before she left. “Here’s my cell phone number, in case you should need it.” She hoped he’d need it. Desperately.

“Thanks.” He tucked the piece of paper in the inner pocket of his suit jacket. “Are you up for some dessert?”

“No place to put it.” But she didn’t want the night to end. “Could we take a walk, instead?”

“Sure.” He signaled the waiter. “Where to?”

“Times Square!” When she saw his tolerant smile, she reconsidered. “Too corny, huh? I suppose real New Yorkers don’t go to Times Square unless they’re headed for a play.”

“No, but let’s go there, anyway.”

“You’re sure? I hate to make you endure the tourist thing, but I promised my brother and sister I’d get my picture taken in the middle of Times Square, and I…brought my camera.” She pulled it out of her purse.

The waiter paused next to their table. “Would you like a picture of the two of you?”

Hannah imagined them as a couple of grinning corpses surrounded by a ghostly blue light, and she started to laugh.

Zach looked offended. “What’s so funny about having our picture taken together? Do I have a piece of rice stuck in my teeth?”

“No, you look great. It’s a wonderful idea.” She couldn’t say what she thought of the lighting in front of the waiter, so she handed him the camera. “Thanks.”

The waiter backed up and motioned them to get closer together. Zach angled his chair sideways and reached across the small table to put his arm around Hannah.

When he cupped his warm hand around her bare arm, her heart began to beat so loud she was afraid he’d hear it. The waiter waved her closer, and she leaned in, putting her head almost next to Zach’s. That gave her a delicious whiff of his aftershave. In no time she was imagining what it would be like to kiss him, then snuggle against that soft white shirt and loosen his silk tie.

The camera flashed, blinding her. At that moment, whether it was a reflex or intentional, Zach’s fingers tightened around her arm. Warmth coursed through her, and she didn’t want to move…ever. “How about a second shot?” she asked.

“No problem.” The waiter aimed the camera again.

This time Zach stroked her arm gently as the camera flashed. That was no reflex. That was intentional. He was touching her as if he liked the idea. Well, so did she. A lot.

“Those are two winners.” The waiter handed the camera back to Hannah, and she had to move away from Zach to take it. Bummer. But her skin still tingled, reminding her that they’d made their first physical connection. She stayed high on that sensation as Zach paid the bill and they left the restaurant.

Still thinking of his hand stroking her arm, she shivered.

“Cold?” Immediately Zach took off his suit coat.

“Um, no…” Then she felt the cocoon of his coat settle around her shoulders and changed her mind. “Maybe a little.”

“I thought so. We’re not in Arizona. It’s probably a hundred degrees there right now.”

“So Mario told you I’m from Phoenix?” She’d secretly hoped Zach would take her hand as they walked along the sidewalk, but he made no move to do it. Well, holding hands in public was a statement, after all. Stroking someone’s arm while having your picture taken was not. She could understand if Zach wasn’t ready to make a statement.

“He mentioned you were from there. He thinks you’re a hop, skip and a jump from the Grand Canyon.”

“Not quite. Things aren’t quite so close together in the western part of the country.” She hugged his jacket close and inhaled Eau de Zach. He was right that she hadn’t expected chilly weather. Tomorrow she might need to buy a light jacket, but for tonight, this was perfect. Romantic, even.

That made her remember the pictures the waiter had taken. “Do you want to see what our pictures look like? It’s a digital camera.”

“First I want to know why you laughed at the idea of taking a picture in the first place.”

“You’ll see.” She pulled the camera out of her purse and clicked a button to turn on the tiny screen. Sure enough, they looked like two ghouls on Halloween. She handed him the camera. “Check it out.”

“Whoa.” He stopped walking and moved to the inside of the sidewalk. “Now, that’s scary.”

“I can erase them.” She reached for the camera.

He pulled the camera out of reach. “Don’t you dare! My nephews back home would love this. The Uncle Zach freak show. I want a copy.”

“Great. I’ll be the laughingstock of your hometown.” But he wasn’t worried about showing her around, which was nice. “So you’re not from here, either?” Knowing that made him less intimidating.

“A little town in Illinois called Auburn. It’s near Springfield.”

“That explains why you don’t sound like Mario.”

He grinned and handed her the camera. “No, but I’m working on it. Promise you won’t erase those pictures.”

“I promise.” As she was putting the camera back in her purse, a tattered young guy with long hair approached.

“Can you spare some change?” he asked.

Thrilled to be able to help, Hannah rummaged in her large purse, searching for a can of tuna. “I have something even better.”

“Folding money?” the guy asked hopefully.

“This.” She held out the can. “Loaded with omega three.”

The young man blinked and took it. “Huh.” He stared at the can as if trying to decide what to do with it. Then he brightened. “Cool! This will make an awesome puck for street hockey! Thanks!”

“But I intended for you to…” She let her protest trail off as the guy sauntered away, tossing the can in the air and whistling.

“You can’t save ’em all,” Zach said gently.

“I know.” Feeling deflated, she gazed after the young man as he crossed against the light, all the while juggling the can from one hand to the other. “This afternoon one person asked me if there was some way you could distill tuna. I told him I didn’t think so. But three others seemed really glad to get it, so I don’t think it was a total waste of suitcase space.”

“It was a great use of suitcase space.”

Something in his voice made her look up at him. One glance into his eyes and her heart started pounding again. Giving away tuna might have reaped an unexpected reward. Zach Evans was about to kiss her.

CHAPTER FOUR

ZACH HAD HELD OFF AS LONG as he could stand it. He’d been wanting to do this for two hours, and seeing the earnest way she’d offered up her can of tuna to the vagrant had sent him over the edge. Taking her firmly by the shoulders, he drew her close.

She came willingly, which was a good thing. If she’d resisted, it could have been very awkward. But she looked as ready to be kissed as any woman he’d held in his arms. He couldn’t remember a time he’d anticipated the moment more, either.

Her eyes fluttered closed, and he took the time to savor the view of her face tilted up to catch the light from a nearby streetlamp. He took it all in-the daisies in her hair, the graceful sweep of her eyebrows, the pert shape of her nose, the generous fullness of her mouth. Her lips were parted just the slightest bit, which made him believe this kiss could progress nicely into something hot, wet and French.

She opened her eyes. “I thought you were going to kiss me.”

“I am.”

Her brown eyes were soft and dreamy. “Isn’t everything supposed to move faster in New York?”

That made him smile. “You don’t think this is fast? We just met this morning.”

“Are you having second thoughts?”

“Oh, yeah. Second, third and fourth thoughts.” And they all centered on Mario’s dash.

She frowned. “Then you think kissing me is a bad idea?”

“No.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, and that’s what worries me.” He leaned closer. “Everything is exactly…right.” And with a soft moan he gave himself up to her velvet mouth.

He should have known he’d find paradise there. The warning signs had been flashing from his first glimpse of her in the hotel lobby. Whoever had said that a kiss was just a kiss had never locked lips with Hannah.

She welcomed him with more enthusiasm than any poor mortal deserved. But deserving or not, he was going to take advantage of that delicious, moist and erection-producing welcome. He kissed her from one angle, then shifted to capture all that perfection from another, deeper, angle.

Although he longed to pull her tight against him, he didn’t dare chance it. Once that happened, they’d never make it to Times Square. So he clutched her shoulders and centered all his attention on her marvelous, incredible mouth.

He supposed passing pedestrians stopped to stare. He and Hannah must be putting on quite a show, and normally he wasn’t the type to do that. But this morning he’d met Hannah and his type might be about to change. Now he didn’t give a damn what anyone else thought. He was too busy kissing a woman with daisies in her hair.

“Well, well, Evans. Quite a bit of salesmanship you have going on there.”

It was the only voice that could have cut through his fog of passion. Lifting his head he found himself staring into the steely-blue eyes of Drake Medford. Medford’s salt-and-pepper hair was perfectly styled and his suit impeccably pressed. Of all the sidewalks of New York, he had to walk down this one. Shit.

Slowly Zach released Hannah and straightened the jacket around her shoulders. He probably had lipstick all over his mouth. He resisted the urge to wipe it away. “Hannah Robertson, I’d like you to meet my boss, Drake Medford.”

She glanced quickly up at Zach and crossed her eyes. He choked back laughter as she turned and held out her hand to the tall man standing behind her. “Hello, Mr. Medford. I’ve heard so much about you.”

“Whereas I’ve heard zilch about you, young lady.” He took her hand in both of his. “Evans, you’ve been holding out on me.”

“The fact is, we’ve just-”

“Just reconnected after a long absence,” Hannah said. “Zach and I kept missing each other, but here we are, united at last.”

“You seem to be having quite a reunion party,” Medford said. “And maybe I can give you even more reason to celebrate. Ed Hasbrook gave me the key to his corner office this afternoon. I know the reports aren’t finalized for the month, but I see no problem with you moving in there tomorrow, Evans.”

“Uh, that’s great.” Zach felt his curried beef turn to cement in his stomach.

“Try to contain your excitement, will you?” Medford looked annoyed. “The corner office is only the obvious change. I’m promoting you to vice president.”

“That’s very good news.” Zach wished he could feel more jubilant, but he’d been a lot happier two minutes ago when he’d been kissing Hannah. “Of course, I can’t help wondering where you’re stashing Ed.”

“I’d relegate him to a coat closet if I could, but we don’t have an empty coat closet. I’m using some portable partitions in a corner of the outer office. Maybe he’ll get the hint. It’s one step closer to the front door.”

“How long has he been with the company?” Hannah asked.

“Too long, Hannah.” Medford had always been good about picking up on names. “He was good once, but he’s lost a step. Your guy Zach, here, that’s the kind of go-getter I’m looking for.” He shoved back his cuff and glanced at his designer watch. “I’m late. Nice meeting you, Hannah. Zach, bring her around to the company picnic next month, why don’t you? She looks like she’d play a mean game of volleyball.” He winked at Hannah and hurried off.

“So there you have my big, bad boss.” Zach sighed. “Poor Ed.”

Hannah turned to face Zach. “You need to quit your job.”

ZACH LOOKED AT HER AS IF she’d murdered a close relative. “Are you crazy? I’ve put eight years into that job.”

“You’ve tolerated Drake Medford for eight years?” If so, her estimation of him would take a serious nosedive.

“Well, no. He came on board last fall. The office was underperforming and he was sent in to straighten things out.”

She frowned. “By humiliating people like Ed?”

“Look, I may not like what’s happening with Ed, but Medford’s done what he was sent to do. Everyone’s working harder and making more, the ones who’ve stayed, anyway. All except for Ed, who’s close to retirement.”

“And is everyone happy? Except for Ed, of course, and you.”

“I’m happy!” He flung out both arms. “I’m ecstatic! I’m making more money!”

“Are you happy? At dinner when I asked about your job you made a face.”

His gaze was wary. “I don’t know that I made a face, exactly.”

“You most certainly did. Like this.” She pulled her mouth down at the corners and scrunched up her eyes.

“That didn’t have to be about my job. Maybe I bit into something I didn’t like right at the moment you asked.”

“It was about your job.”

“Okay, so maybe it was about the job. Nobody’s career is fun and games all the time. I can see now I wasn’t working up to capacity. I’ll bet that’s what Adrienne meant when she-” He stopped, coughed and looked away. “Are we going to Times Square or what?”

Although Hannah wanted to finish the discussion, especially now that a woman’s name had been thrown into it, she could tell that Zach’s heels were dug in on this issue. She shouldn’t have come right out and told him to quit his job. That wasn’t her place. But he kissed like an angel, and a man who kissed like that didn’t belong in an office with the devil himself.

She’d suspected the boss was bad news when Zach had told her about him during dinner. But now that she’d met the guy she knew for sure, and not just because he’d interrupted what had been the primo kissing experience of her life. Drake Medford was completely unacquainted with the concept of human kindness. He would kill himself laughing if he knew about her tuna project.

“Let’s go to Times Square,” she said.

“Good.” Zach sounded immensely relieved. He still made no move to take her hand.

She thought he might have, especially after that kiss, except that his boss had come along and messed up the mood. Hannah thought Medford took pleasure in messing up other people’s moods. He could have walked on by and left them to their kissing, but that wasn’t in his nature.

No, she really didn’t like the man. Neither did Zach, but he wasn’t going to admit it. “Would you do me one little favor?” she asked.

“Sure, as long as it doesn’t involve courting economic disaster.”

“It doesn’t.” She must have really scared him, suggesting that he leave his job. Maybe because she had no financial stability at the moment, she’d forgotten that most people liked to know where their next paycheck was coming from.

“Then ask away,” he said.

“When you’re in the office tomorrow, I’d rather you didn’t mention the thing about me giving away tuna.”

He glanced at her. “What makes you think I’d do that?”

“Oh, you know.”

“No, I don’t.” His voice had gone quiet. “Explain it to me.”

“Water cooler stuff. Medford makes some reference to catching us kissing, and you tell the very entertaining story about me giving away tuna to a guy who’s going to use the can for a hockey puck. I can understand how-”

“You think I’d make fun of what you’re doing to get a laugh from the people I work with?”

Whoops. “Obviously not,” she said quickly. “Sorry to imply that you might.”

“Apology accepted.”

She snuck a peek at his firm profile. She’d insulted him, no doubt about that. But she’d found out some valuable info in the process. The deeper she probed into Zach Evans, the more she liked what she found. It wasn’t realistic to think that the first eligible man she met in the city would become someone very special, but she couldn’t throw off the premonition that Zach was special.

TWENTY MINUTES LATER, Zach posed Hannah smack-dab in the middle of the gaudy, crowded, most neon-infested section of Times Square. Even so, she was the brightest thing in the frame. Her natural glow put the glittering lights to shame.

She’d taken off his jacket so her relatives wouldn’t get the idea that it was cold in New York. If she was cold, she didn’t act like it. Instead she flung her arms out and turned this way and that like a high-fashion model at a photo shoot.

He was fascinated with her. Too bad she thought he should quit his job, because he knew she really did, even though they’d dropped the subject for now. Well, he’d cut her some slack on that opinion. She was still very naive. Let her struggle in the big city for a while and see how she felt about throwing away perfectly good jobs just because the boss wasn’t a sweetheart.

Without his job, he wouldn’t be able to buy bouquets of flowers or take a date out for a nice dinner. He was finally making the money that Adrienne had thought he should make, not that he was doing it to prove anything to her. She’d never know.

So what if he didn’t play as much racquetball? The guys he’d played with had decided to leave the company, anyway. One of them was still in town and struggling to make ends meet. The other had left New York completely. Zach wasn’t about to run home to Auburn because his boss wasn’t sensitive to the needs of his employees.

Granted, a part of him would love to tell Medford to take the job and shove it. The guy was an unfeeling son of a bitch to be treating Ed that way. But this was the business world, not Sesame Street. Ed knew the score and was choosing not to play Medford’s game. Ed would have to take the consequences for that.

Zach took pictures of Hannah until she called out that they had enough and ran back over to him. He wouldn’t have minded taking a few more. Watching her perform for him as her personal photographer was more fun than he’d had in a long while.

“I don’t want to overdo it.” She accepted the jacket he held out. This time she put her arms in the sleeves, which were too long and made her look adorable.

“Why not overdo it?” He thought about the meager supply of pictures he sent home to Illinois. “My experience with families is that you can’t overdo the snapshots. You need some for Mom, Dad, brothers and sisters, grandmothers and grandfathers, aunts and uncles.”

She gazed at him wistfully. “It must be nice, having all those people to give pictures to.”

“You don’t?”

She shook her head. “Just my brother and sister.” Then she smiled. “Don’t look like that, all pitying. It’s okay.”

“I’ll accept that it’s okay. You’re living proof.” But his heart went out to her, anyway. “What happened?”

She tucked the camera back in her purse. “I was thirteen when my mom died, which was lucky because I was old enough to help Dad with my brother and sister, who were only four. Poor Dad was never the same after Mom died, and I had the feeling he was hanging on until I was eighteen, so the twins wouldn’t end up in foster care. He died a month after my eighteenth birthday.”

He was beginning to understand her need to take care of the whole world after conditioning like that. “But what about other relatives? Grandparents, aunts, uncles?”

“Both my parents were only children, nerdy types who married late in life. I barely remember my grandparents. My mom had me at the age of forty-one, and then, because she was always ready to buck convention, decided to try having a second child at fifty. She ended up with the twins. Who are both brilliant, since you asked.”

“I’m guessing you’re no slouch in the brains department, either.”

“I do okay, but nothing like the twins. They kept me on my toes, but they’ve turned into adults who can actually take care of themselves now. It’s a miracle.”

He thought she might be the miracle for weathering all those hard knocks and keeping her sunny disposition. “Did you feed them lots of tuna?”

She laughed. “Good one. Yes, I did. Brain food.” She gazed around at the crowds milling through Times Square. “This place is amazing. I had great plans to stay up until midnight seeing more of the city at night, but I’m starting to fade.”

“You mean after thirty-six hours with no sleep, you’re tired?” He grinned at her. “What a wimp.”

“Embarrassing, isn’t it? But I think we’d better start making that trek back to my hotel or you might have to carry me.”

That didn’t sound so bad, although from a practical standpoint he probably couldn’t make it, which wouldn’t play well.

But he had a better idea. “Hang on a minute.” Unclipping his phone from his belt, he dialed Mario’s cell. “You available?” he asked. Having Mario drive them to the hotel would keep the lid on Zach’s libido.

He also didn’t want to be accused of taking advantage of a jet-lagged woman. As an added advantage, after they dropped Hannah off at the Pearson, Zach could have a chat with Mario about Hannah’s views on his current job situation. Mario would understand that a guy couldn’t just up and quit a steady job, especially after being promoted to vice president.

“Yeah, I’m available,” Mario said. “I just delivered Barbra Streisand to the Plaza.”

“You did not.”

“I did so. Ask anybody. She was supposed to meet James Brolin there for some shindig. You need a ride?”

“Yep. I’m in Times Square.”

“Alone?”

Zach glanced over at Hannah. “Nope.”

“Who?”

“Mario, I’m gonna make you wait in suspense.”

“I’ll be right there.”

Zach clipped the phone to his belt. “Mario’s on his way.”

“But that’ll cost money. I can walk.”

“It’s not that much, and I’m sure Mario would love to hear how your first day went.”

She relented with a smile. “It would be nice to see him again. I-” She was interrupted by an earsplitting whistle about ten feet away.

A cab swung over to the curb and the whistler jumped in.

Hannah watched the process and turned to Zach. “Can you whistle like that?”

“If I need to.”

“I would love to learn how. I don’t expect to be taking cabs much, but if I could whistle like that I’d feel like a real New Yorker.”

“Then I’ll teach you. I don’t take cabs a lot, myself, but-”

“Aha!” She pointed a finger at him. “Because they’re expensive, right?”

“Because a bus or the subway can serve the same purpose and I’m promoting mass transit, okay?”

She nodded. “I buy that argument, but I’ll also bet that once you live here full-time, you consider your pocketbook and learn to do without taxis except in emergencies.”

“Which this is. You’re exhausted.”

“A little.” In fact, her legs trembled from the effort of holding herself upright.

“I don’t think you can be a little exhausted. It’s like saying you’re a little pregnant.”

“Then I’m a lot exhausted.”

He couldn’t help himself. He put his arm around her and tucked her against his side. “Lean on me.”

“Okay.” She nestled close and laid her head on his shoulder. “This would be the cue for your boss to happen along.”

“Not unless he’s stalking me. I’ve been eating on Restaurant Row for years and I’ve never once seen him there.”

“I think it was meant to happen that way.”

“Why is that?” He gazed into her tired but contented eyes and wondered if this was how she’d look after a round of excellent sex. Highly inappropriate thoughts. He was taking her home so she could get some sleep. He hoped to God they’d already switched her to a dry room.

“I think I was supposed to meet your boss,” she said.

Her reasoning was pretty transparent. “So that you could point out to me that he’s the devil incarnate and if I value my soul, I will leave that firm before I’m damned forever?”

She gazed at him dreamily. “Something like that.”

“I’m not quitting my job, Hannah.”

“You should.” She covered a yawn. “You’re a fantastic kisser.”

CHAPTER FIVE

HANNAH KNEW SHE NEEDED sleep when she started babbling things that were better left unsaid. Fortunately, before Zach could ask her what she meant about quitting his job because of the way he kissed, which must have made her sound like a lunatic, a horn bleated right beside them.

“That would be Mario.” Zach kept his arm around her as he guided her over to the waiting cab. “Time to get you to bed.”

“Sounds wonderful.” She was tired, but not that tired. She wanted a bed, all right, and Zach in the middle of it. It wasn’t going to happen, not tonight, at least. That was for the best. She intended to be in New York for the rest of her life. She didn’t have to have sex on her very first night. Their outstanding kiss was memorable enough.

“Hi, Mario,” she said as Zach handed her elegantly into the backseat of the cab. “Thanks for picking us up.”

“Glad to do it.” Mario’s wide grin was reflected in the rearview mirror. “Whatcha been up to?”

“Zach took me for Thai food.”

“Nice.”

“It was nice.” Zach got in and closed the door. “But this woman’s exhausted.”

Mario chuckled, obviously in a very good mood. “Tried to do everything in one day, did you, Hannah?”

“Sort of. Zach’s going to teach me how to whistle for a taxi.” She settled back against the seat with gratitude.

“You know, New York Survival Skills 101,” Zach said as he climbed in beside her. “But not tonight. She’s had enough for one day.”

“Right.” Hannah had sort of hoped Zach would put his arm around her after he climbed in, but he didn’t. She could understand it, though. It wasn’t as if they were going to make out in the back of Mario’s cab.

But then Mario took off with his usual speed, throwing her into Zach’s lap. “Whoops.” She reached for the armrest to steady herself, but Mario whipped around another corner and she was thrown against Zach again.

This time Zach wrapped his arm around her and held on. “I’d forgotten that the ride is wilder in the backseat,” he murmured.

“No problem.” She was grateful for Mario’s driving if it meant being close to Zach for the trip back to her hotel.

“How’d the tuna go over?” Mario asked.

“Some liked it and some didn’t.” Hannah paused to see if Zach would add anything, but he stayed silent, letting her control the conversation. She gave him points for that. “One guy said the can would make a good puck for street hockey,” she said.

Mario laughed and shook his head. “It takes all kinds. And that doesn’t mean he won’t eat the stuff after he’s banged the can around for a while. You did a good deed, bringing the tuna.”

“Most definitely,” Zach said.

Life didn’t get much better than this, cruising through the heart of Manhattan, tucked against Zach Evans while both Zach and Mario agreed that her tuna was a good idea. She’d anticipated loving a lot of things in New York, but she’d never imagined a cab ride would be near the top of her list. Or that a kiss would rank higher than a view from the top of the Empire State Building.

“Here we are.” Mario pulled up in front of the Pearson.

“I’ll just see her to the door,” Zach said.

Mario nodded. “I’ll wait.”

Hannah considered protesting, but she really did want Zach to walk her to the door. Even with Mario there, Zach might give her a quick kiss. He might not, but unless he walked her to the door, there was no chance.

“Thanks for a great evening,” she said.

“It was fun. I just thought of something. Do you have an interview tomorrow morning?”

“No, fortunately. The first one’s at two. I’ll have time to get some different clothes.”

“I’ll only have about an hour at lunch, so-”

She met his gaze. “You don’t have to do this. I can shop on my own.”

“I want to. We can meet at a coffee stand run by a friend of mine.” He pulled out another business card from his wallet and scribbled an address on the back of it. “I’ll be there about noon.”

“Then so will I.” She took the card and smiled at him. “Thank you, Zach. For everything.”

“I had a great time.” He reached up and tucked a daisy more securely into her hair. “See you tomorrow.”

“You bet. Bye, Zach.” It looked like he wouldn’t kiss her, after all. Well, she could live with that. She turned toward the door.

“Hannah.” He caught her by the shoulders and spun her around. His kiss was softer and sweeter than the first one, but because it was unexpected, it still took her breath away.

“Tomorrow,” he said with a tiny smile. Then he walked back to the cab and got into the front seat with Mario.

Heart thudding, she watched the cab pull away and followed the zigzag path of its red taillights until she couldn’t distinguish them from the others going down the street. Finally, taking a deep breath, she pulled the lapels of Zach’s coat closer together and started toward the front door.

Zach’s coat! She hadn’t thought to give it back to him. And being the considerate guy he was, he hadn’t asked. But that meant that he didn’t have her cell phone number if he should need to cancel tomorrow’s shopping trip.

Then Hannah smiled to herself. After that quick kiss, she didn’t think he’d cancel. She thought he might be as eager to see her as she was to see him.

What a coincidence that Mario’s networking contact had turned out to be a guy who seemed so right for her. That was amazing, considering the millions of people living here. Then again, what if it hadn’t been pure coincidence? She remembered the pictures on Mario’s dash. They’d all been couples. What if…no, that was too crazy, even for a place like New York City.

MARIO ARCHED BOTH EYEBROWS as he glanced over at Zach. “Dinner, huh?”

“Yeah, and I’d thank you not to gloat about it. This was a matchmaking deal from the beginning, wasn’t it?”

Mario cut in front of a limo. “Maybe.”

“Just as I thought. And you swore it wasn’t.” Considering how the evening had turned out, Zach couldn’t get very upset.

“All’s fair in love and war.”

Zach sighed. “Yeah, you win. She’s hot, and I’m…attracted to her. I won’t deny it. But she’s a dreamer. I don’t see her lasting more than a few days in this town.”

“Really? How come?”

“Here’s a prime example. After dinner we ran into my boss, and just like that, she thinks I should quit my job.”

“So you can get another one that pays better? Because so help me, if this is yet another woman after money, then I’m hanging up my-”

“No, she’s not another Adrienne. She’s the exact opposite of Adrienne, in fact. She wasn’t the least bit worried about the consequences if I quit. She just thinks I should get far away from Drake Medford. Never mind that I could end up on a street corner selling pencils.”

“You wouldn’t do that, would you? Quit, I mean.” Mario sounded worried.

“Not in a million years.”

“That’s good. Quitting your job is not a wise move.”

“I know that, but she doesn’t.”

“Ah, she’s new in town. She doesn’t know how tough it is to make a living here. She’ll wise up.” Mario landed on the horn as someone dared to swing in front of him. “Were you able to help her get any interviews?”

“We’ll see. The person with the best contact happens to be Ed.”

“Ah. And you don’t want to ask him for help.”

“Come on, Mario, would you?”

“Probably not. Maybe she’ll do fine without that contact. I take it you’re going to see her again?”

“We’re meeting at noon at Iris’s coffee stand.” Zach told Mario about the sage and the sprinkler incident. “I’m going to try to steer her toward more subdued stuff. I think she’ll interview better if her clothes aren’t so bright.”

Mario smiled. “I kind of like that about her.”

“Me, too. But I think she’ll have a better chance if she looks more like a New Yorker.” Zach pulled out money as they cruised to a stop in front of his apartment building.

“Nope.” Mario held up his hand. “My treat.”

“Hey, you have to stop doing this. You’ll go broke.”

Mario adjusted his Giants cap. “Don’t worry about it. I could quit tomorrow and be fine.”

“I suppose if you were careful, you could.” The thought had never occurred to Zach. “I figured you drove a cab because you wanted a bigger nest egg for retirement.”

“Nah. I love the job.” His cell phone rang. “Gotta go. Keep me informed, okay?”

“Sure, Mario. And if I didn’t, you’d probably find a way to tail me, knowing you.” With a grin, he climbed out of the cab.

So Mario loved his job. Zach envied him. These days he dreaded going into the office, especially tomorrow, when he’d be moving into Ed’s spot. Maybe he should take Hannah’s advice and quit. Then he could follow Mario’s example and drive a cab.

MARIO USED HIS HANDS-FREE device to answer his cell phone. He knew who it was. He’d called Iris on his way over to pick up Zach and Zach’s mysterious companion. She was probably dying to know who it had been.

“So? Who was he with?” She spoke in her normal tone because she was using the phone in her apartment instead of her cell.

“It was Hannah, the woman I’m trying to set him up with.”

“Bueno! But you don’t sound very happy, amigo.”

“Well, I hope I didn’t make a serious mistake this time. I wanted her to slow him down some, get him to smell the roses, but instead this woman’s advising him to quit his job! I’d hoped he’d fall in love, not end up in the poorhouse.”

“See what can happen when you go messing with people’s lives?” There was no bite to her comment, though.

“Ah, it’ll probably be okay. Zach’s too sensible to do something so irresponsible.” Mario heard a whistle and eased over to the curb.

“He is sensible, that one.”

“You’ll get a look at the two of them together tomorrow. They’re coming by the coffee stand at noon.”

“Will you be there?” Iris sounded as if she’d like that.

“Not right then. I have to sleep sometime. But I’ll see you early, like usual.”

“Bueno.”

Mario savored the wealth of enthusiasm in that two-syllable answer. One of these nights he should just take the evening off and ask her out. But he hadn’t dated in a while. A long while. He was chicken. “Got a fare. See you later.”

HANNAH HAD TAKEN THE TIME to wash out her yellow sundress and hang it to dry before going to bed. She’d originally liked the dress and it was collecting some amazing memories, but she was the kind of girl who enjoyed changing her look. She could hardly wait to get some new duds. At least the warm sunshine felt great on her bare arms and shoulders.

Carrying Zach’s coat over her arm, she stepped off the bus within half a block from the address Zach had given her. The sound of Latina music made her homesick for Arizona as she walked over to the source of the music, the coffee stand where Zach had promised to meet her. The olive-skinned woman running it was doing a brisk business.

Whatever she was serving smelled delicious, and Hannah decided to buy something for both her and Zach, since she was a little early and he hadn’t arrived yet. They wouldn’t have time for a real meal, and she wanted to treat him to some food after all the help he’d been. She had another reward in mind for later on, if all went well. The hotel had decided to give her a suite, and she felt the urge to share it.

She stood in line and finally came face-to-face with the woman working there. “What smells so good?” she asked.

The woman smiled, revealing beautiful white teeth. Her colorful earrings jangled as she nodded enthusiastically. “Everything, señorita.”

“Ah. Habla español?” Hannah felt more at home every minute. Some of her best friends in Phoenix were Hispanic and she’d soaked up the language.

“Sì!” The woman seemed delighted to discover another Spanish speaker, and before long they were chattering away.

Once names were exchanged, Iris became even friendlier, and in about thirty seconds Hannah figured out that she’d been expected at the coffee stand. Even more interesting, Mario had been the one to alert Iris. The two seemed to know Zach very well, and Hannah’s suspicions grew. She tried to think of the Spanish word for what she wanted to ask, but couldn’t.

Finally she decided to switch to English. “Iris, does Mario like to play matchmaker?”

Iris clapped her hand over her mouth and her cheeks got very pink.

Hannah stared at her. “He does.” Suddenly all that had happened made perfect sense.

“Of course he does,” Zach said, walking up to the coffee stand. “We’re his latest project.”

Hannah spun to face him. “You knew that?”

“Not immediately. He swore to me that he was trying to help out someone who was light on contacts in the city.” Zach didn’t seem too upset about being manipulated.

Hannah was busy processing how she felt about it. She’d liked the scenario better when she’d thought it was pure coincidence, a touch of kismet. Instead she’d been manipulated by a wily cab driver. And yet…could she say she was sorry she’d met Zach?

“So when did you figure it out?” she asked.

“When I saw you standing in the lobby yesterday morning.”

“Because?”

He looked into her eyes. “Because you’re beautiful.”

Oh. A girl couldn’t get too indignant after a response like that, could she?

“Mario, he means well,” Iris said. “He only wants to see his friends happy.”

“I’m sure he does.” Conflicting emotions rolled through her. “But…no offense, Zach…I’ve always liked the idea of choosing for myself.”

“Me, too. But I decided not to let that keep me from spending a little time with you. And that’s all I have in mind. Just because ninety percent of Mario’s fix-ups turn into marriages doesn’t mean-”

“Ninety percent?”

“Good instincts, that Mario,” Iris said.

Hannah took a deep breath. Despite how much she liked Zach, she couldn’t help feeling railroaded, almost like a mail-order bride. A guy with a ninety-percent ratio in matching couples had targeted her for Zach. Mario knew Zach fairly well, but he didn’t know Hannah hardly at all. How could he guess what she wanted or needed at this stage in her life?

She gazed at Zach. “Look, I got to New York yesterday. I’m looking for a new job, a new life. One thing I’m not looking for is a husband.”

Zach nodded. “Fair enough. I’m not looking for a wife, either.”

“A steady girlfriend?” She wasn’t sure that she wanted to fill that slot, either. If they’d met by accident, it would be different, but this had been plotted out. She wasn’t a rat in somebody’s science experiment, damn it.

“I’m not looking for a steady girlfriend, either,” Zach said.

A hot, temporary lover? She thought of her plans for the suite tonight. What a shame if she turned out to be the only one using that king-size bed and Jacuzzi.

Zach sighed. “Hannah, I can see you’re upset about this. We don’t have to spend the lunch hour shopping together if you don’t want to. We can go our separate ways, and in a city of this size, we’ll probably never see each other again.”

Now, that was an unpleasant thought. She’d had fun with Zach last night. More than fun. He kissed better than any guy in recent memory. She shouldn’t let that ninety-percent thing scare her into giving up those kisses forever. Hot kisses did not a wedding make.

“I’d like to go shopping,” she said. “I just want us to understand each other.”

“I think we do.”

She took a deep breath. “I think so, too.” Maybe her big bed and hot tub wouldn’t go to waste, after all.

CHAPTER SIX

ZACH WAS GLAD HE AND Hannah had cleared the air. He’d had a rough morning between moving into the corner office and watching Ed set up in the little space Medford was giving him. Spending some carefree time with Hannah during his lunch hour had been something he’d looked forward to. If she’d wanted to end their relationship, that would have made this a totally sucky day.

Instead they munched on Iris’s pastels de carne, meat-filled pastries Hannah had insisted on buying for both of them, as they walked to the first resale shop a couple of blocks away. Iris had suggested Zach leave the suit jacket Hannah had returned at the coffee stand and pick it up on his way back. As she’d taken it from him, she’d murmured an apology for causing problems.

Zach had assured her that it was better to have everything out in the open. Before he’d left, Iris had whispered that she really liked Hannah. Well, so did he. That still didn’t mean they’d end up on the ninety-percent side of Mario’s record.

When they arrived at the first resale shop, Zach saw a women’s black business suit in the window. “There you go.” He pointed to it. “If that fits you, it would take you through all your interviews.”

Hannah gazed at the suit and wrinkled her nose. “It’s so black.”

“Right. People tend to wear a lot of black in New York.”

“If you’ll excuse my saying so, I think that’s boring.” Hannah opened the door of the shop and walked in.

In fifteen minutes they walked out again. Hannah carried a bag that contained a blue-and-gold dress and she wore her other purchase, a bright green blouse paired with a skirt that included every color in the rainbow. Zach gave her credit for shopping speed, and he had to admit she looked great in the clothes, but she bore no resemblance to a typical New Yorker.

At least, thanks to his bargaining skills, she hadn’t paid much for any of it. In the second shop, it was the same song, second verse. Zach tried in vain to suggest more subdued outfits, but Hannah fell in love with a bright purple suit with turquoise trim. She said she had a necklace from Arizona that would look great with it.

“Now this, I would buy in black.” She reached for something on a rack of new clothes.

Zach stared at the flimsy negligee. Mostly it was transparent, except for little bits of fake fur here and there. The thought of Hannah wearing it threatened to provide him with an embarrassing erection.

He stepped behind a display table to conceal the evidence. “It’s nice.”

“I think so, too.” She checked the size. “Perfect. I’m getting it.”

With the negligee thrown into the mix, Zach was so distracted that he forgot to bargain. He didn’t even realize it until Hannah spoke up as they were leaving the shop.

“I guess you thought those prices were better than the first place,” she said.

He didn’t dare admit that he’d been too busy thinking about her wearing that black number to think about prices. “Yeah, I think they were priced about right.”

“Me, too. And you can’t very well bargain on something new, like the nightie I bought.”

He started to speak and only a croak came out. He cleared his throat. “True.”

“Zach, you’ll never guess what the hotel gave me as a replacement room.”

“What’s that?”

“A suite! Now, granted, a suite at the Pearson isn’t exactly a suite at the Plaza, but I have this huge king-size bed and a big Jacuzzi in the bathroom. With a setup like that, I really need this nightie. All I have is a sleep shirt. This is not a sleep shirt kind of room.”

“Doesn’t sound like it.” And he was a dead man. Now he’d be able to think of nothing else but Hannah prancing around that suite, red hair bouncing, as the transparent negligee floated around her body. “Um, would you like to have dinner again tonight at seven?” Surely she could see right through that and know what he was really after.

If she did, she didn’t let on. “I think dinner sounds lovely. Then I can tell you all about my interviews.” She glanced at her watch. “Yikes. It’s late. Maybe I should splurge and take a cab over there.”

“I’ll get you one.” He spotted a taxi half a block away. Amazingly, he was able to subdue his lust long enough to produce a decent whistle.

“See? That’s what I want you to teach me how to do. You used your tongue and your teeth to make that sound, didn’t you?”

“Um, yeah.” And he was ready to deploy those resources tonight in her suite, if he got the opportunity.

“So you’ll teach me tonight?”

“Absolutely.” Anything you want to learn. He opened the cab door and helped her in. “Good luck with those interviews.”

“Thanks! See you at seven!”

He stood there in a daze, knowing that he was at least a half hour past his normal lunch hour, knowing that Medford would notice and think he was slacking off, and yet he couldn’t get himself to care. He had clients to call, business to transact. He had his new desk to organize.

And nothing mattered but seeing Hannah again in five and a half hours. A king-size bed, a black negligee and Hannah. What could be more important than that?

THE INTERVIEWS HADN’T BEEN particularly promising. Hannah had interviewed for and been hired for plenty of jobs in her life. At first she’d needed to earn enough money to keep the family together, and after that she’d worked her way through college. She could tell when a potential employer was interested and when they weren’t. So far, she’d felt no positive signs that she had a chance at a job.

But she had a date with Zach, a new dress to wear with her favorite turquoise necklace and a nightie to put on later, if all went as she’d hoped. This time she met Zach in the lobby.

“You were right about the dress.” He held out a single rose, an exotic violet color that blended perfectly with her outfit.

She broke off the stem and tucked the rose behind her ear. “Glad you like it.”

“Very much.” His gaze lingered on the spot where she’d tucked the rose in her hair.

“I hope you don’t mind.” She’d been playing pretty fast and loose with his flower gifts, and they couldn’t be cheap. This rose looked pricier than your average red one. “Maybe I should have taken it upstairs and put it in some water.”

“No.” He took her hand and led her to the hotel’s front door. “I pictured you tucking it into your hair. I’ve never known a woman who likes flowers in her hair before. I’m starting to see what a great idea it is.”

“My mother used to.” It was one of her fondest memories, her mother with flowers in her hair. Soon little Hannah had wanted flowers in her hair, too, and her mother had obliged, plucking them from their backyard garden. A couple of teachers’ salaries didn’t pay for many florist deliveries.

“It’s a wonderful tradition.” He squeezed her hand as they stepped out onto the busy streets of New York.

She couldn’t believe how much difference twenty-four hours made. The night before she’d been eager to be part of the crowds, part of the excitement that was the city. Tonight she longed to be alone with Zach.

“Mario sends his apologies,” Zach said.

“You invited him to dinner?” That startled her.

“No. I told him you were upset about being handpicked to be my blushing bride. He apologized for meddling with your future. And he also thinks quitting my job would be crazy.”

“Oh.” She thought about that as she fell into step beside Zach. It didn’t escape her notice that tonight they were walking hand in hand. “So is he sorry for meddling in my future, or sorry because I’m in favor of you quitting your job?”

Zach grinned. “A little of both. But I told him not to worry about the job. I’m staying. The ‘meddling in your life part,’ though, deserves an apology.”

“I accept it. Like Iris said, he means well.” Hannah had taken some time to think about her recommendation that Zach should leave his job, especially after getting the cold shoulder during her interviews today. “I suppose I was meddling in your life, telling you to quit.”

“You just got to town. You don’t know how tough it is.”

“I have a better idea after this afternoon.”

Zach made a low sound of sympathy. “No nibbles?”

“I’m not sure there was fish in the river. I heard stories about the number of qualified applicants. And I don’t think they were particularly impressed when I told them this was my first trip to New York.”

“It’s not easy.” Zach rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. “Have you called any of the people I gave you?”

“I did, after I came back to the hotel. Nobody’s hiring right now. I could fill out an application, take an editing test, but they warned me it could be months before anything opens up.”

“I’m sorry, Hannah. But don’t give up.”

“Are you kidding? It’s only my first day of interviews. I’m not even close to giving up. Sure, I would have loved to get a job right away, but that’s not the real world.” She glanced at him. “I kept my eyes open, and you’re right. Lots of people dress in black.”

“Want to go back to the resale shop tomorrow and buy that little suit in the window?”

“Not yet. I like to think I might bring a new perspective, and if I dress like everyone else, they won’t see that.” She could feel his hesitation. “You don’t agree with that, do you.”

“I can’t decide if I should encourage you to blend in, or if I should jump outside the box with you.”

As the implication of that settled over her, she had serious reservations about her influence on him. Last night she’d blithely told him to quit his job if he didn’t like it. What if he took her advice and ended up in financial trouble? She’d be responsible.

She waited until they were seated at the Italian restaurant he’d picked for tonight and each of them had a glass of Chianti. “Remember when I said that you shouldn’t work for a guy like Medford anymore?”

“I remember, and I’ve been giving it more thought.”

“Don’t.”

His eyebrows lifted. “Why not? He hasn’t reformed in the past twenty-four hours. He might even be worse. Every time he walks past Ed’s cubby in the outer office, he makes a sarcastic remark.”

“Maybe Ed needs to take care of that. Hitting the pavement this afternoon gave me a dose of reality. I still expect to get hired, and I hope on my terms. But you have a job, and you should look around a little, put out some feelers, before you jump ship.”

He gazed at her over the rim of his wineglass, a tender smile warming his expression. “I’ll take that under advisement. But for now, let’s drink to your success.”

“I’d like that.” As their glasses touched, she couldn’t find it in her heart to be angry with Mario. Without his meddling, she’d have no one to share her job search…or her roomy suite.

She’d created quite a welcome for Zach-the radio tuned to a jazz station with the volume down low, dabs of perfume on the lightbulbs and sprinkled on the sheets, her black nightie laid across the foot of the bed and two condoms on the pillow. She could hardly wait for him to see it.

HE WOULDN’T SLEEP WITH HER. About the time the waiter brought the dessert tray and they each decided against having any, Zach made a similar decision about having sex with Hannah. And he’d even brought condoms because he’d thought he might get an invitation to her room tonight.

The truth was, he plain didn’t deserve it. Here she was struggling to establish herself, and he wasn’t man enough to talk with Ed and get her the contact that would make all the difference. He must have subconsciously hoped she’d find a job this afternoon on her own.

But she hadn’t, and Zach had a bad feeling that she wouldn’t find one easily. How long before her sunny outlook dimmed and she decided to head back to Arizona? Zach could change all that. Ed’s client would be perfect-a vice president at a major company that edited a huge fiction list.

Zach even knew that Ed would be happy to help. He was that kind of guy. But Zach’s conscience wouldn’t allow him to ask for that help unless it included standing up to Medford on Ed’s behalf, and that would cause a showdown. Most people didn’t survive a showdown with Medford.

Then Zach might be the one pounding the pavement, and most likely without a glowing reference in his pocket. He thought about the years he’d spent getting a foothold here, the clients he’d have to leave and the very real possibility that he’d end up like his buddy, forced to go back to his old hometown.

Besides all that, what kind of relationship could he expect with Hannah if he was out of work? She might not be money-conscious like Adrienne, but he didn’t relish the idea of trying to keep a romance going while he scrambled to make ends meet. He had some savings, but not enough to last very long.

So unless he was prepared to be her knight in shining armor, unless he was willing to leave his job and take the consequences of that, he had no right to climb into her bed. From the way she was looking at him, she expected to end the night that way. She wouldn’t have bought the negligee and mentioned the amenities of her new room if she didn’t expect that.

Oh, God, how he wanted to. All through the meal he’d watched her with lust burning in his veins. He longed to comb his hands through her hair and kiss that beautiful mouth until they were both panting. He’d tried not to spend too much time focusing on the way her delicate turquoise-and-silver necklace dipped into her cleavage.

Maybe she intended for him to focus his attention there. She’d toyed with the necklace a few times, and he thought that might be deliberate. She was definitely flirting with him in other ways, too. Her laughter bubbled like champagne, and she found reasons to reach across the table and lightly touch his hand. Then there were the coy looks and the veiled sexual references.

He’d loved every minute of it. And hated that the evening wouldn’t go the way it should go. Mario had no idea what a pickle he’d put him in. Zach had no intention of telling him, either.

As they left the restaurant, Hannah took his hand. “Are you going to teach me how to whistle?”

“Sure.” That much he could do. They were approaching a vacant bus-stop bench. “Come over here and sit down. I can’t teach you while we’re walking.” And after he finished giving whistling instructions, he’d tell her, as gently as he could, that they wouldn’t be spending the night together.

He wasn’t sure yet how to say it so that she wouldn’t feel rejected. Giving her the real reason wouldn’t work. She’d already told him he should hang on to his job, so she’d refuse to let him jeopardize it for her. He didn’t think she’d understand that he couldn’t take her to bed without making that sacrifice. Women thought differently about such things.

They settled on the hard bench and he turned to face her so that their knees were touching. “To start with, you might have to use your fingers. That’s how I learned.”

“How old were you?”

“About ten.”

“Ten.” She groaned. “What if I’m too old to learn?”

“Nah. As long as you have a mouth, teeth and a tongue, you can learn.”

“I have all those things.”

Did she ever. He wondered if he’d be able to do this without kissing her and putting those components to a different use. “Okay, stick a finger in each corner of your mouth like this.”

She mimicked him.

It was so cute that he wanted to grab her right then and there. Somehow he restrained himself. “Then put your tongue behind your top teeth, like this.”

Nodding, she followed his lead.

“Now blow out.” He whistled softly through his teeth. He didn’t want either a cab or a passing woman to get the wrong idea.

She produced a little wheezing sound, but it wasn’t a whistle. “Rats. I’ll never catch a cab with that lame tootle.”

He steeled himself against the urge to kiss that adorable, nonwhistling mouth. “No, but that’s the idea. Just work with it. I had to practice quite a while before I made a real whistle.”

She tried again, and a little tweet came out. “There!” She beamed at him. “Now, that has promise. Come on, let’s go back to the hotel. I’ll practice as we walk along.”

He should follow through with his plan and tell her now that when they got to the hotel, he’d be saying good-night. But she looked so happy that he decided not to have that conversation yet. He wasn’t sure exactly what he was going to say, anyway. Maybe he could think of something while she was practicing her whistle.

“All right.” He stood and took her hand. “Let’s go.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

HANNAH PRACTICED HER whistle on the walk back to the Pearson, but she had trouble concentrating as they drew closer. Now that the moment was almost here, she was nervous. Something seemed to be going on with Zach, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was.

Partway through dinner his mood had changed. Until that moment she’d been sure that he was thinking the same way she was-that they should enjoy that suite together tonight. Now she wasn’t so sure.

But if she didn’t ask him to come up, she’d always wonder if they could have spent the night wrapped in each other’s arms. She hadn’t made it to New York by being a coward, so there was no point in starting to act like one now. She would ask him, and if he said no, she’d…well, she’d probably be devastated.

No, damn it, she wouldn’t be devastated! She would take it with a smile, figuring he was the one losing out. But if he said yes…oh, the glory of that! They would set the night on fire.

She didn’t want to have this scene right outside the front door of the hotel, so about half a block away she stopped walking and turned to him. Her heart was beating so fast that she was breathless. She paused to gulp some air. This was silly, being so nervous over such a simple thing. She wasn’t a virgin, for heaven’s sake.

Except this wasn’t a simple thing. She couldn’t shake the feeling that having sex with Zach would have vast repercussions. And although she wasn’t a virgin, she didn’t have a lot of experience with asking a man to share her bed. Usually the guy had been the one asking her.

Maybe Zach would still do that. She hesitated a moment to give him that chance. He must know she wanted him to.

He cleared his throat. “Hannah, I-”

“Of course. Of course you can come up.”

He looked stricken. “It would be better if I didn’t.”

Icy disappointment and humiliation slid over her. She wanted to and he didn’t. How awkward. “Of course. I…didn’t mean to…” She had no clue how to smooth this over.

And she wanted to know why he was rejecting her. Was it something stupid, like she’d accidentally chewed with her mouth open at dinner, or something important, like he’d discovered he couldn’t stand the sound of her voice?

“I know you must be confused,” he said gently.

She swallowed and made herself look into his eyes. “A little.”

He seemed miserable. “It’s not that I don’t want to.”

“Then why not?” She sounded desperate, and she hated that, but the words were out.

“Because…because I can’t be the man you need.”

She stared at him. “Then I need an overhaul on my ‘gaydar,’ because I’ve felt heterosexual vibes coming from you from the very start.”

“I’m not gay. Or impotent, or married, which might be the other conclusions you could draw from what I said. I just-God, this is complicated.” He blew out a breath and stared up at the lighted buildings surrounding them.

She launched into self-preservation mode. “Look, if there’s something about me you don’t like, that’s okay. You don’t have to explain. In fact, my ego would appreciate it if you’d keep that particular truth to yourself. I shouldn’t have asked for reasons. We’re not going to continue this little interlude, and that’s fine. Good night, Zach. Dinner was great.”

He caught her arm before she’d gone more than three feet. “Wait.”

She glanced back at him. “Let’s not make this any more awkward than it has to be, okay?”

“I don’t want you to leave thinking it has something to do with you.” He released his grip. “Hannah, you’re terrific. You’re gorgeous and sexy, and I would love to go to bed with you.”

“Then what’s the problem?” she said softly.

“It wouldn’t be right.”

“You have religious scruples?”

“No! I-you know what? You’re right. I’m only making this more awkward. Just believe me when I say I’d love to, but I can’t.”

“Okay.” She was still confused, but not quite so humiliated. She could see that he was tortured and thoroughly believed he wanted to come upstairs but couldn’t for some mysterious reason. “Well, if you should change your mind…just whistle.” Then she turned and headed for the Pearson’s front entrance.

She shouldn’t be surprised that she’d misread the situation with Zach. She’d landed in a new town, where there could be new rules, and she’d met the guy only yesterday. It seemed as if they’d known each other longer, but that was an illusion. Yes, they’d appeared to click, but something was gumming up the works.

Well, she’d enjoy that suite all by herself again tonight. She’d soak in the Jacuzzi and read one of the paperback thrillers she’d picked up on the way home from her interview. Then she’d get a good night’s sleep with plenty of room to spread out in that big bed. She didn’t need a guy to complete her, or make her happy, or any of that junk. In fact, she…hold on.

What was that noise? She strained to hear. Sure enough, interspersed with the sounds of traffic, came the unmistakable sound of a soft, low whistle.

She turned to find Zach walking toward her.

HALFWAY THERE, ZACH BROKE into a run. So did Hannah. They almost collided in their eagerness to reach each other without losing another second. Then they were laughing, hugging and kissing as if they hadn’t seen each other for weeks.

“I’m an idiot!” he said between kisses. “Can we start over?”

“I don’t know.” Smiling, she wound her arms around his neck and gazed up at him. “I like where we are right now.”

“Me, too, except it’s way too public.”

Her eyes sparkled. “I know somewhere a lot more private.”

“Then let’s go there.”

“No obstacles?”

“Not a one.” To think he’d almost let worry over a stupid job keep him from doing the right thing. Tomorrow he’d talk to Ed, and then to Medford. And he’d let the chips fall where they may. If he ended up jobless and that meant he and Hannah didn’t work out, that would be the breaks. But in the meantime…

“Then come with me.” Slipping her arm through his, she started toward the front door of the hotel.

Somehow they navigated the revolving door without losing touch. Silly things, revolving doors. He’d never liked them. The blessing of a small lobby was that it took no time at all to cross it. They were almost to the elevator when the desk clerk called Hannah’s name.

She glanced at him and slipped her arm from his. “Excuse me a minute.”

“I’ll go with you.” He followed her over to the desk.

“Miss Robertson,” the desk clerk said. “I’m so glad I caught you. We have a small problem. We’ve had to switch your room again.”

“Oh!” Hannah turned bright red. “Did you…um…move everything?”

“Absolutely. Certain…pest-control issues on the top floor came to light this evening, and they had to be dealt with. You wouldn’t have wanted any of your belongings in that room while we handled that. The top floor will be sealed for the next twenty-four hours.”

“But I do have a room, right?”

Zach touched her arm. “Listen, if not, it’s no problem. You can stay with me.” She could stay with him as long as she liked, or until his rent money ran out. Strange how that possibility didn’t bother him as much as he’d expected it to.

“Oh, you definitely have a room!” The desk clerk reached for an envelope. “Here’s the key.” Then he glanced at Zach. “The room should work out fine, at least temporarily. With the top floor out of commission, we had to do a little squeezing.” He chuckled, as if that was a huge joke.

“All right.” Hannah took the envelope, which had the room number written on it. “Twenty-five B? Where is that, exactly?”

“It’s one of our few basement rooms. Quite charming, really. There may be some slight noise from the furnace units, but on the whole, it’s very quiet. No hallway noise, which is such a bother in the rest of the hotel.”

“Um…” Hannah looked over at Zach. “Are you okay with that?”

He was trying hard not to laugh, because he wasn’t sure if she thought this was funny. Now that he’d decided to risk his whole future on one night with her, everything seemed funny. “I never liked hallway noise,” he said, trying to keep a straight face.

“Then let’s go take a look at it.” She picked up the envelope with the key and started toward the elevator. “I am so embarrassed,” she said once they were out of earshot of the desk clerk.

“Don’t be.” Zach put his arm around her shoulders. “Suite, schmeet. Who cares what kind of room it is?” But he had to admit he was curious about this basement deal.

“I’m not embarrassed about the room.” She pushed the elevator button and the doors slid open. “I’m sorry we don’t have the suite, but if they had pest issues, I’m just as glad we’re not up there.”

“Me, too.” He stepped into the elevator with her. “I hate to think what would cause them to seal off an entire floor.”

“I just wish I’d known in advance, that’s all.” She punched a button marked B.

“Yeah, I’m sure you don’t want them manhandling your stuff.”

“You don’t know the half of it.” Her cheeks had turned pink again.

“Oh?” As the elevator descended, he massaged the back of her neck. “Gonna tell me about it?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Then I might have to kiss it out of you.” As he leaned down to try that technique, the elevator thumped to a stop and the doors opened.

“Greetings!” A short, stocky man in a gray maintenance uniform stood beside the elevator. “You folks lost?”

Hannah stepped out of the elevator and held up her envelope. “We’re looking for 25B.”

“With any luck we’ll have to take a secret passageway and use pitch-soaked torches,” Zach said.

The maintenance guy laughed. “Not quite. Go all the way to the end of that hallway. You’ll find it.” He got into the elevator and the doors closed.

“Alone at last.” Zach reached for Hannah. Yes, he should probably use some restraint and wait until they were inside the room, but his lust had been building for two solid days. “I need to kiss you.”

“Here?” Smiling, she dropped the key into her purse and wound both arms around his neck, letting her purse dangle over his shoulder.

“Right here.” And he backed her up against the wall beside the elevator. “Right now.”

“This place reminds me of a dungeon. It echoes.”

“Yeah.” He wanted her so much he could barely see straight. “Kinky, isn’t it?” Then he kissed her with all the longing he’d kept bottled up, all the passion he’d tried to deny as he’d been making his rational decision not to do this.

But he was so doing this. He was going to taste, touch and enjoy all that was Hannah Robertson, starting with her incredible mouth. The dank scent of the basement made everything seem forbidden and exciting. From the way she moaned as he thrust his tongue deep, he thought she might be experiencing the same thrill of breaking some unspoken rule.

So much woman, so little time. He hadn’t really meant to unzip her dress, but when she arched against him, he slipped his hand up her back. And darned if there wasn’t a metal tab right there just asking to be pulled down.

As the zipper gave way, she wrenched her mouth from his. She was breathing hard. “Should you…do that?”

His voice was thick. “I have to.”

“Okay.” Then she went right back to kissing him, her mouth even more hot, more wet.

He managed to pull the top half of her dress down, but only after she dropped her purse with a loud clank to the cement floor. She’d had tuna in there, no doubt. But once he cupped the lace of her bra, he forgot all about the tuna.

With one flick of his wrist he opened the front catch and pushed the material aside. She quivered and gasped against his mouth. With a groan he filled both hands with her plump, silky breasts. To think he’d ever questioned whether she would be worth it.

Lifting his head, he gazed into her eyes as he ran his thumbs over her nipples.

She licked her lips and her eyes darkened until they were almost black. “This is crazy. We have…a room right…down the hall.”

“It seems miles away.”

“I know.” She dragged in a breath, making her breasts shimmy in his hands.

“And I want…this.” Crouching, he closed his mouth over one turgid nipple. As he sucked, his erection pressed urgently against the restriction of his suddenly too-tight slacks.

She whimpered. “That feels so good.”

That was all he needed to hear. Kissing his way back to her mouth, he tasted its sweetness one more time before sliding his lips close to her ear. “I’m taking your dress off.”

She shivered against him. “Someone might come.”

“Uh-huh. You.”

She inhaled sharply. “I meant-”

“I know what you meant.” He worked her dress over her hips and let it fall to the floor. “No one will.” He peppered her face with kisses. “We’ve been banished to the basement.”

“You’re a wildman.”

“If you don’t want this, then tell me no.” He cupped her face in one hand and slipped the other one inside her panties. Her very wet panties.

She looked into his eyes. “Yes,” she whispered.

“I thought so.” Threading his fingers slowly through the curls covering her secrets, he watched as languid surrender relaxed her features and brought a wanton glow to her eyes. He’d thought she was beautiful before, but now…now there were no words to describe how she affected him.

He wanted to give her everything, starting with a mind-shattering orgasm. As he found the right spot and caressed her there, she closed her eyes and leaned her head against the wall.

“I feel shameless,” she murmured.

“Good.” He slid his fingers in deep, exulting in how ready she was. He had condoms. They could do it up against the wall.

No. When that moment came, he wanted to be horizontal, braced to take his time and draw out the pleasure. This was about spontaneous combustion. The next time he would light the match slowly and tease the flame until he’d created a roaring fire.

He stroked her gently at first, loving the way her labored breathing made her breasts quiver. Leaning down, he kissed the point right below where her necklace nestled. Then he nibbled his way to one erect nipple, all the while coaxing her higher with the rhythm of his fingers and the insistent pressure of his thumb.

She moaned and thrust her hips forward. He nipped at her breast and increased the speed of his probing fingers. She was so wet, so very wet. He sensed that it wouldn’t take much… On an impulse he sucked hard on her nipple and pressed upward with his fingertips. She came in a rush, gasping and bucking against his hand.

Her cries were suddenly drowned out by a giant boom that bellowed around them, as if the basement had exploded right along with Hannah. Her eyes flew open and she struggled to speak. “What…?” She gulped.

“I don’t know.” With his fingers still buried in her moist heat, while he was still registering the contractions of her climax, he tried to get his bearings. Somewhere nearby a giant motor churned away, and at last his passion-fogged brain figured it out. “The furnace.”

“The furnace?” She looked at him in dazed incomprehension.

He was only marginally more able to analyze the situation. Slowly he disengaged his fingers. He couldn’t be expected to make any sense while he was touching her so intimately. With contact like that, his primitive brain took control.

“The furnace,” he said again. “The desk clerk said something about furnace noise being a slight problem down here.”

“A slight problem?” She looked indignant. “That sounds like a train hurtling through a subway tunnel!”

“There’s a sexual image for you.” He kind of liked it. She could be the tunnel and he could be the train. Maybe they could work with that later.

“Come on, Zach. We’re expected to sleep with that going on?”

He couldn’t help it. That made him laugh. “It won’t be a problem.”

“Why not?” She appeared ready to demand a different room.

“We’re not going to sleep.”

“Oh.” She relaxed back against the cement wall. “I suppose you have a point there.”

“And there’s another advantage to that noisy furnace.”

“There is?”

“We can make all the damn noise we want here in the basement. In a place like New York, where everyone is so packed together, that’s a luxury.”

She nodded and reached down to pick up her dress. “Okay, then. Let’s you and me go make some noise.”

He followed her down the hall, a song in his heart and tension in his groin. He was more than ready to make some noise.

CHAPTER EIGHT

NO MATTER HOW THIS ALL turned out, Hannah would never forget having a climax in the basement of a New York City hotel. Or walking down the hall wearing only her panties and her necklace while she carried her dress and her bra over one arm. She wasn’t sure why Zach had changed his mind about spending the night with her, but she was very happy that he had.

“Got a key?” he asked as they approached 25B.

“Somewhere.” She had to search the depths of her purse until she finally found the envelope with the key card in it. Not long ago she’d been embarrassed because the hotel personnel had seen her seduction scene, complete with nightie and condoms. After her basement climax, being caught with a nightie and condoms seemed like small potatoes.

Still, she was curious as to how they’d transferred her belongings and whether they’d taken the trouble to put things back the way they’d found them. She opened the door, not sure what she’d find on the other side. For sure it wouldn’t be a suite with a view, but as Zach had mentioned, there were advantages to being in the basement cohabitating with a large and noisy furnace.

As the door swung open, it almost hit the bed. Or, more accurately, the twin-size daybed as illuminated by the light from the hall.

“It’s a closet!” Zach said.

“Want to complain?”

“I’m too horny to complain. Don’t tell me those are mints on the pillow.”

“No. They’re my condoms.”

“Yours?” He turned to gaze at her. “You had condoms, too?”

“Laid out on the pillow, exactly as you see there. Only it was a pillow on a huge bed. We’ve been down-sized.” Now that she’d had a most wonderful orgasm, she was beginning to see the humor in the situation.

“I suppose it doesn’t matter.” Zach peered into the room. “I mean, when we have sex, either I’ll be on top of you or vice versa.”

“Maybe there’s a trundle.”

“We’re not going there. One of us would end up falling through the crack. Or some significant body part could end up getting caught in the crack. Guys have nightmares about that kind of thing. Better one small but solid mattress, than one that could split at the most inopportune moment.”

“It’s pitch dark in there. Before we go in and close the door, we’d better turn on a light.” She reached inside the doorway and found a switch on the wall. When she flicked it on, an overhead light revealed them both reflected in a giant mirror on the wall behind the daybed. “Yikes!” She looked so…naked.

“I like it.”

“I’m not sure I do.” She found it disconcerting, staring at herself wearing only a necklace and a pair of panties. “I guess the mirror is to make up for the lack of a window.”

“I have a different theory.” Zach continued to gaze appreciatively at Hannah’s reflection.

“If you think it’s a two-way mirror, I’m so outta here!” Hannah held her dress protectively in front of her.

“No, no, not a two-way. I think it’s here to provide fun and games for any members of the staff who are so inclined.”

“You think?”

“I do. And it beats the hell out of a break room.”

Hannah peered around the edge of the door to make sure there was a bathroom included. There was, although it was about the size of one in an airplane. “So we stay?”

“Hell, yes, we stay. That mirror closes the deal for me.” Zach pulled her inside and shut the door. Then he started unbuttoning his shirt. “We stay and we get naked.”

“I pretty much am already.”

“So I noticed. Naked looks great on you, by the way.”

She reached for her nightie. “I’d planned to waltz around the suite wearing this.” She’d hoped to make an entrance. Now that he’d seen most of what she had to offer, her entrance might be a little anticlimactic.

He paused in the act of taking off his shirt. “I remember that. When you picked it out at the resale shop I almost swallowed my tongue.”

That decided her. Maybe she had one good entrance left. “I’m going into the bathroom to put it on. I want to see if I can make you do that again.”

The bathroom scored low for maneuverability, but because she only had to take off her necklace and panties, she was dolled up in the nightie and matching thong in no time. She stood on tiptoe, trying to see the effect in the medicine cabinet mirror.

The skimpy black thong barely covered the subject, and the sheer black top was strictly for effect. It disguised nothing. Trimmed in soft black fur around the scooped neck and the hem, it hung to the tops of her thighs. Ties at the neck ended in black furry pom-poms that bounced as she walked. Wearing the outfit, she felt like a very bad girl, indeed.

When she walked back into the room, she discovered she’d paired up with a bad boy who was obviously eager for some action. He’d thrown back the covers and was propped up on the bed watching the bathroom doorway. She’d always thought he looked good in his clothes, but he looked way better out of them.

He’d taken off everything except a pair of skimpy navy briefs. From the sizable bulge there, she guessed that would be a package well worth unwrapping. She was so busy staring at his nicely sculpted pecs and impressive six-pack that she forgot about her planned entrance.

But he hadn’t. He let out a low whistle. That prompted her to pose, just a little, and he responded with a playful growl.

She thought of the soft lighting she’d arranged in the suite and glanced up at the overhead light glaring down at them. “This place has about as much atmosphere as a hospital operating room.”

His voice was low and husky. “So let’s play doctor.”

Suddenly the bright light, the mirrors and the tiny, soundproof room took on a whole new emphasis. She and Zach were starring in their own X-rated video. Excitement rolled through her, arousing her in ways she hadn’t known she could be aroused. She wanted to do wild things, erotic things.

“Bring that good stuff on over,” he murmured.

“That won’t take long.” In three strides she was beside the bed. “Here I am.”

“Yeah. So you are.” His hungry gaze raked over her as his hand closed on her arm and he urged her closer. “Come on down here, you.”

She climbed on the bed, straddling his thighs and bracing her arms on either side of his shoulders as she leaned forward. “Like this?”

“That’s good.” He cupped her head and brought her closer until their lips almost touched. “How I want you,” he whispered right before he kissed her.

The kiss was so hot that she wondered if she could come simply from the persuasive movement of his lips against hers. He made love to her mouth, telling her in no uncertain terms what he had in mind.

By doing that, he gave her ideas of her own. Breaking away from his mesmerizing kiss wasn’t easy, but she had other uses for her mouth. Sliding it over his chin, she began a slow, deliberate journey. The furnace came on again, but she barely registered the noise blasting through the basement and hammering at their door.

He groaned and combed his fingers through her hair. “Hannah…”

“Enjoy.” With the furnace rumbling just down the hall, she paid tribute to his muscled chest and felt his body tighten under the pressure of her lips and tongue. Heart racing, she kissed the hard planes of his stomach, inching her body lower on the bed. Then she caught the elastic of his briefs in her teeth, and he gasped.

She would have loved to pull the briefs off using only her teeth, but she ended up needing both hands to finish the job. By then Zach was breathing very fast, and once she’d uncovered him in all his glory, so was she. He was magnificent.

With her first taste, he began to quake. He gripped her head and tried to hold her back. “I can’t… I might not be able to…control…”

“Sure you will.”

“I don’t know.” But his grip relaxed.

“You will.” She licked the underside of his penis. “Because you don’t want me to stop.”

The furnace grew quiet, but Zach groaned loudly, filling the silence. “No, I don’t want you to stop. But I…oh…ooooh.”

“Good?” She closed her mouth over the quivering tip.

“You have no idea.”

She glanced up and saw that his eyes were squeezed shut. “Don’t you want to watch in the mirror?” She would never have dared make that kind of suggestion before tonight, but tonight she was more daring, more ready for sexual adventure.

“Can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I’ll come for sure.”

“Chicken.” Then she picked up one of the furry pom-poms dangling from her nightie and began to stroke his balls.

He yelled and nearly came off the bed. “Hannah! That’s…”

“Nice?”

“Fantastic.” He moaned. “I love it.”

Music to her ears. She wanted him to remember this night for a very long time, because she certainly would. She continued her sweet torture until the ache inside her and the moisture gathering between her thighs were impossible to ignore. There was only one remedy, and she was looking at it.

Easing back to the head of the bed, she nibbled on Zach’s ear. “Where did you put those packets?”

He reached behind the mound of pillows and silently produced one. “I can-”

“I know you can. But I want to.” She ripped open the package and took out the condom. Her fingers shook, and he was trembling, too, but she got him suited up at last. Then she pulled her nightie over her head and threw it on the floor. Her black thong followed.

When she glanced back at him, his eyes were open and he was watching her, his chest heaving.

“I’m taking the top this time,” she murmured.

“Take what you want.” His voice sounded strangled. “I’m…desperate.”

So was she. Swinging one leg over him, she braced both palms on his chest and looked into his eyes as she lowered herself, taking his penis deeper, and deeper yet. Oh, yes.

His eyes darkened as he grasped her hips, his fingers flexing. “So…good.”

She nodded. Then slowly she turned her head, so she could see their reflected image. What a rush. She’d never have believed how beautiful the two of them would look, their bodies glowing with shared passion.

Zach turned his head, too, and their glances locked in the mirror.

Watching his eyes, she began to move. Being able to see the heat in his gaze and the rhythmic movement of their bodies hurtled her toward a climax faster than she could have imagined. The image blurred as she came, crying out with abandon, knowing no one could hear her.

But he didn’t follow her down that path. His laugh was triumphant and very male as he urged her on, inserting one hand between them to massage her throbbing clit. “I want another one, louder than that!”

Faster and faster they bucked against the narrow mattress. Her hair flew out around her, and her breasts bobbed with every thrust.

The furnace kicked on again, as if to add to the energy swirling through the room, and she obliged him with another orgasm, this one noisier than the first.

“There!” he cried. “Ah, Hannah, now!” And he bellowed with satisfaction as his own climax surged through him.

At the force of it, they both nearly toppled off the bed. Hannah saved them both by making a grab for the headboard. Laughter and moans of pleasure mingled as they collapsed against each other and clung to the sides of the small bed.

Zach gulped for air. “This is the best damn hotel room I’ve ever been in.”

“No kidding.” Hannah snuggled against him. “Who needs a suite?”

“Not us.” Zach held her tight. “We have all we need right here.”

She did, that was for sure. “I can’t believe you almost went home tonight.”

“Me, neither.” He stroked her back for several long, sensuous moments. Finally he spoke again. “Hannah, I want you to come down to the office tomorrow morning.”

That startled her. Not exactly pillow talk. “Look, forget what I said about your boss. I’m sure he’s terrific, and I should never have-”

“It’s not about that. I want to introduce you to Ed. He…might have exactly the publishing contact you need.”

How strange. Ed, the guy who’d been kicked out of the corner office. “Okay. That would be great.” Something was going on here, but she wasn’t sure exactly what.

She didn’t have time to think about it, either, because it turned out Zach had a very short recovery time. And the furnace was rumbling again…

IN THE MORNING ZACH suggested they order room service, his treat, just to see if anybody could find them down in the basement. To his surprise, the service was speedier than usual, and he ended up giving them a sizable tip for being so prompt. The staff seemed to know exactly where 25B was, which validated his suspicion that it was a rendezvous point.

After breakfast he longed to hang around for more fun and games, but he needed to make sure he got to the office on time so he could talk with Ed. “You know where to go, right?” he asked for the fourth time as he finished dressing.

“I know exactly where to go.” She’d taken a shower and washed her hair, so she sat on the bed with one towel wrapped around her wet hair and the other barely concealing her lush body.

He deserved a medal for keeping his hands off her. “I just want to make sure.”

She smiled. “I’m new to town, but I’m reasonably intelligent.”

So was he, but all his intelligence threatened to abandon him when she smiled like that. She was so incredibly beautiful, and spending the night with her had convinced him that he would never find anyone so special if he searched for a million years. But she wasn’t in the market for a commitment, and he might soon be unworthy of making one.

“Zach, are you okay?” She stood and walked over to him, which only took two steps in the tiny room.

“Yeah.” He gave in to temptation and pulled her close. Just a few moments, to carry him through. No telling when he’d ever be able to hold her again. Life could get complicated after today.

She put her arms around his neck and the towel came undone. “You spaced out there for a minute.”

He saw the towel slip and deliberately raised his glance to her face. “You sitting there in a towel would make any man space out. And now the towel arrangement is getting dicey.” He held her tight and gazed into those dancing brown eyes. He was in love with her, and he couldn’t say a word. “Another few seconds and I can’t be responsible for what happens.”

“It’s not my fault. The towels are skimpy.”

He leaned down and brushed his lips over hers. So sweet. So very sweet. “I bribed the front desk to make sure they stocked the tiny ones in this room.”

“You keep talking like that and I’ll think you arranged to have me kicked out of the suite, just so we could end up here.”

“I can’t take credit.” One more little taste of her mouth. Just one. “But it turned out to be a most excellent place to spend the night.”

“Uh-huh.” She nibbled on his lower lip.

“I have to go.” That sounded very unconvincing.

“I know.” She kissed his chin. “Mmm. My razor did a pretty decent job.”

He forced himself to think about the conversation with Ed, the one that could mean all the difference to her. A night of wild sex was all well and good, but an intro to the right people in the publishing business was what she really needed.

“I really am leaving.” He cupped her face in both hands. “But before I go, I want you to know…last night was…” He couldn’t find the words.

“For me, too.” She reached up and brushed a lock of hair off his forehead. “Maybe we can do it again sometime.” She grinned. “Like tonight.”

“That would be great.” He wasn’t about to tell her how different his life could be by tonight.

She frowned. “You look uneasy, Zach. Don’t worry. I’m not trying to tie you down. I don’t picture us on the dash of Mario’s cab, or anything like that.”

And he did, he realized with a jolt. It wasn’t fair to her, considering that she’d only just arrived, and he might not be a good candidate. But the idea of being added to Mario’s rogue’s gallery had become very appealing in the past twelve hours.

He couldn’t say that. “I know you don’t. I was thinking about the time. It’s late, and I really have to leave.” He kissed her hard and backed away.

Her towel fell, and she made no move to retrieve it. “See you in a couple of hours.”

“Right.” Swallowing, he managed to get out the door, but the image of her standing there, her face filled with something that looked suspiciously like love, was etched forever in his mind.

An hour later, after he’d changed into clean clothes at his apartment and downed another cup of coffee to compensate for his lack of sleep, he was still thinking about all that he’d shared with Hannah. But he had to put a lock on those thoughts. He didn’t want to act like some lovesick fool when he went to Ed with his request. This needed to be a friendly and straightforward matter.

During the bus ride to the office, he rehearsed what he wanted to say. Talking to Ed had never been difficult, but that was before Zach had taken over Ed’s corner office. He’d avoided Ed yesterday, and so he had no idea whether they were still on friendly terms or not. God, he hoped so.

When he walked through the door, Ed, coffee mug in hand, was over by the receptionist’s desk kidding with her. He was a burly guy with a round, friendly face, the kind of guy you’d expect to find tending the barbecue grill in the backyard on a Saturday afternoon.

Ed and Shirley, the blond receptionist, were both laughing about something. Trust Ed to keep his sense of humor after being relegated to a little cubby in the outer office.

Ed turned when Zach appeared. “Hey, Zach.” His tone was casual, but he wasn’t smiling.

Zach didn’t blame him. In Ed’s place, he wouldn’t smile at the guy who’d replaced him. “Could I talk to you for a minute?” he asked.

“Sure.” Ed gestured toward the cubby with his coffee mug. “Step into my office.”

“Thanks.” Zach felt Shirley’s gaze on him. Shirley had always liked Ed, which might mean that she wasn’t too fond of Zach right now.

Ed’s partitioned area was claustrophobic, barely enough room for the desk, Ed’s chair and a chair in front of the desk for a visitor. Zach would be embarrassed to ask clients to meet him at a place like this. He noticed that Ed had mounted his framed industry awards on the temporary partitions, as though he was prepared to settle in.

They were impressive, although the most recent was ten years old. Other stuff was on the wall, too, including pictures of Ed with several Little League teams. One had been taken last year, with the team posed in front of a championship banner.

“We damned near went to nationals last year.” Ed gazed at the picture. “Some of those kids are back again, and I think we might do ’er this time.”

“That’s quite a feat.” Zach remembered his own Little League days in Illinois. One coach in particular had been his hero. Ed was probably a hero to these young boys, too.

“Yeah, well, it’s what I love. Have a seat. I was wondering if you’d stopped talking to me for some reason.”

“Sorry about that. I felt awkward yesterday.” Zach sat down in the chair, which wasn’t all that comfortable. “Look, I’m not happy with Medford’s office switch.”

Ed waved a beefy hand. “Forget about it. Medford has his game plan, and I’m just glad to have this. I know I’m not blazing any trails right now. I only need a couple more years, and I’ll be able to retire. I can live with the situation.”

Zach recognized a guy who understood his priorities. As someone who was still discovering his, Zach appreciated how difficult it could be to stick to those priorities when the pressure was on.

Ed set down his mug, which had COACH lettered on it in red. The entire surface of the mug was covered with childish signatures. “What can I do for you?”

“I need a favor. I can understand if you don’t want to help me under the circumstances, but I-”

“Hey, of course I’ll help you. It’s not your fault I’m out here.”

“I could have refused to take the corner office.”

“And risk pissing off a guy like Medford? You could lose your job. That would be crazy.”

Zach didn’t think so. As he gazed at those signatures on Ed’s mug, he knew that confronting Medford would be one of the sanest things he’d done in a while. Between that and making love to Hannah last night, he felt as if he was finally getting his priorities in order.

CHAPTER NINE

HANNAH COULDN’T BELIEVE IT. The vice president of one of the biggest publishers in New York had just offered her a job. And she’d accepted, controlling her glee as best she could while she was still in his office. But once she was standing on the sidewalk in front of the building, the building where she would be working starting tomorrow, she gave in to the urge to punch her fist in the air and do a victory dance. So what if people stared?

They didn’t, though. They were used to street performers in this town, and they might figure she was another one. As a piece of performance art, she’d label this one Jubilation. She had a job! She could hardly wait to tell Zach and thank him for the contact. He’d come through for her, big-time.

She could call him on her cell, but they’d agreed that the news was too important to be delivered by phone. She was supposed to meet him at Iris’s coffee stand when her interview was over. Hannah felt as if she could fly there, but because it was at least four miles away, she decided to splurge on a cab.

Mario wouldn’t be on duty, and she didn’t have a number to call him, anyway. But she could try out her whistle. She put her fingers in the corner of her mouth the way Zach had shown her, stuck her tongue behind her front teeth, and blew.

The little tweet that came out was beyond pathetic. She worked at it for another five minutes before finally giving it up as a bad job. Zach had said she’d need a lot of practice, and he was right. She resorted to standing in the street and waving her arms frantically until a cab finally swerved over and picked her up.

Neither the taxi nor the driver had Mario’s charm, but they transported her to Iris’s coffee stand in good order. Once there, she gave the driver a sizable tip, because she was feeling incredibly generous. Then she leaped out and ran over to the coffee stand. Zach wasn’t there yet, so Iris would be the first to hear her big news.

ZACH HAD WORKED AT THIS investment firm for eight years, and yet it took him less than an hour to pack up his belongings. He’d managed to find a couple of boxes to put everything in, but now he had to figure out the logistics of this. He could load them into a cab, but he didn’t have time to take a cab back to his apartment and then over to Iris’s coffee stand. Hannah was probably already there by now.

Ed came in carrying a box of his stuff. “I still think you’re crazy,” he said. “You never should have had it out with Medford. You knew how he’d react.”

“That’s why I had to do it.” Zach closed the flaps on the second box. “I confirmed what I pretty much knew already. I don’t want to work for a guy like that.”

Ed set the box down on the desk that would now be his again. Then he studied Zach for a long moment. “Yeah, okay. You’re young enough to start over. That makes a difference.”

“I’ll be fine. No worries.” Zach hoped to hell he’d be able to start over. But no matter how it turned out for him, he’d done the right thing.

“I appreciate getting your client list, buddy.”

“I’m glad Medford didn’t give me any crap about that. I was afraid he would, but he seemed to think it served me right, for you to get the office back and all my clients, too.”

Ed nodded. “The reason he can be generous is that I’ve given him no reason to be vindictive. I’m afraid you have. He might try to screw with your professional reputation.”

“And if he does, maybe I’ll go into something else. Hell, I might decide to drive a cab like my friend Mario.” He glanced at the boxes. “Hey, could I leave these here for an hour or two? I’m supposed to meet Hannah to find out about the job interview, so I don’t have time to call a cab and take them home.”

“You want them schlepped over to your apartment? I can do that on my way home from work. I have the truck, you know.”

“That would be terrific. I’ll make sure I’m home by then.” Zach scribbled his address on a piece of paper and handed it to Ed. “I’d forgotten there were people who drive in from the suburbs. I haven’t owned a car in eight years.”

“Or driven one, either, I’ll bet.”

“Nope.”

Ed laughed. “You might want to practice before you get into the taxi business.”

“Yeah, I might. Well, I’d better go.” He shook Ed’s hand. “Thanks for taking the boxes.”

“My pleasure. It’s the least I can do.”

In the outer office Zach said goodbye to Shirley, who was much friendlier than she had been early this morning. Then he rode the elevator down and walked out of the building, probably for the last time. With Ed taking care of his boxes, he’d have no reason to go back.

He’d expected to feel depressed, and instead he felt only relief. But he had to prepare himself to say goodbye to Hannah. She didn’t need some jobless schmuck hanging around as she settled into her new life in the big city. If he’d given her some help, that was great, but he would never forgive himself if he dragged her down.

Although he should be conserving his cash for the possible money drought ahead, he whistled for a cab to take him over to the coffee stand. Whistling reminded him of trying to teach Hannah how to do it. When he thought of her earnest effort to learn, his heart gave a twinge of sorrow.

Face it, he’d miss the hell out of her. In a very short time she’d managed to become essential to him. Maybe, if he got on his feet again in a few months, he might call her.

Of course, by then she could easily have a new boyfriend. A woman like her would attract all kinds of interest. He’d been a lucky SOB to get the inside track, thanks to Mario.

But now the logical step was to let her go. She wasn’t like Adrienne, who judged a man by his bank account, but she was a normal woman who needed a guy who was at least relatively solvent. An employed guy. Which he wasn’t.

As the cab pulled up near the coffee stand, Zach found Hannah with no trouble. Her deep red hair glowed in the midday sun pouring down between the buildings. She’d worn the blue-and-gold-striped dress today, and the dress was like a banner announcing her presence.

He imagined he could tell by the animated way she was talking to Iris that she’d nailed the job. Maybe not, though. She was such an optimist that she’d be animated whether it was win, lose or draw. He tipped the cabdriver well, figuring that he wanted to do that while he still had the money.

Iris must have said something to Hannah about him being there, because as he climbed out of the cab, she came running toward him. They met in the tight space between two parked cars.

“I got it!” She flung her arms around his neck and damned near threw him off balance. “I got the job! Thank you, oh, thank you, Zach!” Then she gave him an espresso-flavored kiss.

He kissed her back, unable to help himself. Later he could be strong, but when she was in his arms all he could think of was keeping her there.

At last she came up for air. “I start tomorrow.” Her brown eyes shone with excitement. “They handle some really big authors, Zach. I won’t get to work with New York Times bestsellers right away, but I’ll be in the same building when they come in. I might be able to bring them coffee. And the authors I do work with could become bestsellers, because this is a really good house. Did you thank Ed again for me? I should call him.”

“He might be at lunch.” Zach didn’t want her calling Ed just yet. He had some things to explain first.

“Even better!” She wiggled out of his arms and dug in her purse for her cell phone. “This is why I took his number while I was there, so I could let him know what happened.” She found a pad of paper and flipped it open to where she’d written Ed’s cell number.

“Listen, before you call, there’s something-”

“It’ll only take a minute. Then we can go celebrate! Where can you go? I know you don’t have much time, and I don’t want to make you late for work again, so we could put it off until-” She paused and stuck her finger in her ear. “Hello? Ed? I can barely hear you.”

“Reception’s bad,” Zach said. “You can call him back later.”

Instead she stepped up on the sidewalk. “There, that’s better. Ed, this is Hannah. I got the job!” Then she smiled. “Yeah, it is wonderful. Thanks for recommending me to your client. We really got along. What?” She glanced at Zach. “Just a sec.” She put her finger over the speaker.

Zach would have liked more time. He’d wanted to give her a chance to bask in her glory before hearing his announcement. “Hannah, listen, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“I’m guessing so.” She looked worried. “Ed says he forgot he has a Little League practice and wonders if he can drop your boxes off tomorrow morning at your apartment. What’s that all about, Zach?”

“I quit.”

“You what?”

“It just isn’t the place for me, so I quit.”

Hannah groaned. “This is my fault. I should never have said that! Is it final? Maybe you could go back this afternoon and say you’d reconsidered.”

“No, I can’t do that.”

“Oh, Zach.” Still gazing at him in concern, she brought the phone back to her ear. “Ed, are you still there? Listen, we’ll call you back about the boxes. And thanks again for the recommendation. Bye.” Then she snapped her phone shut and tucked it in her purse.

“First of all,” Zach said, “it’s not your fault that I quit. I’m grateful to you for showing me that I didn’t have to accept what Medford had laid out. I told him I didn’t want the corner office, and he should give it back to Ed.”

She sighed. “Not a good move.”

“It was a perfect move. Medford got all purple in the face. You would have loved it. He totally lost his cool.”

“Really? He turned purple?”

“Like an eggplant.”

Hannah put both hands to her mouth. “I shouldn’t laugh. This is serious. You just threw away a perfectly good job.”

“It wasn’t a perfectly good job. Not with Medford in charge.”

She lowered her hands and cleared her voice. “Okay, maybe this isn’t so terrible. But I still feel responsible. You wouldn’t have done it if I hadn’t come up with the idea.”

“As I’ve told you, I want to thank you for that. I’ll sleep much better tonight knowing I don’t have to go back there.”

She gazed up at him with a tiny smile. “Do you think you’ll get to sleep tonight?”

Here came the hard part. “Yes. Because…because…I’ve decided we should stop seeing each other.”

She looked as if she’d been slapped. “Why?”

“I’m out of a job, Hannah. You just got a really good one. You said yourself that this wasn’t the time for you to make a commitment. That’s doubly true, now. I refuse to be a stone around your neck right when you’re ready to enjoy this great city.”

“But-”

“Trust me, this is the right thing. For both of us. Goodbye, Hannah.” Taking a deep breath, he turned and walked down the street. He wasn’t sure where he was headed, but he wasn’t going to stand around waiting for a bus or take the time to hail a taxi. He just needed…out of there.

As he was striding down the sidewalk, dodging everyone who got in his way, he heard a strange sound. It wasn’t exactly like a whistle. It was more like somebody blowing a very loud raspberry. He paused to listen. And then he heard a whistle. An actual, taxi-worthy whistle. She’d done it.

Only a man with no heart would keep walking. He turned. Hannah was running toward him, her skirt caught up in both hands. It wasn’t graceful, but it certainly was enthusiastic.

She plowed to a stop right in front of him. “You…can’t!” She gasped for breath. “I want to be there for you! You helped me get a job, and now I’ll help you!”

“That’s a nice thought, but-”

“Don’t you but me, Zachary Evans! I will be employed in a huge building with dozens of contacts. I’ll be networking out the ying-yang. You want clients to start up your own investment counseling business, I’ll get you clients.”

She was magnificent. And irresistible. “What if I want to drive a taxi?”

“Then I’ll get you fares! Publishing people need a lot of taxi rides. I will get you so much business you won’t be able to handle it all. If you leave me, you’re giving all that up!”

“What if I’m in love with you?” The words came out before he could stop them.

“That works.” Her voice softened. “Because I’m in love with you, too.”

His heart warmed with the first rays of hope. “It’s too soon.”

“Says who? Everything moves fast in New York. Everyone knows that.”

“Look, I have no problem with making a commitment, but you-you just got here.”

She stepped closer. “And I was lucky enough to meet the sexiest man in the whole city first time out of the box.”

“You have no basis of comparison.”

She made a face. “Zach, I’m offering myself to you on a silver platter. Are you going to be stupid enough to argue with me about it?”

That did it. “No.” He gathered her close. “I’m going to be smart enough to ask you to marry me, contribute to the ninety-percent ratio and get our picture taped to Mario’s dash.”

She looked into his eyes. “The blue picture.”

“Absolutely the blue picture.” Then he kissed her, taking his own sweet time. He ignored the harried pedestrians eddying around them, treating them like an obstacle in the middle of a fast-moving stream. Some things, even in New York, were too wonderful to rush.

EPILOGUE

“MARIO, YOU REMEMBER WE’RE supposed to go slow, right?” Hannah climbed into the backseat of the taxi while clutching the skirt of her floor-length dress with one hand and holding a bridal bouquet of yellow roses and daisies in the other.

Meanwhile Zach was trying to deal with the dress’s long train. “I think it’s either me or the dress,” he said. “There’s not room enough in this taxi for both of us.”

“Then maybe I should ditch the dress.” Hannah grinned at him.

“There will be no disrobing in my taxi!” Mario hollered from the driver’s seat. “Especially not when we have a man of the cloth riding shotgun.”

Hannah laughed. “Okay, okay. I’ll keep my clothes on. Zach, hand me the end of the train. I’ll fold it over my lap.”

“Tell me again why we have this train.” Zach managed to find the end of it and pass it over to her. “We’re getting married in the taxi. The guests are all following in their cars. It’s not like you’ll be walking down the aisle.”

“But it will look fantastic when we make our entrance at the reception.” She accordion-folded the train as she pulled it into the taxi.

“It’s Central Park. We’ll be on grass, so you’ll get grass stains on it. Maybe you should just take it off. Mario can put it in the trunk.”

She blew out a breath. As gorgeous as he looked in his dove-gray tux, a color that matched his eyes perfectly, he was getting on her nerves. “Zach, a wedding dress train is a must-have for me. I love the idea of getting married in Mario’s taxi, but I’m not giving up the train, and that’s final.”

“But-”

“Get in, Zach. It’s time to start. Our guests are growing impatient. Everybody’s honking their horns, plus we’re causing a traffic jam.”

“Okay, but I think you’d be a lot happier without that train.” He scooted in next to her.

“That’s how much you know.” She glared at him.

He glared back for about a second. Then he started to laugh. “It’s about time!”

“For what?”

“Our first fight! Now we have to kiss and make up.” He reached for her.

“You can kiss later!” Mario put the taxi in gear. “After the minister says so!”

But it was too late. Zach had already settled his mouth over Hannah’s, and she was lost to the world. Vaguely she realized the taxi had started to move.

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today… The minister’s words spilled out of the speaker mounted on the roof of the taxi, but Hannah didn’t want to stop kissing Zach, the man she loved more than life itself. That didn’t mean she’d let him win all the arguments, but making up was turning out to be excellent.

Zach was right about the fighting. There hadn’t been any. They’d been too busy loving each other and settling into their new lives and new jobs-Hannah with her new position as assistant editor and Zach with the investment counseling business he’d started on his own.

Suddenly Mario swerved, throwing Hannah off balance and ending the kiss.

“Hey, Mario, watch it!” Zach said. “We could break a tooth!”

“Had to do something,” Mario said. “We’re getting to the part where you have to say stuff. Now, pay attention, kids. This is important.”

And so they did pay attention. Holding hands, they repeated the vows into the microphone the minister handed back to them, vows that floated out over the streets of New York. Traffic was light this early on a Sunday morning, but the few drivers and pedestrians they encountered shouted and whistled their approval of the ceremony.

You may kiss the bride, the minister said into the microphone. Again.

As horns blared from the procession of cars following the taxi, Zach gazed into Hannah’s eyes. “I love you so much.”

Her throat felt tight as her heart filled with enough joy to make her cry. “I love you, too.”

As they kissed, Mario pulled over to the curb beside the grassy area set up for the reception. Zach and Hannah seemed in no hurry to stop kissing, but Mario didn’t mind. He had a little chore to take care of before he locked up the cab, anyway.

He turned to the minister. “Could you open the glove compartment for me? I need to get something out of there.”

“Sure.” The minister popped it open.

“If you’ll hand me that picture right on top and the tape next to it, I’d be much obliged.”

“Ah.” The minister looked at the picture. “It’s them. The picture’s really blue, though.”

“I thought so, too, but this is the one they want, so I’m going with it.” Mario pulled off some tape and positioned the picture in a prime location on his dash.

“So you brought all these couples together?” the minister asked.

“Yep.” Mario finished taping Zach and Hannah to the dash. “And I’m proud to say that my percentage just went up!”