Face the Fire Page 0,3

it? Welcome back."

Her voice was deeper, just a few degrees deeper than it had been once upon a time. Sultrier, smokier, silkier. It seemed to wind its way into his belly even as he puzzled over her polite smile and detached welcome.

"Thanks." Deliberately, he matched her tone. "It's good to be back. You look amazing."

"We do what we can."

She tossed back her hair. There were citrine stones at her ears. The details of her, down to the rings on her fingers, the subtle scent that surrounded her, etched themselves into his mind. For an instant, he tried to read hers but found the language foreign and frustrating.

"I like your bookstore," he said, careful to keep his voice casual. "Or what I've seen of it."

"Well, we'll have to give you the grand tour. Lulu, you have customers."

"I know what I've got," Lulu muttered. "It's a workday, isn't it? You don't have time to go showing this one around the place."

"Lulu." Mia merely angled her head, a quiet warning. "I've always got a few minutes for an old friend. Come upstairs, Sam, see the cafe." She started back up, her hand trailing along the rail. "You may have heard that a mutual friend of ours, Zack Todd, was married last winter. Nell's not only a close friend of mine but she's a spectacular cook as well."

Sam paused at the top of the stairs. It annoyed him that he had to get his bearings, seek his balance. The scent of her was turning him inside out.

The second floor was just as welcoming as the first, with the added enticement of a bustling cafe on one end and all the wonderful aromas, of spices, coffee, rich chocolate, that wafted from it. The display glass sparkled in front of a dazzling selection of baked goods and salads. Fragrant smoke streamed from an enormous kettle where even now a pretty blonde ladled out soup for a waiting customer.

Windows on the far wall let in glimpses of the sea.

"It's terrific." That, at least, he could say without qualification. "Just terrific, Mia. You must be very proud of what you've done here."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

There was a bite, a quick, nasty nip, in the tone that had him looking back at her. But she only smiled again, gestured with an elegant hand that sparkled with rings. "Hungry?"

"More than I'd counted on."

A glimpse of that bite snapped, for an instant, in those smoke-gray depths before she turned and led the way to the counter. "Nell, I have a man with an appetite."

"Then he's come to the right place." Nell grinned, her dimples fluttering, her blue eyes friendly when they met Sam's. "Our soup of the day is chicken curry. Special salad is shrimp diablo, and the sandwich of the day is grilled pork and tomato on olive loaf. Plus our regular fare," she added, tapping the counter menu, "with our vegetarian offerings."

Zack's wife, Sam thought. It was one thing to realize that his oldest friend had taken the plunge and another to see the reason why. It gave him yet one more jolt.

"Quite a selection."

"We like to think so."

"You can't make a bad choice when Nell's prepared it," Mia told him. "I'll just leave you in her capable hands for the moment. I do have work. Oh, Nell, I should have introduced you. This is an old friend of Zack's, Sam Logan. Enjoy your lunch," she said, then walked away.

Sam watched surprise race over Nell's pretty face, then every bit of warmth drain away. "What can I get you?"

"Just coffee for now. Black. How's Zack?"

"He's very well, thank you."

Sam drummed his fingers on his thigh. Another guard at the gate, he thought, and no less formidable than the dragon, for all the soft looks. "And Ripley? I heard she got married just last month."

"She's very well and very happy." Nell's mouth formed a firm, unwelcoming line as she set his coffee in a to-go cup on the counter. "No charge. I'm sure Mia doesn't want, or need, your money. They serve a very nice lunch at the Magick Inn, as I'm sure you know."

"Yes, I know." A pretty kitten, and very sharp claws, Sam mused. "Do you think Mia needs your protection, Mrs. Todd?"

"I think Mia can handle anything." She smiled now, thin as a blade. "Absolutely anything."

Sam picked up his coffee. "So do I," he agreed, then wandered off in the direction Mia had gone. The bastard. Once she was behind the closed door of her office, Mia