TALL DARK AND HUNGRY Page 0,11

He started forward at once, intending to bring an end to his cousin's flirting, but the elevator doors opened just as he did. His attention was drawn to the trio in the entry as he heard Kate's distressed, "Oh, Lucern! You'll never guess what's happened!"

After the briefest of hesitations--a hesitation that ended only when Terri moved past him to join the three people in the entry--Bastien followed her to find out what the dilemma was. It did seem to be the day for problems.

"We had the production meeting, then Chris went home to finish packing and collect his things for the California conference. He forgot his briefcase at the office, his flight was at five, and he didn't have time to come back for it, so I said I'd leave early and run it out to him. And thank goodness I did!"

"Er... Kate? Do you think we could move into the living room so I can put my foot up?" the other editor asked. "My leg's killing me."

"Oh. Of course, Chris. He's supposed to keep his leg elevated," Kate explained to the rest of them. She took his arm to help him into the living room. "It's broken."

Bastien merely raised an eyebrow. That fact was rather obvious from the ungainly cast on the man's right leg.

"How did he break it?" Terri asked. She seemed to be the only person who cared.

"Oh! Terri." Releasing Chris, Kate turned to her cousin and hugged her in greeting. "They found you. I'm so glad. How was your flight? I hope you don't mind staying here, but my apartment's so small and, now that I have to fly out of town, I wouldn't want you to be there all by yourself and--"

Bastien had been grinning at the way that Kate's abandoning him had left the injured editor flailing about, trying to find his balance, but as her words reg¬istered, he turned his attention fully on his soon-to-be sister-in-law. "Fly out of town?"

Terri and Lucern spoke the words at the exact same moment, bringing an end to the hug the two women had been enjoying.

"Yes, I--"

"Kate!" It was a panicked cry from the male edi¬tor, who was losing his battle to stay upright.

"Oh, Chris!" She whirled just in time to catch his arm and keep him on his feet, then helped him the rest of the way to the couch. She fussed briefly over setting his casted leg on Bastien's mahogany coffee table, then placed a couple of the black accent pillows from the blue-gray couch beneath to raise it higher and save the surface of the wood. Then she straight¬ened with a sigh. "Where was I?"

"Explaining why you have to fly out of town," Lucern growled, moving closer in a way another woman might find threatening, but that Kate merely took as an opportunity to cuddle with her man. She slid an arm around him and leaned close with a sigh that might have been pleasure or relief.

"Yes, well, as I was saying, I had to run C.K.'s briefcase over to him. But there was no answer when I buzzed his apartment, and I knew he was waiting for it, so I finally buzzed his landlady and had her come up with me. She unlocked the door and we went in, calling for him. I heard him shout from the bathroom, and you won't believe it!"

"What?" Terri asked.

"The toilet from the apartment above had fallen through the floor and landed smack on top of him."

"It wasn't just the toilet," Chris inserted, looking slightly embarrassed. "A good portion of the ceiling came with it."

"Yes. And he was trapped underneath. And the pipes had broken and water was pouring down on him."

"Fresh water," Chris clarified quickly.

"Yes. And, well, the landlady rushed out to call for paramedics and a plumber, and I got the toilet off of him."

"It wasn't just a toilet, Kate," he repeated, looking more upset.

"And..." She paused and sighed. "Well, I went to the hospital with him, of course."

"Of course you did," Lucern crooned. "You're such a good person, my love."

She smiled at the compliment and kissed him.

"But what has that got to do with you flying out of town?" Terri asked.

Kate broke the kiss and turned back to continue. "Well, I had to call the office and explain that a toilet had felled Chris."

"It was a good portion of the ceiling too, Kate!" The man was sounding a tad testy, but Bastien man¬aged not to laugh. He supposed he'd be testy, too, if a