TALL DARK AND HUNGRY Page 0,34

of the phone. It sounded like she was pass¬ing on the details of Terri's Saturday.

"I'm sorry." Her cousin was back, sounding a bit breathless. "What about Sunday? Did you two do anything Sunday?"

"Oh... er... well, yes," Terri admitted, then sighed and launched into the explanation. "We started a little later on Sunday. Bastien had to go down to his office and take care of some business, so we went out for brunch when he got back. There was some kind of parade going on when we came out of the restaurant, so we stood under the awning of a store to watch. Then we went to a couple of street fairs. I wasn't sure we should, what with his condition and all, but it was an overcast day and he wore a long-sleeved shirt and this hat and glasses and..." She laughed at the memory. He had looked pretty silly in the gear. He'd reminded her of the In¬visible Man, trying to cover up every patch of his nonexistent skin to hide his state, or a celebrity play¬ing Hide from the Public. Still, it wasn't his fault, and they'd had great fun at the street fair.

"Then we picked up some takeout Chinese and brought it back to eat with Chris," she finished, then added, "Speaking of Chris, Katie, he's not taking this broken leg thing at all well. He's terribly depressed and whiney. Or, has he always been whiney?"

"Oh, who cares about Chris!" her cousin exclaimed impatiently. "Tell me what else you and Bastien did."

"Katie!" Terri gave a laugh.

"Oh, you know what I mean. He'll be fine. And men are always whiney when they're injured or hurt. Now, tell me what else you did Sunday."

"Well, that was about it. We ate Chinese food in, and watched some rented movies. It was nice and re¬laxing. Bastien's a charming host."

"Yes, he can be charming." The grin in Kate's voice was obvious. "Where is he now?"

"In the Argeneau offices."

"No, he isn't," Kate said promptly. "I called there first and there was no answer. Even his secretary, Meredith, isn't in. But then, she won't arrive for an¬other hour, I don't think."

"He must be on his way back up here," Terri de¬cided. "He only went down to leave Meredith some instructions for the day. We're going to the museum."

"What?" Kate cried. "On a workday?"

"When I got up this morning, he said he'd had a business meeting scheduled for the day, but that the key attendee had canceled and rescheduled, so he thought he'd go to the museum. He invited me to go with him," she explained, twisting the phone cord around her finger. Her news was followed by yet an¬other muffled conversation at the other end of the phone, but this time the hand or whatever Kate was using to cover the phone, must have slipped, because Terri heard Lucern grunt and say what sounded like "... he's probably the key attendee who canceled." Then the phone was covered properly, and Terri couldn't make out the rest.

Letting the cord unravel from her finger, she shifted onto her side on the bed and ran her free hand over the comforter beneath her, the same that had covered her when she'd awoken Saturday morning. Terri had recognized it from Bastien's bed in the master suite, and knew he must have carried her to bed and covered her with it. He hadn't asked for it back yet, and she hadn't thought to return it. In truth, she was rather reluctant to do so. It smelled so good.

Smiling, she buried her nose in the material and inhaled the scent clinging to it. The duvet still smelled of Bastien, a smell she liked. Terri decided she'd have to ask him what cologne he wore. Perhaps she'd buy it as a gift for someone someday.

"Terri?"

"Yes." She shifted and sat up guiltily on the bed, embarrassed despite the fact that Kate couldn't possi¬bly see what she was doing.

"You're very lucky. Bastien is a wonderful man. Smart, hardworking, nice, and a perfect gentleman, he'll--"

"Kate," Terri interrupted. "We're going to the museum. It isn't necessarily a date. The man's just be-ing a good host until you get back."

"Uh-huh." Her cousin didn't sound convinced. "Have fun. I know you will. And tell him hello from us. We'll call again in the next couple of days to see how the romance is progressing."

"There's no romance to progress!" Terri protested. But she was speaking to dead air. Kate had already hung up the phone. Terri stared at