TALL DARK AND HUNGRY Page 0,6

his pocket. The moment it was unfolded enough for Bastien to read, he snatched it incredulously out of his brother's hand.

" 'Terri, Kate's cousin and best friend?'" he read with disbelief.

"I couldn't remember her name," Lucern said with a shrug. "She'll know who it's for. Hurry and hold it up, a whole load of them are coming out and she might be one of them."

Bastien glanced toward the arch where travelers were appearing in clusters of three or four. It would seem that customs wasn't holding them up at all. "They must have worked double time to get the luggage out so fast. And customs must have extra people on."

"Hmm," was all Lucern said. Bastien raised the makeshift sign over his head to be easily seen. "They're probably rushing them through to try to make up for the delay."

The two men were silent as several dozen people arrived, were met by happy relatives or friends and departed the arrivals area. Bastien would guess that a good fifty people came and went before he spotted a woman making a beeline for them. He might not have recognized her if she weren't walking toward them with a tired smile of greeting on her face. Without realizing it, his arms relaxed, allowing his sign to lower.

The woman was just as curvy and ripe-looking as she had been in her photo, but her hairstyle had changed. It had been up in a ponytail in the photo; now, it was down and flowing around her shoulders in soft chestnut waves. She still wore jeans, Bastien noted with interest. Tight white jeans, a white Uni¬versity of Leeds T-shirt, and white running shoes made up her outfit. She had obviously dressed for comfort.

"Lucern!" She beamed at Bastien, pausing before him and, after the briefest hesitation, giving him a warm welcoming hug. "Kate's told me loads about you. It's a pleasure to meet the man who's made her so happy."

Bastien stared down at the top of the woman's head in surprise, his arms dropping automatically to embrace her. Lucern watched with amusement. Catching the grin on his brother's face, Bastien cleared his throat as Kate's cousin released him and stepped back. "Terri, I presume?"

She laughed at his stiff tones. "Yes, of course." Then she paused and tilted her head to examine him. "Kate was right. You must be the most handsome man in New York. She said that's how I'd recognize you," she confided with a grin.

Bastien found himself grinning back, ridiculously pleased at the compliment, until Lucern got tired of being ignored and announced, "That would be me, then. I'm Lucern, the most handsome man in New York. The man you just hugged is my brother Bastien.

Terri Simpson turned a startled gaze to the man who had just spoken. Perhaps an inch shorter than the man she'd just hugged, the speaker eyed her with amusement. Terri was surprised she hadn't noticed this fellow, but while he was almost a twin to the man he'd just called Bastien, he wasn't an exact copy. They had the same nose, but his lower lip wasn't quite as full as Bastien's, who also had a more defined jawline. There was also something different about the eyes. Both had large silvery blue irises, but Bastien's were deeper and filled with an indefinable emotion that called out to her.

Actually, Terri was almost relieved that the man she'd hugged wasn't Lucern. Deciding not to dwell on why, she stepped forward to hug Kate's fiance. "My apologies, Lucern. I just spotted the sign and as¬sumed..." She let the sentence trail off as she briefly embraced him, then stepped back. "You two must have been waiting here for hours. Sorry about that."

"There was nothing you could do about it," Bastien remarked, "so there is nothing to apologize for. Can I take that for you?"

Terri found herself relieved of her luggage as Bastien took the handle of her suitcase while Lucern slipped the strap of her carryon off her shoulder; then the two men ushered her out of the building. Mo¬ments later, she found herself in the front seat of a Mercedes on the highway.

"You must be exhausted after your flight."

Terri flashed a smile at the man seated beside her. Bastien. She liked the name. She liked the look of the man too. She didn't usually go for business types, but he cut a sharp figure in the no doubt designer suit he was wearing. She glanced over her shoulder at Kate's fiance, who now sat silent