Worth the Risk_ A Contemporary - Megan Hart Page 0,26

terse. "Yes. I think so."

"Good." Irene patted Laila's shoulder, gave Hal a dubious glance, and left her seat.

When the server placed Laila's thick slice of chocolate cake in front of her, she didn't pick up her fork to eat. Hal dove into his and demolished it in several bites. Curiously, he watched as Laila just sat and stared.

"Aren't you going to eat that?" he asked. Silently, she shook her head no. "Mind if I have it?"

Again, she didn't speak, but indicated with her hand that he was to go ahead. He did. It was delicious.

"Ahhh." He sighed, patting his stomach, which would definitely suffer for this week's indulgences. He'd have to hit the gym pretty hard for the next month. "That was great."

"Glad you enjoyed it." In the midst of the chaos broiling all around them, Laila's answer was dangerously soft. In fact, he almost missed it.

Laila's brother, Eli, slipped into the chair her mother had vacated. "Thanks again for your help this afternoon with Henry. He's always getting banged up."

"Better than getting knocked up, right, Lil?" Hal reached across the table to poke her arm good-humoredly. He was beginning to enjoy playing the role Laila had assigned him. He'd always wanted to try out for a part in a play.

"David," Laila said through gritted teeth. Her smile was strained. "I don't think--"

"Laila?" Elijah had turned to look at her, brow furrowed. "You okay?"

"Fine," Laila answered.

Her brother didn't seem convinced.

"Hey, you know women," Hal said. "Always got a bug up their bloomers about something."

Eli just stared at him before nodding slowly. He gave his sister another thoughtful glance. "Yeah. Whatever. Laila?"

"I'm fine," she told him. "Just tired. I think I'll head back to the room early."

"Great idea!" Hal said. He pushed back from the table. "You know you could always use some extra beauty sleep. I mean, hey, I could pack my wardrobe in the bags under your eyes--"

Laila shot him a look so murderous Hal took a step back. "Good night, Eli," she said and got up from the table. She left the room quickly, leaving Hal to stand behind and stare after her.

"Oops," Hal said, but without enthusiasm. He'd screwed up. He wasn't sure quite how, but he knew he had.

"I'd say so," Eli said with a shake of his head. "You'll be sleeping on the couch tonight."

He already had to sleep on the couch, but Eli didn't know that. "Yeah. I guess I'd better go see about her."

Eli merely raised his eyebrows and shrugged. "I'd let her cool off for a while, but I guess you know her well enough to decide for yourself."

"Yeah," Hal replied weakly.

The problem was, he didn't know Laila at all.

Laila worked her numb fingers around the old-fashioned radiator knob to no avail. It was stuck solid. The metal bars were only lukewarm, not hot enough to combat the night's sudden bitter dip to temperatures. She tried again, cursing under her breath as her fingers slipped, and she scraped her knuckles.

The knock on the door made her whirl around, fuming. Hal? Unless he had a wrench with him or a container of hot coffee, she wasn't much interested in seeing him. The knock came again. Rap, rap, rap.

"Who is it?" Laila hollered.

His answer was muffled. "It's me. David."

At least he wasn't having any trouble staying in character. If she'd had any doubts, their conversation at dinner tonight had proved that! Laila crossed the room, skirting the bed and the pile of blankets on the couch.

She flung open the door and turned immediately around, refusing to look at him. "Shut the door. It's freezing out there!"

"In here, too."

She heard him stomping his feet and blowing into his hands.

"That's not going to help this radiator," she said, still trying to work the controls.

"Have you called housekeeping?" Hal asked.

He came up behind her, close. Too close. Laila stiffened, silently warning him to keep his distance. He backed off a step.

"Of course I've called housekeeping," she said coldly. "Unfortunately, their night service man called in drunk tonight."

"Did you tell them how cold it was in here?" Hal's chattering teeth interrupted his calm question.

Still angry with him for his boorish behavior at dinner, Laila whirled on him. "No, Mr. Smartypants! I didn't! You know why? Because there aren't any other rooms available. The inn's all booked up, and I didn't want to ruin my grandparent's week by complaining about something that could easily be fixed in the morning!"

Hal held up his hands. "Whoa. Okay."

Laila blew hard, gusting the