“No, I don’t know. You didn’t mean to what?”
“To touch you,” she whispered.
He grinned. “I like you touching me.”
“I still shouldn’t have…”
She was saved from having to continue the awkward conversation when she heard someone call her name. She whirled around, lost her balance, and fell back against Alec. He grabbed her around the waist and held her until she stopped wobbling. She shouldn’t have worn such impossible high heels, she told herself.
He had to think she was a complete klutz. Fortunately, she didn’t have to dwell on that depressing thought long. Cordie caught her attention. Regan smiled as her friend came rushing forward. As usual, she looked lovely. The sapphire blue dress had a long full skirt and a fitted bodice that showed off her perfect figure.
“Have you been waiting long?” Regan asked. She might as well have added, “Yo, I’m down here.” Her friend was staring at Alec and having trouble keeping her mouth closed. Regan couldn’t fault her.
“Stop staring,” she whispered.
“I’m not staring.”
She was, and she didn’t seem inclined to stop. Regan nudged her. “I asked you if you had been waiting long. For heaven’s sake, Cordie, look at me.”
“What? Oh, no, I just got here.”
Regan remembered her manners. She stepped to Alec’s side and introduced the two. Cordie smiled as she shook his hand. “You don’t look like a detective, at least not in that tuxedo.” She glanced down at his waist and asked, “Are you carrying?”
“Carrying what?” Regan asked.
“A gun,” she explained. “You know… packing.”
Alec smiled. “You watch a lot of television, don’t you?”
“Sorry to say I do,” she said. “At least I do when I’m not grading papers. I lead a very boring life.”
“No, you don’t,” Regan said. “Cordie’s a woman of many talents. Do you know, she totally rebuilt the engine in her car?”
Alec thought she was joking. Cordelia was extremely feminine-very like Regan-and it was easier for him to picture her getting her nails painted at one of those fancy salons somewhere than changing the points and plugs in a car. Then the name clicked inside his head. Cordelia Kane as in Kane Automotive. “Your family owns a couple of auto repair shops around town, don’t they?”
“More than a couple,” Regan said. “They’re nationwide.”
She suddenly remembered she hadn’t told Cordie the latest about her brother. “Aiden had my car towed away.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Get it back,” she said.
Regan shook her head. “He had it taken to a junkyard. I’m sure it’s been stripped by now. Oh, and he bought me a BMW. Can you believe his gall?”
Alec would have laughed, but he knew Regan was serious, and angry. So was her friend.
“I can’t believe I wasted an entire weekend putting in a brand-new radiator and shocks…”
“And a new muffler,” Regan said.
“That’s right, a new muffler. Where does he get off towing…?” Cordie suddenly stopped ranting and took a deep breath. “It’s getting crowded in here. We should probably go into the banquet.”
Alec had been blocking Regan from anyone entering through the double doors, but he, too, wanted to get her inside the dining room and hopefully settled at an out-of-the-way table.
The two security guards who had followed them from the hotel walked into the foyer. They stopped just inside the door. Both were wearing their uniforms and were already getting noticed by the other arriving guests. Alec touched Regan’s arm to get her attention, leaned down close to her ear, and said, “Stay here with your back to the wall. I’ll be right back.”
The second he was out of earshot, Cordie said, “Oh, wow.”
Regan smiled. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Oh, wow. You didn’t tell me he was so…”
“So what?”
“So… everything. There’s this raw, sexy appeal about him…”
“Really?”
“You haven’t noticed?”
Regan laughed. “Of course I noticed.”
Like Cordie, she was watching Alec as he walked over to the guards and spoke to them. Whatever he was saying was making the men nervous. They both began to fidget. One was comically tugging on his collar.
“Why are those men here?”
“The guards? Aiden hired them as extra security.”
“They’re not subtle, are they?”
“No, they aren’t. I hope Alec sends them home.” She turned to Cordie and said, “I would appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone that Alec’s a detective. I don’t want to field questions, and the focus should be on the hospital fund-raiser tonight.”
“I won’t say a word.”
“Except Sophie, of course. You can tell her.”
“Of course.”
The three of them never kept secrets from one another. “About the detective…” Cordie began.
“Yes?”
“I’m thinking he’s interested in you.”
“Why would you think that? You’ve only spent two minutes with the man.”
“Body language,” she explained in a very matter-of-fact tone. “I know he’s interested because of the way he looks at you. You’re going to have to take my word on this, Regan. He’s attracted to you, but then, come to think of it, most men are.”
“They are not. Now, can we please change the subject.”
“Not yet. You’re gorgeous. You’ve got a face and body Sophie and I would die to have, and I swear that if you weren’t my best friend, I’d have to hate you. Your brothers, especially Aiden, have done a real number on you to keep you in line.”
“For heaven’s sake,” Regan said, exasperated. “No one’s done a number on me.”
Cordie didn’t want to argue. “Will your brothers be here tonight?”
“Maybe,” she said.
“So tell me. Is he single, married, or divorced?”
“Who?” she asked, just to provoke her friend.
“Oh, please. You know who I’m talking about. The hunky detective.”
“He’s single, but he’s leaving Chicago in another week.”
“For how long?”
“Forever,” she said.
Cordie sighed. “You know what I’m thinking?”
Regan smiled. “I never know what you’re thinking.”
“I’m thinking you should take that blanket off and go after that man.”
Regan took exception. “It isn’t a blanket. It’s a wrap.” She selfconsciously adjusted the knot she’d made to hold the shawl in place. “It wouldn’t be right for me to go after him. He’s on the job. He’s… trapped with me.”
The conversation ended when Cordie said, “Here he comes.”
Regan noticed the guards, looking quite disgruntled, were leaving. “What did you say to them?” she asked.
“Not much.”
“In other words, you aren’t going to tell me?”
He smiled and completely ignored the question. “Shall we go inside the ballroom?”
“The doors aren’t open yet,” Cordie said. “That hallway leads to the ballroom, where we’ll be dining. They’re serving champagne and hors d’oeuvres in the reception. I’m going to go look for Sophie. Want to come with me?”
Regan didn’t answer her. She was watching a couple coming in the doorway. Her frown was immediate, and she was suddenly feeling sick to her stomach.
“What’s wrong?” As Cordie asked the question, she turned around to see who Regan was watching. “Oh, I see.”
The couple disappeared into the cloakroom. Alec caught a glimpse of them. “Who are they?”
“No one important.”
Alec looked at Cordie to get an answer. She sighed and said, “The silver-haired man used to be married to Regan’s mother, and the young woman having trouble keeping her dress on is his wife. They are, as Regan said, not important.”