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"I just need to run hoe Soforty minutes?"

"I’ll be there" Cherry hesitated, then added, "I’ht burst Grinning, she adreat to share with a friend Keeping all the wonderfulness bottled up hadn’t been easy She h the phone, disconnected, put her phone on the dash--then jumped when someone tapped on her driver’s-side

Hand to her heart, she turned and found Steve standing there The setting sun gilded his brown hair and reflected off his lasses A little unnerved, Merissa rolled down her"Steve What are you doing here?"

"Checking on you" He folded his ar at her "Should I be jealous?"

"Um" She leaned as far away in her seat as she could "About what?"

"Whoever you were just kissing on the phone"

"Oh" Laughing, she shook her head "That was lasses "Now there’s a visual that’ll keep ued for a while"

Perv "I love her like a sister, Steve"

"I know I reaze moved over her face, and his voice softened "I was just teasing" Before Merissa could ask him to leave, he said, "Shehulk?"

"Denver Lewis, and yes, they’reof a caveentlest way possible And he adored Cherry In contrast, Vanity’s husband, Stack Hannigan, was deceptively laid-back It took a lot to get him riled, but once there, look out It was pretty awesootten married around the sahborhood, having lunch with a client" Voice going smooth as velvet, he said, "I think about you a lot How are you holding up?"

"Because of the robbery, you mean?" It was conceivable that he’d had lunch There was a nice Italian restaurant only a block away fro firm, he often had business lunches

"Yes" Before she could stop hi her face to see her jaw "That awful bruise is alot about it Lifting away from him, she said, "I’m fine"

"I’d still like to see you"

"No"

"Because you’re involved with Jacobson?"

Oh, how she wanted to say, Yes, we’re an itehed "He has nothing to do with it I told you we’re over, and I edhis head forward as if dejected, he said, "I screwed up and I know it"

"Wasn’t you," she told him honestly "It just wasn’t there"

"Maybe it was for me"