LITMIR.BIZ

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ever wanted to own her heart. And the chances of that were about as likely as her chances of…of winning an Oscar.

      Not going to happen. Not now, not ever. Men like Kane didn’t go for mousy blondes who weren’t comfortable in deep-cut blouses and makeup. They went for glamor. Just as her father had. And there was no way anyone could ever accuse plain little Allison Jane Preston of being glamorous. Plain Allison Jane.

      “It would take half the night,” he said. “More time than you have, I’m sure.”

      For a moment she thought he’d been reading her mind and was making a dig at the thought of her getting gussied up. Then she realized he meant time to talk. Tired as she was, all thoughts of bed and sleep went straight out the window. It sounded as though Kane needed a friend, and she didn’t intend to let him down.

      “I’m off for the next twelve hours, and I’m a good listener,” she said. Not pushing, but letting him know she was there if he needed her.

      He was smiling faintly at her, one hand coming up to scrub at the dark shadow of stubble along his jaw. “Yes, you are.” Then he appeared to come to a decision. “Want to go get a bite to eat?”

      “Sure.” She tried to keep the giddy elation from her voice. They’d gotten coffee and chatted dozens of times over the past few years. Kane had seemed to single her out as someone with whom he felt comfortable, and loving him as she did, Allison was always grateful when she could give him a listening ear, ease the burdens that came with healing newborn bodies and occasionally losing the battle for life. But dinner after work, not on a hasty break in the hospital when one or the other of them was wolfing down a quick bite…this was different.

      “Let’s go down to the diner,” he said.

      “All right.” The diner was an all-night restaurant near County that was frequented by hospital personnel and the occasional repeat visitor who had gotten wise to hospital cafeteria food.

      She stood and started to shoulder the large bag in which she carried extra clothes, but Kane reached for it, taking it from her and slinging it over his shoulder with his own duffel. “Thank you,” she said, mildly startled. How many men were that courteous anymore?

      “My pleasure.” He smiled down at her as he opened the door for her, and her legs turned to jelly. “My mama raised a gentleman.”

      “Your mama did a fine job.”

      “She did,” he said reflectively as they waited for the elevator. “She was a single mother, but she worked darn hard to make sure my sister and I grew up with good manners and good sense.”

      “Your father…wasn’t in the picture?” It was a personal question, the first time they’d ever crossed the line into such territory, and she wondered if he was as aware of that as she.

      “No. Never.” There was such venom in his tone that it unnerved her. “He abandoned us when my mother was pregnant with my sister. I was about a year old.”

      “That’s sad,” she said softly. “He missed so much. It’s a good thing your mother had money, or things could have been really tough for you all.”

      A smile touched his lean face as she glanced up at him, but it wasn’t amused. “We didn’t have money then,” he said. “I didn’t even find out she was a Fortune until about six years ago.”

      Now she was confused. “But your name—”

      “I took the name Fortune by choice, and at my uncle’s request, not long after I found out. I had no desire to share the name of a man who could walk away from his family the way he did.”

      She wondered if he realized how much unhappiness was revealed in that simple statement. “My father left my mother, too,” she said softly, wanting him to know she could identify in some way with his pain. “But I remember him. I was twelve when he left.”

      “At least you knew your father.”

      “Yes.” Though she wasn’t sure that knowing him had made any difference, since she apparently hadn’t known him at all. A too-familiar pain and regret stung her. He was dead now and she’d never have the chance to talk with him again, and the estrangement that had lain between them for years could never be bridged. She’d missed the opportunity, or more accurately, she’d refused the opportunity. And now, to her lasting regret, it was too late.

      Still, she didn’t tell any of that to Kane. In the mood he was in, she doubted there was anything she could say that might ease his hurt. For a while they walked along the sidewalk in silence.

      When they got to the diner, Kane paused, and Allison stopped with him. He was looking through the plate-glass window. “There’s a crowd tonight,” he said, frowning.

      “Birthday party,” she said. “One of the techs from radiology turned forty.”

      A slim, dark-haired nurse from the oncology unit caught sight of them from the edge of the dance floor where there were a number of people gyrating to the music. She waved, her gaze on Kane, a slow smile lighting her big dark eyes as her hips swiveled in time to the beat. She beckoned for them to enter, but Allison was aware of Kane shaking his head.

      She looked in at the rowdy, raucous crowd, whose jovial spirit could clearly be heard on the street. The girl was vivacious, confident in her own sex appeal—exactly the kind of woman she’d expect Kane to be attracted to—and her heart contracted. But when she glanced up at him, Kane seemed reluctant to enter despite the blatant invitation the girl was giving him.

      She was fiercely glad that he didn’t seem in the mood for a party. She didn’t want to share him with anyone. “If you’re not thrilled about the crowd,” she said slowly, wondering if she was crazy even to be making the offer, “we can go to my house. It’s not far. We could stop and get some Chinese takeout.”

      Kane’s eyes were still on the crowd inside.

      “But maybe that’s not something that interests you,” she said hastily, feeling the heat of embarrassment coloring her cheeks. Of course Kane Fortune wasn’t interested in spending a quiet evening alone with plain Allison Jane.

      Then Kane turned to her, and there was warm approval in his eyes. “It sounds great,” he said, and there was genuine pleasure in his tone. “And I appreciate the offer very much. How about I follow you in my car?”

      She still couldn’t believe he was here. Kane Fortune. Sitting on her sofa beside her, empty cartons from the Chinese food on the small glass table in her dining area mute proof that he really had been here and eaten a meal with her. Right now he was toying with the end of a lock of her hair, which he’d teased her into taking down the minute they’d gotten into her house. “I like it down,” he’d said. And that had been enough for her.

      He picked up the wine bottle they were sharing, indicating her glass, but she put a cautious hand over the rim of her glass. “Better not. I don’t do alcohol real well.”

      He grinned, a pirate’s rakish smile. “Oh, good. Here, have some more.”

      She laughed, tucking one foot beneath her and angling her body to face him more fully. “I think not.” It was an incredible, heady feeling, teasing and flirting with him. But it was time to help him now. She hadn’t forgotten the initial reason for this whole visit. It wasn’t as if it were a date, after all. “At the risk of wrecking the mood, I’d really like to hear what’s bothering you, if you’d still like to talk it out.”

      He sobered immediately, the gold glints in his eyes dimming and his smile fading. “I don’t think I’d better get started. It’s a long and ugly story, as I said.”

      “I’m a good listener, remember? And a good friend. And that’s what friends are for, to share burdens.” She put her hand on his arm, right on his bare skin, and rubbed her thumb lightly over the hair-roughened, sinewy flesh.

      Kane put his hand over hers, squeezing lightly. “You’re a treasure, Allison. I value our friendship.”

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