LITMIR.BIZ

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gaze stayed steady on her face. “Natalie…”

      Time to quit while she was ahead.

      Bending down, Natalie put Buddy back on the floor. He’d been totally limp against her, utterly relaxed, and now he looked startled, filling her with guilt.

      He bounced his gaze back and forth between them with trepidation.

      Jett said to him, “It’s okay, Buddy.”

      And just like that, he dropped his butt down to sit.

      Bemused, Natalie let out a breath. “You’ve cast a spell on him or something.” Many times she had wondered why Jett, and Jett alone, could draw such strong reactions from her, getting her to do things normally considered uncharacteristic to her nature, making her feel things she hadn’t known were possible. Now she had evidence that he possessed some strange power.

      He tipped her face up to his. “About tomorrow—”

      Oh no. She could not discuss this with him right now. She mustered up a cheerful expression. “How long will it take us to get to your sister’s clinic?”

      The heat of his frustration beat against her. “Fifteen minutes or so.”

      “I’ll be ready in plenty of time.” She forced a yawn. “But for now, I’m exhausted. It’ll be a long day tomorrow, and I need to finish getting a few things together. I still have to shower, too. And I absolutely have to reach my sister before I go.”

      “Shh.” Jett kissed her, and somehow, after all they’d done, this kiss felt different.

      Sweeter.

      More…loving.

      No. No, no, no. Natalie pushed back from him, alarmed, afraid. She could not let herself be convinced of a depth of emotion that probably didn’t exist. Jett wanted to spend more time with her. Fine. She could do that.

      But simple dating rituals did not equal love.

      Before he could say anything more, she started for the door. Buddy jumped up and stared after her. Jett tracked her with a frown.

      She blocked both expressions of appeal, determined to escape. When she didn’t slow, Buddy plopped down on his butt and whined. Jett put his fists on his hips.

      Forcing a smile, Natalie said, “Good night. I’ll see you both bright and early tomorrow morning.”

      And as she went out the door, both males gave her identical expressions—of deep disappointment.

      A LONG HOT SHOWER did little to help focus Natalie’s jumbled thoughts and conflicting emotions. On the one hand, she was thrilled at the idea of expanding her relationship with Jett; on the other, the thought of setting herself up for heartbreak absolutely terrified her.

      No, Jett wouldn’t deliberately mislead her. Any hurt feelings or damaged pride would be her fault, not his. He hadn’t asked her to commit to him. He only wanted to traditionalize their time together. He wanted them to date.

      Nothing misleading in that.

      But to have to meet his family, too? She shuddered at the thought. Meeting them would imply a sort of emotional intimacy that, to her knowledge, didn’t exist for…him.

      For her part, knowing him better only sharpened the ache in her heart.

      With Jett so wonderful, his family had to be pretty great too. What did she know of interacting with family? Nada. Well, except for Molly—whom she couldn’t reach, damn it.

      Where was her sister?

      She glanced at the clock, but it wasn’t so late that she couldn’t indulge in a quick phone call. She called her stepmother first, but that was a dead end. Kathi claimed to have no idea where Molly had “gotten off to” and she didn’t share Natalie’s concern.

      “She’s probably doing a book signing or touring or something.”

      Natalie shook her head. “She always tells me first.”

      Impatient, Kathi laughed. “Don’t be absurd, Natalie. Your sister is a grown woman, not a child, and she doesn’t have to account for her every moment, not even to you.”

      Natalie rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t saying—”

      “You know how Molly is. When she gets involved in research, she often forgets everything and everyone else.”

      With you and Father, Natalie wanted to say, but she held back the snarky reply. Molly worked hard to maintain a relationship with their father because she still cared about those familial ties.

      Natalie didn’t really give a flip one way or the other.

      Striving for a polite tone, she said, “Could you ask Father if maybe he’s heard anything—”

      “Not tonight I won’t.” Kathi laughed again in a wholly condescending way. “Natalie, dear, it’s late and you know that your father is far too busy to be bothered with this sort of nonsense.”

      “But Dad might know something.”

      “I’ll mention it to Bishop in the morning and if he does, I’ll call you. But really, stop panicking.”

      Through her teeth, Natalie said, “I am not panicked. I am concerned.”

      Kathi let out a sigh. “With you, it’s hard to tell the difference. Just give your sister a few days before you start bothering Bishop or anyone else. Now I really must go. Good night, dear.”

      And with that, Kathi hung up. Natalie growled at the dead phone. No, she didn’t dislike Kathi just because she’d married her father, or because her father hadn’t mourned her mother’s death for long, or because Kathi had effectively distanced her even more from her father.

      She disliked Kathi because she was a sanctimonious, uppity, judgmental bitch.

      And because, given those traits, she was the perfect woman to be Bishop Alexander’s wife.

      Making a face, Natalie decided on a long shot and called Molly’s ex-fiancé, Adrian.

      Being that Adrian ran a bar, this was normal business hours for him. His bartender answered and put her through to Adrian’s office.

      Surprise sounded in his tone. “Natalie?”

      God, how Natalie despised Adrian Wiseman. From the very beginning, she’d known that he wasn’t good enough for her sister. It had taken Molly a while to realize it, unfortunately. “Hello, Adrian. I’m sorry to bother you.”

      Cautiously, because Adrian held out hope of getting back with Molly, he said, “It’s fine, fine. What’s up?”

      “I haven’t been able to reach Molly. She’s not answering her calls, and…you know how close we are.”

      Unlike Kathi, Adrian accepted that. “Yes, I do.” A new alertness entered his tone. “You’re worried?”

      “Getting there, yes. Tomorrow I’m leaving for a spring-break vacation, but I hate to go without talking to Molly first.”

      He cleared his throat. “Ah…you do realize that we’re no longer engaged?”

      Dolt. “Like I said, Molly and I are close.” And she’d cheered for Molly during the breakup. Never, not for a single second, had she ever considered Adrian good enough for her sister. He was an opportunist who saw dollar signs when he looked at Molly, not only because of their father’s wealth but because of Molly’s fast-growing fame as a bestselling novelist.

      “Right.” Annoyance sharpened Adrian’s tone. “So then you’re calling me…why?”

      Natalie sighed. “Just a long shot, I guess. I didn’t know who else to ask. It’s not like her to take off without telling me first.”

      A heavy pause strained her patience, and then Adrian drew

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