Mystique Read Free

was
just like all the others, and she wanted no part of him.
    Her fingers were once more poised over
the keys when an image of the man rose before her. His brown eyes glittered
with the hardness of granite. His ash blond hair flashed silver under the
artificial light. His impeccably tailored tuxedo conformed to every muscle in
his tall, lean form.
    "Stop it. Stop it, Misty," she
admonished herself. "Wipe him out of your mind. He's trouble. Your life is
just beginning to be your own. You have a good job. You can pay your bills.
You're playing the piano every day, and you get occasional orchestral
jobs." Reciting the familiar litany of blessings in her life helped her to
feel less anxious, less alone.
    When the orange light of dawn filtered
through the windows, Misty went to bed, falling instantly into a deep and
dreamless sleep.
    She awoke thinking the building was
coming down around her. A terrible noise filled her ears. As her eyes popped
open, it took her a moment to realize that someone was banging on her door.
    "Misty! Misty, did you forget the
twins' lesson today?" Aileen Collins called out. Aileen and her husband
David lived on the parlor floor with their ten-year-old twins, Mark and Mary.
    "Huh?" Misty sat up in bed,
blinking and running a hand absently through her tangled hair. "Oh, wait,
Aileen. I'm coming." She jumped out of bed, her flannel nightgown falling
to her ankles as she staggered over to the door and unlocked it. "Sorry. I
overslept."
    She smiled groggily at her friend and the
exuberant twins, who called out "Hi, Misty!" and bounded past her
into the room. Heading straight for the water bed, they tumbled into the center
amid squeals of laughter.
    "Stop that, now!" Aileen
called, rolling her eyes in exasperation. "I should have kept them
downstairs. I'll bet you haven't even been to bed yet."
    "Yes, I slept for several hours. Why
don't you make me some coffee, and I'll start Mary on her scales?"
    "Done." Aileen grinned, but she
couldn't quite mask her concern for her friend.
    "Now, don't start mothering me
again," Misty protested. "I'm fine. I don't need much sleep. I told
you that." She laughed, moving toward the piano bench.
    "But there's a great deal you've
never told me about yourself, Misty," Aileen said softly. When her friend
didn't answer, she shrugged and went into the small kitchen to fill the
electric drip pot with coffee.
    Misty showed Mary where to start in the
Dozen a Day book of finger exercises for beginners and listened attentively as
her pupil began to play. Misty was grateful for the income from these weekly
lessons, which helped pay her bills each month. She also knew Aileen was
delighted that her children didn't have to travel for the lessons she and David
wanted them to have.
    The hour passed quickly. Afterward, Misty
and Aileen chatted over another cup of coffee while the children drank milk and
munched cookies that Misty stocked especially for them.
    "So, how was it last night?"
Aileen asked, keeping a close eye on the twins, who were wrangling over a game
on the oval carpet.
    Misty shrugged. "The usual Christmas
party scene. People getting drunk, laughing too loudly." She paused.
"But at least they were all chauffeured home after this gathering. The
boss arranged it."
    "Oh? Who's the boss?"
    "Lucas Stuyvesant Harrison. Isn't
that some name?"
    Aileen whistled. "I've seen his
picture in the paper lots of times. That man has a veritable stable of women. I
read in a gossip column that he has no intention of marrying anyone from outside
his social circle. Keeping up the family name, don't you know?" Aileen
curled her pinky finger and raised her cup in an exaggerated imitation of a
pretentious person.
    "Ah, yes, noblesse oblige."
Misty grinned, but she could feel her stomach contract. Undoubtedly Luc
Harrison had thought she would be eager to join his stable of women. She should
be pleased to think he might want to set her up in an apartment, give her
clothes, deign to see her on