Tempting Fate Read Free Page B

if only she reached for it. And for him.
    For a moment, she swayed between temptation and rationality—that thin razor's edge understood by all lovers. It would be so easy…
    A faint mechanical rumble snapped her back. Diana turned her head toward the doors of an elevator she hadn't even noticed. Without speaking, Caine slid his hands up to her shoulders and slipped her coat off as they opened.
    Diana watched a woman walk through, small and blond and striking in a simple violet sheath that matched her eyes. "Diana." Serena walked to her, enveloping her in a hard, unselfconscious hug. "I'm so glad you came!" Serena slid her hands down until they gripped her sister-in-law's. "Oh, you're lovely," she said with a wide, welcoming smile. "And so like Justin, isn't she, Caine?"
    "Mmm." Standing back, he watched the meeting as he lit a cigarette.
    A bit overawed by the greeting, Diana retreated a step. "Serena, I want to thank you for the invitation."
    "It's the last formal one you'll get," Serena told her. "We're family now. Caine, how about a drink? Diana, what would you like?"
    Diana glanced from brother to sister and lifted her shoulders. "A little vermouth." Nervous and unwilling to settle, she wandered to the window. "The hotel's beautiful, Serena. Caine tells me you and Justin are partners."
    "In this one, and the one we're rebuilding in Malta. I haven't wormed my way into the others as yet I will." Accepting the glass Caine handed her, Serena took a seat on the sofa.
    "It turns out Diana and I are neighbours." Caine crossed the room with another glass and offered it to Diana.
    "Really?"
    That strange moment had passed, Diana told herself. And it had been nerves, not needs, she thought as she took the drink from Caine. Then their eyes met, their fingers brushed. She wasn't as certain as she wanted to be. "Yes." Deliberately she turned away from Caine to face his sister. "It's quite a coincidence."
    Came smiled slowly as he let his gaze sweep up Diana's back. "Even more of a coincidence," he drawled as he walked back to the bar. "We have the same profession."
    "You're a lawyer?" Serena watched Diana's eyes follow Caine. It appears my brother doesn't waste any time, she mused, then sipped thoughtfully at her drink.
    "Yes, I was at Harvard a few years behind Caine." Diana switched her drink to her other hand and wished she hadn't asked for it. "But his presence was still felt," she added.
    Serena threw back her head and laughed. "Oh, I don't doubt it. In most cases you should take stories with a grain of salt. In Caine's…" She trailed off, sending him a provocative smile. "I always wonder just how much was left out."
    "Your faith in me is touching," Caine murmured.
    They're close, Diana mused. They've shared years and know dozens of foolish things about each other. She stared down into her drink. What am I doing here? "Serena," she began. "I want you to know I appreciate the invitation. But I wonder…" Diana stopped and fortified herself with a sip of vermouth. "I wonder if Justin's any more comfortable about this than I am."
    "He doesn't know you're coming." When Diana's eyes shot up, Serena went on quickly. "I wasn't certain you would, Diana. I didn't want him to be hurt if you refused."
    "Would he be?" Diana murmured, then lifted her glass again.
    "You don't know him," Serena returned. "I do." The cool, quiet look Diana sent her was so like Justin's that Serena's heart twisted. "Diana, I think I have some idea how you must feel." Setting her drink on the table, she rose. "Please don't shut him out. He's—"
    At the sound of the elevator, Serena broke off. Damn it, I need a few more minutes! She glanced at Diana to see her sister-in-law standing stiff and silent. Serena cast one helpless look at Caine and got a shrug for an answer. Diana watched the doors slide open.
    "There you are." Justin strode directly to his wife. "You disappeared."
    "Justin—" Serena found her words muffled against his mouth.
    He's so tall, Diana