“Oh, he’s not getting away.” Brando’s new fiancé smiled at him. “We’ve talked about the fall or even next spring, nothing definite yet. We have a lot of decisions to make.”

“In fact, I have to leave you two to your plotting while I start on a decision we’ve already made.” Brando leaned over to kiss Claris on the lips. “I’m paring down my schedule so I’ll only be away one week a month.”

“That is a big change. Think you can stick to it?” Ari watched his face. The success or failure of his marriage might well rest on how he handled this issue.

“I know I can. I’ve wanted to make the change for months, but something always came up. Now I have incentive. What guy could stay away when he has such a wife waiting at home?” He gave Claris a long, intimate look.

“Um, would you guys like some privacy?”

“Sorry.” Brando grinned. “I’ve really got to go.”

He left shortly afterward. Claris went to the front window to watch him walk down the street. “I can’t believe that I’m going to be Claris Seilmann. Mrs. Brando Seilmann.”

“It does have a nice ring to it.”

They continued to chat over new mugs of coffee and eventually got around to Claris’s hopes for her married life.

“Would you give up the shop?”

“Never. It’s part of who I am. In fact, we might live here for a while. At least until the babies come.” Claris blushed. “We want five.”

Ari burst out laughing. “Sounds to me like you got quite detailed in your planning last night.”

“Yes, I guess we did,” Claris said, still smiling, but serious now. “These last miserable days were a big wake-up call. We both realized what was really important. And that we wanted to be together.”

* * *

With Claris running back and forth between waiting on customers and searching the Internet for wedding dresses, Ari returned home to finish packing. She was thrilled for her friends, but their happiness made her wonder where her own life was going.

She opened her shirt drawer and transferred a stack to the second bag now open on her bed. She couldn’t get Claris’s words out of her head.

What was really important in Ari’s life?

The job, naturally. Fulfilling her destiny. But on a personal level, had Andreas taken on the same kind of significance? Or was she just on hold?

There were so many things about him she didn’t know, secrets he hadn’t shared, including a history that remained murky. How much of that would make a difference if she knew? Maybe none of it. After all, it was the past. Everyone had a past. It was who he was now that mattered. Maybe the only secrets she really needed to know were those that were part of Andreas’s present.

She slowly smiled. He’d actually been pretty open about his current life. And, what was more important, she knew him—his sense of fairness, the loyalty he earned. And the way his eyes lit up when he was excited, the lock of hair he couldn’t control. His touch.

One thing had escaped her. Not because he’d kept it secret, but because she’d refused, even dreaded, knowing. Only she could change that.

Ari dropped her last stack of clothes on the bed and walked into the hallway. Turning left, she stopped in front of the master bedroom and keyed in the code. Lights immediately flashed, and Samuel’s voice came over the intercom. “Ari, is there something I can help you with?”

She froze. Now was the time to change her mind.

“No, I just need to get something from Andreas’s room.”

“Do you want me to get it for you?”

The staff must be more aware than she’d realized. “No, I’ll only be a few minutes.”

“OK then. Sorry to interrupt.”

The release clicked. Ari stifled her doubts and slipped inside. She paused in the total darkness and flipped a switch on the wall, keeping her eyes averted from what she wasn’t ready to see. A dim light came on over the dressing area. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the anxiety to settle.

She’d been in his bedroom a few times, but only when caught up in sex play and never ever when he was sleeping. She’d avoided that, sworn it wouldn’t happen, horrified at the idea of seeing him look dead.

After a few seconds, she opened her eyes and scanned the room. It reflected the man and his tastes. Andreas’s love of cherrywood and leather was evident throughout. The furniture was solid wood, dark, masculine, and timeless, accented with rich burgundy and ivory leather. Heavy drapes covered the windows, totally blocking any light that might filter through the closed and locked steel shutters on the outside.

When she felt ready, Ari looked at the bed, letting out a breath she’d been unconsciously holding. From here, he seemed asleep. She was surprised Andreas was laying on his stomach, a black sheet partially wound around his lower body, one bare leg curled on top. His face was turned away from her. She choked down a laugh, realizing she’d had an irrational fear of finding him in a typical casket pose: on his back with his hands crossed over his stomach.

Instead, he was sleeping in the nude.

Ari stepped closer to the bed until she could see his features. Paler than usual, but he didn’t really look dead. More relaxed, vulnerable. She wanted to touch him, brush the errant strand of hair off his forehead, but she held back. If his skin was cold to her fingers, the illusion of sleep would break. She studied the masculine figure that had become so familiar: the bare muscled shoulders, the sculptured contours of his cheekbones, the strong jawline. A raven lock curled over his ear. She thought it might tickle, and this time she reached out to carefully push it back.

Unexpected tears formed, blurring her vision and spilling onto her checks. She swallowed hard, as a wave of fierce protectiveness swept through her, leaving her barely able to breathe. For countless heartbeats, she stood absorbing him, absorbing her feelings.

Sometime later, she slipped out the door.

When Ari opened her bedroom door, Bella raised a sleepy head to blink at her from the windowsill. The luggage still stood open on the bed. She walked over and looked at the clothes inside, ran her fingers over the new, lacy lingerie.

She scooped up an armful of clothes and stuffed them back into the closets and drawers. Who was she kidding? She was right where she wanted to be.