Page 39 of Mr. Dangerous

Rob sighed. "I'd planned to take you dancing after dinner. Try to teach you a few moves before thefundraiser."

"I don't plan on dancing," I said. "I'm sure I'll be busy with theevent."

"You don't have to do everything yourself. I hired an event planner. Then you can enjoyittoo."

"Rob." At least exasperation with him felt safe and familiar after the unsettling night. "The point of a fundraiser is not to spend much money, so you can use the donations for the charity. Fund. Raiser. It's not just a bigparty."

"I'm paying," he said. "And I'm paying for the caterer. Mydonations."

"Why?"

"Because I want your fundraiser to be a raging success. Because it's obviously important to you, crazy cat lady. And because I want you to enjoy somethingforonce."

"I enjoy lots of things," I saiddefensively.

"Great. Well, you're going to enjoy the night of thefundraisertoo."

I was amused at how combative Rob sounded even when he was trying to be nice. This was another reason we could never date. What kind of future did two people have when they argued allthetime?

"So tell me," he said. "What else do youenjoy?"

"What else do I enjoy? That sounds like an interview question." And a question that made mesquirm.

"If there are so many things, it should be easy for you to list them." His lipsquirkedup.

Fine. Challengeaccepted.

"I like reading. As you obviously know. I like swimming, although I don't swim often. I don't want to go ocean swimmingalone."

"A wise choice," he said. "Why isn't there anyone for you toswimwith?"

"None of my friends want to go for a nice mile swim on a Sunday morning," I said, "For somereason."

"I'd go on a nice mile swimwithyou."

"I'm out of practice. You'd leave me inyourwake."

His eyes were intent on mine. "I wouldn'tleaveyou."

I noticed the day's shadow, dark scruff across his broad jaw, the soft pink ofhislips.

He certainly hadn't left me with thatcarjacker.

Even when the guy had climbed into the backseat before I could hit the locks, even when I was terrified with the gun’s big barrel staring me down, I'd known Rob would come back. I had sat there with my hands frozen on the steering wheel, my fingers so stiff that I wasn’t sure I could even obey the man with the gun. Adrenaline had flooded through my body and made my legs ache to run. I’d thought frantically of Rob, Rob, Rob,comingback.

I had tried to figure out a way to warn him before he got into the car, and at the same time, I had felt like once he came back, I wouldbesafe.

“I could’ve died tonight,”Isaid.

“I wouldn’t let that happen.” His tone wasconfident.

I shook my head slightly. If Rob hadn't been there, so cool and collected, so able, the evening would have unspooled in different, terrifying new directions. But then, if Rob hadn’t been there, I wasn’t sure that carjacker would have climbed into the Suburban. “Do you think he knew whoyouwere?”

“I’d like to know the answer to that question too.” He rubbed his palm against his five o’clock shadow. His eyes were troubled. “Hopefully the police get an answer outofhim.”

“Maybe it was bad luck,” I said. “Our unluckynight.”

“Maybe,” he agreed. He turned that troubled gaze on me, those deep blue eyes full of pain despite the confident way he spoke. “I hate that you were indanger.”

---