Nicola turned back to Bianca. “How did you come to choose that particular story?”
“Someone brought it to my attention when I attended a conference in the area, and I got a feeling, a hunch, that there was a story there.”
“I knew you’d make a good agent. Following hunches is essential in good investigative work.”
Jonah turned to Bianca. “What brings you back to Denver?”
It didn’t surprise Bianca one bit that Jonah was the one to ask that question. He’d let her know eleven years ago that he hadn’t approved of her relationship with Nash. The rough kid from the streets was territorial when it came to his friends, and he never believed in beating around the bush.
“I’m working on two projects.”
“True crime again?” Nicola asked.
“One of them is.” Though her back was turned, she could sense that Nash and his grandmother were approaching. The tingle of awareness moved through every cell in her body. She wasn’t sure how she managed it, but she kept her eyes on Nicola. “But I’m also here at the request of Mrs. Fortune. She’s commissioned me to write the history of the Fortune family.”
“Indeed I have,” Maggie said as she and Nash joined the group. “I’ve just been telling Nash, and I think he’s a bit nervous about pulling all the family skeletons out of the closet.”
Bianca barely had time to turn when Nash took her hands in his and leaned down to touch his lips to her cheek. She felt the imprint of each one of his fingers on hers as if they were a brand. The brush of his mouth on her skin was brief, a simple social contact, but her heart skipped a beat, then raced.
“Bianca, it’s wonderful to see you again,” he said. “You’re even lovelier than I remembered.”
He released her in the time it took her to meet his eyes. All she read in his was the warmth one might expect to see in the eyes of an old and dear friend. Nothing that came close to matching the flash of heat his touch had ignited.
“Good to see you, too,” she managed to say, and wondered that her nose didn’t grow like Pinocchio’s for telling the lie. There was no way that her reaction to seeing Nash Fortune again was good. Even after he’d released her hands, she’d wanted badly to throw her arms around him.
She wasn’t the girl she’d been at seventeen—so willing and eager to toss caution to the winds. She was no longer Juliet to his Romeo. What was wrong with her? She was an adult, for heaven’s sake.
But for a few minutes the conversation around her was just a buzz of noise, and she simply couldn’t pick up the thread.
It’s the Nash Effect, the little voice said.
She couldn’t argue with that assessment. She was so aware of him standing near her. It was as if her entire body remembered him. And recalled his touch. When he laughed at something Gabe said, the sound rippled along her nerve endings.
It wasn’t until he stepped closer to Gabe and Jonah that she felt her brain cells click on. She had a story to research, she reminded herself again.
Two stories. In a few more seconds, she’d even remember what they were. Bubbles of panic erupted and cleared her brain. Now, if she could just stop looking at him.
“Are you all right, dear?”
Father Mike. Gratefully, she turned to face him. “I will be.”
“Yes.” He took her hand in his and patted it. “You will be.”
How often had he said those words to her before? The first time had been when she’d worked on the first newsletter for the St. Francis Center. She’d been so nervous about seeing something she’d written in print for the first time. Father Mike had taken her into the small prayer garden tucked in between the center and a basketball court. A statue of St. Francis sat on a dais in the small space, and he’d told her that saying a prayer to the statue would help.
It had. But so had Father Mike’s calm belief in her, then and over the years. She would be all right this time, too.
When she turned back to the others, she could finally follow what they were saying. And she could look at other people besides Nash. The men were discussing an upcoming basketball tournament at the Boys and Girls Club and settling on a poker night since Jonah was in town. Their easy camaraderie matched perfectly with her memories of the three of them.
“I know that you’re busy,” Nicola said to her. “But I’d love to get together with you for lunch?”
Bianca smiled at her. “I’d love that.”
“I’ll call you,” Nicola said before she turned to respond to something Gabe had said.
When a passing waiter offered a flute of champagne, she took one. On the bright side, she’d discovered the answer to one question. Nash was definitely not going to be a non-issue for her. Because he stood in profile, his attention focused on what Gabe was saying, she was able to study him objectively for the first time. His face was leaner, the laugh lines more pronounced. His body was still tall and lanky, but it looked harder. His hands had certainly seemed harder, too, in the moment they’d clasped hers.
They’ll feel different on your skin when he makes love to you.
Bianca took a sip of her champagne. She was just not going to allow herself to go there. Second thing on the bright side—what she was feeling was one-sided. He hadn’t glanced at her since he’d moved away. The fact that he seemed to be treating her as an old friend was a good thing. She’d find a way to handle her feelings. She was older now. And she could still use his help with both her projects. When she interviewed him as the current heir to the Fortune dynasty, she’d also ask him about Brian. They’d been classmates. At the very least, he could provide deeper insights into the kind of person Brian had been. At best, he could save her a lot of time by putting her in touch with others who’d known Brian personally that year. She just had to keep her focus.
“Having second thoughts?”
Bianca turned to see Maggie stood next to her. She met the older woman’s eyes. “No.”
“Good.” Maggie took her free hand and gave it a quick squeeze. “How did your visit to the Colorado Springs Police Department go?”
Bianca smiled at her. “Very smoothly, thanks to you. Mayor DeBlois sends you his best. The sergeant there had the files on Brian Silko’s disappearance all ready for me to read. Unfortunately, I didn’t discover anything new. The detective who did the investigation has retired. No one seemed to know his current address. My next move will be to locate him. But first, I intend to get started on the book you’re paying me for.”
“Good. But I knew when I convinced you to take on the scandalous Fortunes that you were also here to research your next book. You’re free to juggle your work load any way you see fit. I’ll be out of town for a few days, but I’ve arranged with Grady, my house manager, for you to have access to the library and the family archives whenever you wish. He has instructions to let you in and out—at any hour.”
“I’ll start tomorrow.”
“Good.”
“Maggie, sorry I’m late. Happy birthday.”
“James.” Maggie turned to hug the man who wore a dress uniform that matched Nash’s.
“General.” Nash nodded at the man.
Maggie introduced General James Winslow to the group. When it was her turn, Bianca grasped the hand the general extended. She was a little surprised when the current superintendent of the Air Force Academy showed no sign of recognition. It had been less than a month since he’d refused to meet with her or even speak to her on the phone. After that, she’d received the same refusal from everyone else she’d phoned. No one wanted to talk about Cadet Brian Silko.
There