He abruptly pulled his chin back a notch. "What do you mean by that?"
"For the past week you've been obsessed with finding out who this woman is and where she lives."
"Because she's my alibi."
"Are you sure that's the only reason?"
"Yes. Hell yes." He reached for the doorknob and pulled the door open. "Listen, Tanya, I don't want you or anybody else to get any romantic notions about her."
"I see."
"I mean it."
"I understand."
"That's it. She's my alibi. Period." Standing silhouetted in the open doorway, he made an umpire's "safe" motion with his hands. When he did, he rapped his knuckles against the doorframe. "Ouch! Damn!" Sucking on an injured knuckle, he added, "Besides, as it turns out, she's married."
A few moments later Chase, rubbing dry his dark hair with a towel, wearing another around his middle, came to Tanya's side. She was standing in the doorway, watching Lucky's taillights disappear around the nearest corner.
"What was all the shouting about?" he asked.
"That was Lucky," she said, closing the door. "He was adamantly denying that this woman means anything more to him than an alibi."
"Does he think you're hard of hearing?"
She laughed. "No, but I think he is."
"Huh?"
"He's not listening to his heart."
"I don't get your meaning."
"You're not supposed to," she replied coyly. "You're a man."
"You know, that secret little smile of yours drives me crazy." He bent down to nuzzle her neck. "Makes me horny as hell."
"I know," she whispered back, moving against him seductively. "Why do you think I wear it so often?"
Chase dropped both the towels and carried her into their bedroom.
Half an hour later the covers were helplessly tangled around their naked bodies, but neither noticed or cared. They were sated. While Tanya lay on her back, eyes closed, Chase idly caressed her breasts, which bore the faint, rosy markings of recent lovemaking.
"I feel sorry for Lucky," she remarked dreamily.
"So do I. He's got himself in a real jam."
"I'm not talking strictly about the fire. One way or another, he'll be exonerated. This might represent a setback in his life, but that's all it'll be."
"Then why do you feel sorr
y for him?"
She opened her eyes and looked at her husband, reaching up to lovingly brush damp strands of hair off his forehead. "I think the encounter with this Haines woman has had more of an impact than he's willing to admit. And even if he does admit it, whether publicly or to himself, there's nothing he can do about it. It was finished before it started."
"Define 'it.'"
She shrugged. "A meaningful relationship, I suppose."