Her Best Defense. Jackie/Lori Merritt/Myles

flipped the lapel on Grant’s jacket and walked off to gaily greet someone else.

      Grant was quick to explain that he and Deidra were just good friends. “Can I get you something to drink?” he asked.

      “Not just yet.”

      “How about something to eat?”

      “I think I’d just like to find Faith and wish her a happy birthday right now,” Lisa said.

      “You aren’t ready to go yet, are you?” Grant asked.

      Lisa was ready to go, but she shook her head for Grant’s sake. She had always liked Faith Unser, but the rest of the crowd gave off an aura of pretense that Lisa didn’t much care for. Were these the people Grant regularly socialized with?

      Lisa put up with the party for an hour before she told Grant she was tired and had to leave. “But you stay, Grant. I’ll take a cab.”

      “Like hell you will! I’ll drive you home.”

      “You certainly don’t have to leave on my account,” she said. “I’m perfectly capable of getting home on my own.”

      “I have no doubt of that, but you came with me so I’d appreciate your leaving with me. I’ll drive you home. No debate, please.”

      Within a few minutes, they were outside and walking down the street to where he had parked his car.

      “You didn’t have a good time tonight,” Grant said.

      “That just isn’t my crowd,” she said with a sidelong glance at him to see his reaction. “I’m sorry, but I guess I’m more of a meat-and-potatoes kind of girl.”

      “Don’t apologize. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

      “I didn’t say there was anything wrong with it.”

      Grant stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. “Why am I doing nothing right tonight? What is it about you, Lisa Jensen, that gets me all tongue-tied and flustered?”

      Lisa was surprised by Grant’s outburst. Did she really have that effect on him? Or was this some kind of ploy to get to her? Stop being so suspicious, she scolded herself. But she couldn’t help doubting. Her past kept creeping forward in her mind, reminding her that she had one failed marriage already and if she wasn’t careful, there could be more, and that was something she didn’t want. The next time she walked down the aisle would be the last time, she had vowed on more than one occasion.

      Still, Grant looked so cute and rather hapless standing there on the sidewalk with the streetlight shining down on him that her heart softened toward him.

      “Oh, stop,” she said while taking a step back to him, looping her arm through his and pulling him the rest of the way to his car.

      Lisa lived only a few miles away from the apartment where the party had been held, so it didn’t take long for Grant to drive to her place.

      “It’s still early,” Grant said as he pulled up in front of her home. “I mean, if you’d like we can do something else.”

      “Another time, Grant,” she said. “I’m pretty beat tonight.”

      “We wouldn’t have to go anywhere,” he tried again. “We could just sit and talk for a while. I’d really like that, and I’m sitting here hoping that so would you.”

      Lisa finally got the hint. He wanted to be invited in—something she wasn’t at all ready for. “Can I get a rain check?” she asked quietly.

      He hesitated a long moment and finally shrugged. “Sure.”

      He was disappointed, but then, what did he expect? This was only their first outing together, with no promise of any others to follow. She wasn’t even sure at this point if she wanted to see him again. What was he thinking? Maybe that she should invite him into her home and possibly her bed after only a few hours together?

      Stop it! she told herself again. All he wants is get to know you better. But if she really believed that, why was her left hand curled into a nervous fist?

      “I did have a nice time,” she said. “Can I call you in a day or two?”

      “Sure,” he repeated, a little more strongly this time.

      She quickly bent toward him and gave him a quick kiss. “Thanks again,” she said as she climbed out of his car. As soon as Lisa entered her house, she felt relieved. Her home was truly her sanctuary.

      “What a day this was,” she mumbled as she climbed the stairs to her bedroom.

      It had started out with those two crazy people that she hoped she would never have to see again and had ended with a date with a man she really wasn’t attracted to. And why not, she wondered. Why wasn’t she attracted to Grant Gowan like so many of the other women in the building were?

      “Building, hell,” she said out loud and quite sarcastically. “How about Chicago’s entire legal profession!”

      Lisa kicked off her shoes as soon as she got to her bedroom. Next, she slipped out of her work clothes and hung them up. Grabbing a fresh pair of pajamas from a drawer, she went to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. She usually checked messages and e-mails when she got home, but not tonight. Tonight she was heading straight to bed, after a call to her mother, of course.

      “Hi, Mom,” she said when she heard Claudia pick up.

      “Hi, sweetheart. How was your date?”

      Lisa expelled a brief, brittle laugh of self-mockery and then spent the next five minutes reciting the details of the evening to her mother.

      “Why, I think you should have enjoyed yourself!” Claudia exclaimed. “A nice party and a handsome escort? Yes, you should have had a pleasant evening. Grant sounds like a very nice young man. You should give him a chance.”

      “But I’m not attracted to him, Mom.”

      “Sex isn’t everything, sweetheart. That goes away and then what’s left? That’s what you should think about.”

      “Was there ever a time you weren’t attracted to Daddy?”

      Claudia was silent for a few moments. “No, I can’t honestly say there was ever a time I wasn’t attracted to that man.”

      Lisa could hear a heavy sigh on the other end of the phone.

      “I’m sorry I brought him up, Mom.”

      “Don’t be. And don’t listen to me, either. You go find your Mister Right. He’s out there.”

      “Thanks, Mom. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

      Chapter 3

      Lisa arrived at work at her usual time. Instead of going straight to her own office, though, she stopped by the research department to see what Larry had come up with on the Witheringtons. If she had to deal with those people, it was in her best interest to know as much as possible about them. Of course, if things went as she ardently hoped, the police would eliminate Glory as a suspect and Lisa wouldn’t have to deal with them ever again.

      “Good morning, Larry,” she said as she entered his domain. “What did you find for me?”

      “No time for chitchat? Sounds like someone got up on the wrong side of the bed.”

      “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you. I guess maybe I did wake up a little cranky.”

      “Rough night?”

      Had she had a rough night? Not really. So why was she feeling so on edge this morning? Her date with Grant really hadn’t been all that bad. She knew she wasn’t attracted to him and that she probably wouldn’t be seeing him in that way again, but that wasn’t a reason for her to snap at people this morning. So why was she feeling this way? The Witheringtons, she almost said out loud.

      Ever