Blackhawk Desires: Blackhawk's Betrayal. Barbara McCauley

course.” Worried, Kiera closed the door behind her and followed her into the living room. The baby, was her first thought, and she felt the panic twist in her stomach. Or Sam. Something had happened to Sam!

      No, that didn’t make any sense. Even if something had happened to Sam, Clair wouldn’t have come here. She didn’t know about yesterday, Kiera thought. No one knew that she and Sam, well, that they’d been together. In his suite. Intimately.

      Or did they?

      Her stomach clenched even tighter at the thought, and she searched her brain for some kind of explanation. Not that there was one, she realized. She and Sam had slept together. That hardly required an explanation. Biting her lip, she watched Clair sit on the sofa, her back straight as a pin, her gaze no-nonsense.

      “I understand you quit yesterday.”

      Speechless, Kiera stared at Clair in amazement. That’s why she’d come here? Kiera realized that Clair was a hands-on owner, but still, one waitress quitting hardly warranted a personal visit.

      “I—I’m sorry.” Her brain still stumbling over Clair’s statement, Kiera had to clear her throat before she could speak again. “I assure you, normally I would have given two weeks’ notice, but under the circumstances it seemed like the best thing to do.”

      “The circumstances,” Clair repeated thoughtfully. Her dark hair brushed one shoulder when she tilted her head. “Are you referring to Phillipe’s temper tantrum or your relationship with Sam?”

      Kiera’s breath caught. Sam had told Clair? Anger slowly seeped through her shock. How could he!

      “I can see what you’re thinking.” Clair shook her head. “And you can relax. Sam didn’t say a word to me, about you quitting or anything else. He’s hardly the type of man to kiss and tell.”

      Relief swept through Kiera, along with a blush. “But—”

      “I’m not blind, Kiera,” Clair said with a soft smile. “I saw the way he looked at you that afternoon in my office. In all the time I’ve known him, I’ve never seen him look at any woman like that. Do you know he handed me a letter of resignation this morning?”

      Kiera sank down on the sofa beside Clair. “He did what?”

      “I told him I wouldn’t accept it unless he’d murdered a guest, and even then I might take into consideration whom he’d killed. There’s an oafish brute on the fourth floor driving the entire staff crazy.”