A Rose At Midnight. Sylvie Kurtz

play so well if a simple touch could shake her so.

      “Daniel.” Christi pasted a wide smile on her mouth as she turned to face him. Could a face crack from trying too hard to look relaxed? “How nice to see you again.”

      What did you say to an ex-lover after nine years? Hi, and by the way, you left a little more of yourself than you thought when you took off. Yep, that’s right, you’re a daddy. I’d have told you much sooner, but you didn’t leave a forwarding address.

      There was no good way to deliver this news. She toyed with the idea of keeping the secret to herself. Why should she upset three ordered lives?

      Because she, of all people, understood he had the right to know. She would tell him. But not now, not tonight. Not with the shock of seeing him still ebbing from her body.

      The quartet struck up again, playing a generic waltz that faded into the background along with the happy chatter and clink of glasses.

      “Dance with me.” There was a touch of vulnerability beneath the cutting steel of his voice, and she was tempted to let him lead her to the floor, to see if the electric passion that had burned them both still flickered. But that was a dangerous game, and she had Rosane to think of now.

      “I was just leaving.” Her gaze cut over his shoulder in search of Armand.

      “So early? Dance with me, Christiane.”

      His voice was deeper, more resonant than she remembered, his presence more domineering, and his penetrating gaze caused bubbles of acid to pop in her stomach. “Another time, maybe. I have…obligations. I really have to go.”

      He grasped her elbow in one hand and turned her toward the cleared floor where a dozen couples waltzed. Talons would have been easier to dislodge.

      “You don’t want to cause a scene,” he whispered in her ear. To anyone the gesture would have looked as if he were whispering sweet nothings.

      His thumb caressed her elbow, gentling his insistence, short-circuiting the logical part of her brain. One dance, what could it hurt?

      “Dance with me.” His harsh gaze softened for an instant, and she saw the awkward boy once more—the one who’d stumbled over his words when he’d asked if he could walk her home after her shift at the ice-cream parlor.

      She wasn’t a teenager anymore; she could resist those eyes, that smile. Throat too dry to speak, she nodded and let him lead her onto the dance floor. One dance. She’d prove she was over him to them both.

      The warmth of his hand on the small of her back penetrated the thin material of her dress and made her feel exposed. As he drew her closer, more potent heat radiated from him, making her trip over her own shadow. He’d once made a cold February night sizzle. As he steadied her, she closed her eyes, willing her body to forget the sensations her mind too easily remembered. Memories rippled up from their safe hiding place, and she braced against their assault.

      “Relax,” Daniel whispered. The ruffle of his breath made her quiver. “I won’t hurt you. I just want to talk to you.”

      “You played well tonight.”

      “Do you know my work?” Daniel skillfully skirted around another couple.

      “No, other than Céline Dion, I don’t know of any French Canadian stars who’ve made the news in Fort Worth.” I had no idea if you were dead or alive. “I’m glad you realized your dream.” God, she’d attended too many business affairs if she could talk to him that casually without falling apart.

      “And you? Have your dreams come true?”

      “Some.” She shrugged, keeping her gaze averted from the liquid amber that had drawn too much out of her already. She didn’t want to tell him about Rosane until she’d found firm footing again.

      “Which ones?” His gaze measured her as they danced, making her wonder at the thoughts behind the rigid panes of his eyes.

      To make matters worse, someone’s stare pierced her spine. When she turned to look, it wasn’t the envious ogling of another woman that caught her attention, but Armand’s dark gaze. It lifted to meet Daniel’s, then a satisfied smile curved his lips.

      Daniel’s arm tightened around her in a protective gesture. With an unexpected twirl, he guided her deeper into the fray of dancers.

      “Do you know him?” she asked.

      “Armand Langelier. I know him.” His mouth thinned into a grimace as if the name tasted bitter.

      “How do you know Armand?” Speaking with Daniel had always been an art, a matter of asking the questions, then reading the body as well as listening to the nuances between the words. Discussing his emotions had appeared an impossible task. This trait hadn’t improved with age.

      Without warning, Daniel stood still though the music hadn’t stopped. Dancing couples brushed against them. An unfathomable darkness crossed his face. His jaw tightened. He stared at Armand through the crowd. For an instant his expression was filled with a mixture of regret and pain so deep it weighed on her heart.

      “He used to be a well-respected lawyer. It’s said he helped form many happy families.” Bitterness underlined his words. Abruptly, Daniel’s arms fell away from her body and his hand gripped hers. “Come, let me take you home.”

      With long-legged strides, he started for the door. Her hand firmly trapped in his, she had no choice but to follow. What was Daniel’s connection to Armand? A total stranger didn’t warrant such a strong reaction.

      “Slow down.” Christi tried to slip her hand from his. “I came with someone else.”

      “We have to talk.”

      “You had your chance while we were dancing.”

      “It wasn’t a suggestion, Christiane. Your life is at stake.”

      “My life?” She scoffed at his exaggeration. “Aren’t you being overdramatic?”

      “We need to talk.”

      She skidded to a halt, forcing Daniel to do the same. Her free hand tightened into a fist, her stomach clenched into a squirming knot and the rising heat of anger had sweat breaking out along her hairline. A glass from a passing waiter’s tray swayed, then fell, taking its neighbors with it like bowling pins. Champagne splashed down the side of her dress.

      She stood tree still, staring first at the broken pieces of glass at her feet, then at the dark stain running down the side of her dress. As a glimmer of something forgotten sparked, then faded, the blood drained from her limbs, leaving her skin ice-cold and prickling.

      With effluent apologies, the waiter dabbed at her dress with a linen napkin, picked up the broken pieces scattered around her satin pumps and retreated.

      Christi looked at Daniel and surprised herself with her calmness. “I can’t leave without telling my escort and thanking our hostess.”

      “I’ll get our coats while you make our goodbyes.”

      “You’re the guest of honor. You have to stay.”

      A sardonic twist crooked his smile. “Musicians are eccentric, don’t you know? Madame Bernier is a good friend. She’ll understand. I will thank her profusely tomorrow.”

      His eyes held a warning, one that spoke of danger in refusal, surging question after question, the chief one being—what was going on?

      Chapter Two

      “Marry you?”

      The hard drum of Christi’s heart slapped against her ears, making her wonder for a moment if she’d hallucinated the words she’d heard. An hour ago she hadn’t known Daniel was alive, and now, here in her mother’s childhood home, he was asking her to spend the rest of her life with him? “Just like that?”

      Only the fluorescent fixture over the sink lit the room.