A Chance Encounter Read Online Free Page B

himself; she was making him feel like a first-class heel.
    “What are all these odd volumes? They’re not the usual things you find in bookstores.”
    Katie sat down in the chair, rubbing her temple where a headache was threatening to begin. “Would you be less suspicious if they were pornographic? I suppose so. You’re used to dealing with the misery of life—not its joy.”
    Taylor gave her a guarded look. “How do you know what I’m used to?”
    She shrugged tiredly. “You’ve spent a lot of time investigating crimes. I can feel it around you.” And then she lifted her head, meeting his incredulous gaze. “Or is the truth too unsettling? I should lie and say I read it somewhere, then you would have believed me.”
    There was a lingering sadness in her tone. And she had hit on the truth, Taylor admitted grudgingly. He suddenly wanted to ask her a hundred more questions, but saw the fatigue in her eyes. Again he felt a twinge of guilt. “Do you always tell the truth?”
    “Even if it hurts,” she said ruefully, a slight smile on her lips. But it was that same sad smile that tore at his carefully protected heart—and made him feel guilty.
    “What did you do to that man?”
    “I touched him.”
    “Well, so did I, and he sure as hell didn’t stop gasping and choking when I did it.”
    “You called for help. I came because you asked me to. Once someone has made a request of me, I’m bound by cosmic law to help. It’s as simple as that.”
    He stared. “Lady, there’s nothing simple about you.”
    Katie managed a patient smile. “Oh, I’m very simple, Mr, Grant. Transparent, so I’m told.”
    “Then why are you evading my question?”
    “I thought I answered it.”
    “Then maybe I didn’t ask it clearly enough.”
    Katie inclined her head. “You’re an intelligent man, Mr. Grant. I was hoping your heart would be in the right place, too.”
    He bridled at her words. “I don’t get paid to listen to my heart, Ms. Riordan. Every time I allowed myself to get involved with the people I was investigating, I paid a huge emotional price. That’s unacceptable to me. So we’ll just leave my feelings out of this and get on with the reason I’m here.”
    She flinched at the anger in his voice. It wasn’t out of fear, however. Katie felt his pain, and she closed her eyes, massaging her temples. She was annoying him, but she had to be discreet—something it was terribly hard for her to be.
    “Very well, Mr. Grant.” Katie opened her eyes and focused on his pale countenance. The anger and pain she saw in his eyes made her want to cry for him. He must have gone through a private hell to be reacting this way. Getting up, she placed a teakettle on a hot plate. “Would you like some herb tea? I’m going to have some.”
    Taylor shook his head, angry that she’d been able to intuit so much about him when after all, they were strangers. Katie unsettled him, unstrung him, left him off balance and wanting—Lord—wanting simply to grip her in his arms and hold her. Hold her, feel that warm, feminine body against his. Her warmth against the frigid cold inside him. She could thaw him, make him feel again, he realized.
    “I’ve got a deadline to meet,” he said, forcing his mind to return to the subject at hand. “Now, either you tell me what you did or I’ll print this article without your help.”
    Katie reached for a mug with a brightly painted rainbow on it and selected a tea bag from a box. “I’ll answer your questions,” she said quietly.
    “Are you a witch?”
    Katie gasped, whirling toward him. “A witch!” Her blue eyes grew furious. “Where did you get that idea?”
    “Well, all these books on astrology—”
    “Astrology is not witchcraft, Mr. Grant. Before you jump to conclusions, why don’t you look at the shelves? You’ll find nothing on witchcraft here—and you never will. Not so long as I’m the owner.”
    “Then what kind of bookstore is this?”
    “A New Age bookstore,