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  “Just because I told you that I didn’t like being called honey, you jump to the conclusion that some man broke my heart and turned me against men in general.”

  “So, tell me I’m wrong. Tell me that you don’t have an ex-husband or former boyfriend who called you honey and expected you to stroke his ego.”

  Annie stiffened her spine. Damn know-it-all. “My ex-husband called me honey. And he had an ego that needed more than one woman’s stroking.”

  “Just because I called you honey, don’t lump me into the same group as a man who’d cheat on his wife.”

  Annie turned then and stared at her rescuer. There had been something in his voice, in the tone and even in the pronunciation when he’d said the word wife. A sweet, tender sadness. He’d been married, she realized. He’d had a wife. Maybe he still did.

  Dane kept the speed below the limit as he cruised along searching for a drugstore that was still open this late at night. When he spotted a small strip mall, he decided to turn off and check out the row of stores.

  “Are you married?” Annie asked just as Dane stopped in front of a Super-Mart.

  “I was. I’m a widower.” He held out his hand. “How about giving me the other prescription? I’ll get it filled and if you don’t need it, you don’t have to take it. Better to have it, though, just in case.”

  “I told you that…” Her gaze locked with his. She could tell by the unyielding look in his eyes and the stern set of his jaw that he wasn’t going to back down on this issue. And she didn’t have the strength for a battle. Not over something this unimportant. She jerked the prescription out of her pocket and handed it to him. “Here!”

  His face softened as he snatched the paper out of her hand. “Keep the doors locked. I’ll be back as quick as I can.”

  “Thanks. I know I haven’t acted very appreciative, but I am.” When he gave her a skeptical look, she smiled at him. “Really, I am.”

  He smiled back at her, opened the car door, then got out and went into the Super-Mart. Annie leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. Dane Carmichael was a nice man. A real gentleman. She felt a twinge of remorse that she’d taken out some of her anger and frustration on him. After all, he was right. If she didn’t want to be lumped together with a group of old-fashioned Southern belles, then she had no right to compare him to Preston, her Southern gentleman ex-husband who’d lived the double standard concerning extra-marital affairs. Preston actually thought she should understand that his brief affairs had nothing to do with her or their marriage. Unfortunately for other women like her, there were a lot of men who felt the same way Preston did.

  When Dane returned with the filled prescriptions, he found Annie asleep. He unlocked the car, slid behind the wheel and started the engine. She didn’t budge. Poor little thing, he thought, she had to be exhausted. A strand of her blue-black hair clung to her cheek and another rested across the side of her forehead. He had the overwhelming urge to brush back those loose strands of hair, to caress her pale face, to cradle her in his arms and keep her safe.

  Don’t go there, he told himself. Don’t make the mistake of thinking this woman wants you or needs you. She’s made it perfectly clear that, although she appreciates the help you’ve given her, she’d resent it if you did anything more for her.

  Dane let her sleep until he pulled her car into the ground-level parking deck at the Marina House. As he shook her gently, he called her name.

  “Annie? Annie, wake up, hon—” He stopped himself just as he started to use the endearment she disliked. “We’re back at the Grand Hotel.”

  She opened her eyes slowly, groggily, and gazed up at Dane, whose face was only inches from hers. She smiled. “Thank you.” She reached up and placed her hand on his cheek. “You’re probably very good at your job. You’ve certainly taken good care of me tonight.”

  Dane wanted to kiss her, and if she’d been just about any other woman, he would have. After all, he recognized that look in her eyes, that warm, sultry invitation. But Annie Harden probably didn’t realize that her expression was either provocative or inviting. She was definitely one of those women whose lips would say no, while her eyes were saying yes. He wasn’t fool enough to mess around with a lady like that.

  “Come on, Ms. Harden, I’ll walk you to your room.”

  When Dane opened the door, Annie tried to get out, but the minute she turned sideways, pain ripped through her. Clutching her bandaged side, she doubled over as the pain radiated out from her wound and through her entire body. She couldn’t stifle the moan that rose in her throat.

  “Take it easy, honey.” Dane eased one arm around her and the other under her. “Sorry about the honey. It just slipped out.” He lifted her from the car and up into his arms. “I hate to say I told you so, but—”

  “Please, put me down. I think I can manage to walk.”

  He hesitated, then gauged the determinated set of her jaw and the pleading look in her eyes, and set her on her feet. Slowly. Carefully. But he did not release her completely. He kept his arm around her waist.

  “You were right about the pain medication,” she admitted. “I’ll probably need it tonight.”

  He could tell that she was struggling to stay on her feet. All the way into the small, glass-enclosed lobby of the Marina House, onto the elevator and down the corridor to her room, she refused to give in to the pain. With every step she took, he had to fight the urge to lift her into his arms again. Why the hell did she have to be so contrary, so stubborn? What would it hurt if he carried her? Why was it so damn important to her to be independent, to prove to him, and maybe to herself, that she didn’t need him?

  He unlocked and opened the door. Annie walked just inside the room, then turned to him. “Thanks again, for all your help.” She held out her hand.

  He put the small plastic bag that contained the two bottles of prescription medication in her hand. “I’d feel much better if you’d let me stay with you tonight.” He glanced over her shoulder. “This room has two double beds.”

  “That’s very nice of you to offer, but I’ll be fine. I’ll get a good night’s sleep and then I’ll head for home in the morning.” She sighed. “I dread telling Halley’s parents and Clay that she’s disappeared.”

  “Annie, why don’t you let me stay?” Bracing his hands on either side of the door frame, Dane leaned toward her. “If you’re right and the man who attacked you tonight is connected to your friend’s disappearance, you’re still in danger.”

  “I’ll lock the door and if anyone tries to break in, I’ll call for help.”

  “I could check the bathroom and under the bed and—”

  Laughing, she clasped his arm, then suddenly wished she hadn’t touched him. His arm was big, muscular, and hard as a rock. Something entirely feminine in her reacted to his masculine strength. Releasing him abruptly, she stepped backward into the room.

  “Please, be my guest.” She ushered him inside with a magnanimous sweep of her hand. “We’ll both sleep better if you make sure I’m safe.”

  Dane checked the bathroom, which was empty. The closet held only Annie’s suitcase and several wooden clothes hangers. The beds were too low to accommodate even a small child crawling underneath. The sliding-glass doors that led to the balcony were closed, locked and secured. Unless someone had a key or burst down the door, no one was getting inside this room.

  Annie followed Dane as he started to leave. He paused in the doorway. “Take care of yourself, Annie Harden. And if you decide you need a bodyguard or an agent to do some investigative work for you, let me know.” He pulled his business card out of his pocket and handed it to her. “I’ll be sailing around for a couple of weeks, but they know how to get in touch with me.”

  “I… Thank you.” She walked him out into the hall. “Enjoy your vacation.”

  “Go back inside and lock up.”

  He waited. She hesitated.

  “I could stay,” he said.

  “Go,” she told him