“And you had to smooth things over?”

“Yes. A job that I’m afraid does not end at five o’clock. Do not think me rude when you catch me glancing often at my phone. I must be available to my boss if she should need me.”

“I understand completely. I won’t take offense. As long as you pay attention to me the rest of the time.”

“I think it will be hard for me to do otherwise. You are dazzling me tonight.”

“Charmer,” she accused him. “You’re going to turn my head.”

“Good. That’s my goal. I don’t say these things to charm you. I say them because they are the truth. There is no ulterior motive.”

“All right,” she said.

He would have to measure his words to her, he thought, lest she think he was trying too hard to impress her. He had no desire to make her feel uncomfortable. Quite the opposite. He wanted her to enjoy herself, to be at ease. And he wanted to be at ease as well. He needed it after the stressfulness of his day.

He found somewhere to park that was near the restaurant where they had reservations. It was a short walk from there to the gallery, so he would not be needing the car again until it was time to return home.

Rafe guided Renee toward the restaurant, lifting her over any particularly slushy piles of snow in order to protect her feet as much as possible. He made her laugh every time he insisted on keeping her feet off the ground.

“You’re going to slip and fall!” she said.

“I have very sure footing. Don’t worry about me.” He guided her into the restaurant and she exhaled a burst of breath. “Goodness it’s cold out!” She shivered theatrically.

“Certainly too cold for a dress that short,” he scolded her, a warm glint in his eye.

Renee smiled softly. She was flushed from all the times he had put his hands on her to help her through the snow. He was so strong and so undeniably male. She felt protected and cared for. It was a feeling she wasn’t used to. She found herself enjoying it immensely.

“Tonight I’m willing to sacrifice warmth for vanity. I wanted to look good.”

He smiled at that, one side of his mouth kicking up and his eyes warming as he took her in from head to toe. “Then I should mention your unbounded success.”

He reached out toward her, but the maître d’ stepped forward into their space and interrupted the gesture.

“Reservations?” he asked, reaching to help Renee out of her coat.

“DaSilva,” Rafe said.

“Ah yes. Mr. DaSilva. We have the table you requested this way.”

After their coats were checked, the maître d’ led them to a table cozily tucked into the rear of the restaurant. It was private and they would be undisturbed there.

“Sit. Let me warm your hands.”

He held a chair out for her then took the seat across from her. He reached over the table for her hands and rubbed warmth into her chilled fingers. They ignored their menus, leaving their eyes with nothing to do but meet over the table. The intimacy was intense, closing the distance between them. Renee watched as candlelight flickered over his handsome features.

After a minute she withdrew her hands from his and picked up her menu. Staring at him like that had been too intimate. She needed a moment to catch her breath. So she stuck her nose in her menu and began to search for something to satisfy her appetite.

Rafe recognized her withdrawal for what it was. As he too picked up his menu, he tried to think of why the growing intimacy between them did not concern him as much as it should. Clearly she was taken off guard by it. She was pulling back, trying to protect herself from this easy connection they seemed to feel with each other. He should be equally cautious. But for some reason he was not. For some reason he found himself throwing himself into the feelings she elicited by her mere presence.

They communicated their selections to the waiter, and then were left alone again.

“So you had a beastly day?” she asked him.

“Not so bad. Not most of it. The end of it was trying, but it has vastly improved since leaving the office.” He reached out and again took her hand, toying lightly with her fingers. “What about you?”

“I spent it indoors mostly. But I did have to beat the streets a little to work a case I’m on.”

“Yes, a homicide detective, I imagine, cannot spend the day inside watching the snow fall.”

“I would have liked to. I’ve been trying to shake off a sense of lethargy all day.”

Rafe frowned. “Perhaps we should not have gone out tonight.”

“No. I’m fine,” she insisted. “I wanted to do something. I…I had a nice time last night. I thought we could repeat our success.”

“It was a success,” he agreed. “I was pleasantly surprised considering I essentially picked you up in the market. One never knows how things like that will turn out.”

“I confess I felt the same way. I thought I was out of my mind…but as the evening wore on I began to think I’d gotten lucky.”

“I know the feeling.” He smoothed the tip of his thumb along the tips of her fingers. “So do you anticipate equal success tonight?”

“Perhaps even better,” she said a bit coyly.

“That sounds quite promising.”

“I thought so. I am trying out being an optimist.”

“I imagine doing what you do, seeing the worst side of humanity all day long, you do tend to become a pessimist.”

“I have to work hard at not letting it get me down. I remind myself every day that what I see is only a cross-section of the world I live in. I balance it out by playing with puppies and searching for rainbows.”

He laughed. “Is that even remotely true?”

“Well, the puppies part is. There’s a pet shop down the street. I get my fill whenever I want.”

“But we don’t get many rainbows here in the city. Do you travel much?”

“Not as much as I would like and not as far. I’ve been focused more on my career.”

“I imagine you are quite dedicated. Tell me about a case you are working on.”

She withdrew, taking her hand out of his. “I can’t discuss ongoing investigations.”

“Then tell me about something from the past,” he said smoothly. He should have known she wouldn’t talk about the case voluntarily. Now he was being deprived of contact with her. And that was exactly how he felt. Deprived. The perception surprised him. What was it about her that affected him so strongly? She should be nothing more to him than a source of food and information, yet he found himself feeling more. Wanting more. And what was more, he wanted her to feel the same way.