Inner Harbor. Lois Richer

Drew. I didn’t recognize you at first, especially when you took off across the street like that.” Russ raked a hand through his black hair, ruining its perfection.

      Did his fingers tremble just a little?

      “You scared the daylights out of me, Drew.”

      “I’m sorry.” The apology was perfunctory. “What are daylights?” He studied Russ for a minute before a new thought took precedence. “Hey! You’re staying here, right? Felicity told Billy’s mom a handsome man had moved in.”

      Excitement lent Drew’s eyes a glossy chocolate sheen.

      “So that means your cat will be staying here, too. All right!” He jumped up, twisted to face Annie. “I can play with her, can’t I? I never had a cat before. My mom—” He stopped, gulped hard but stoically continued, a sheen of fresh tears glossing his eyes. “Remember, Annie? Mom was allergic, so I couldn’t have any animals at our place.”

      Russ cleared his throat. Annie ignored him. She was going to have to eat crow. She didn’t need him to rub it in.

      Drew had lost everything. His little world had shifted, changed irrevocably when he’d lost his parents. She had a business to run, but was that a good enough reason to deny Drew the comfort of an overfed orange feline? No. She was all for anything that would make Drew’s life a little happier. Wasn’t that what parenting was all about?

      “You can’t deny the kid a cat,” Russ whispered in her ear, satisfaction resonating through his rumbling voice. “Marmalade is here to stay.”

      But you aren’t, she thought, twisting to look into his silvery eyes. You won’t be staying here long.

      She’d known him only a short while, talked to him for less than an hour, but she knew a lot about Russ Mitchard. And somehow she just knew that settling down wasn’t in Russ’s long-term plans. She had a hunch from something Mr. Willoughby had once said that as soon as Russ had his business running smoothly, he’d be off searching for greener pastures. Wasn’t that what had worried his grandfather so much—the fear that R.J. was running away from life?

      Still, as long as he was a guest at her bed-and-breakfast, she’d have to face him every day, be civil. Probably even explain repeatedly that there was no hope of him marrying her. The thought of that daily contact left her both wary and excited.

      Why was that?

      Annie was afraid she was going to find out.