Chapter 16

Lori told Eric about her efforts with the reptile skin and she relayed her friend's offer to run the DNA test. He thanked her and agreed that finding out the species of the reptile could help lead to the hacker. Then sat in awkward silence for another few minutes, while Eric wracked his brain trying to figure out what was wrong. They'd gotten along so well, connected so easily the night before and now it was like they were utter strangers. Had he done something to upset her? Was that why she seemed so rigid? He made another stab at conversation.

"So where are you from, originally?"

She accepted the gambit with a ghost of a smile. "I grew up in the Detroit area," she told him quietly. "About an hour and a half from here. I did my undergraduate work here at Southern, then I went to Michigan State for my masters and doctorate."

Eric nodded. She'd given him her whole life story in two seconds. Now what? Fortunately, Lori saved the moment. "What about you?"

"I was born in Pennsylvania, but I grew up mostly in Colorado Springs. Went to school in Boulder, then UCLA. I ended up here about seven years ago." There, he'd given her exactly the same sort of synopsis she'd provided him. He groped for other topics. "Does your family still live in Detroit?"

She nodded. "My folks spend part of the winter in Florida now, but they're in Rochester the rest of the time. I've got a sister in Novi and a brother in Bloomfield Hills."

He'd learned enough southern Michigan geography to know that her relatives were scattered throughout some of the more well-to-do suburbs. "Are you close?"

She nodded, sighing. "Pretty much. Since I'm the only one who's still single, they all seem to see it as their mission in life to marry me off. Other than that we get along okay. My sister Kelly and her husband Joe have three kids. Gary and Vanessa have two. The kids are fun." She looked up at him and for a second, he almost saw a glimpse of the woman he'd seen last night. "What about you? Any family?"

He shook his head. "Not to speak of. No siblings and my father died about ten years ago. My mother and her current husband are in Europe somewhere."

"I'm sorry," she murmured.

He shrugged. "Don't worry about it. It's history."

There was another lull as the wait staff removed their plates and brought the dessert tray. Lori shook her head miserably, so Eric waved off the waiter and asked for the check. As he was signing the credit card receipt, he noticed Lori stiffen and her eyes went wide as though in panic.

"What's wrong?" he asked solicitously. Her face had gone deadly pale and her hand was shaking as she reached for her mostly empty water glass. "Are you okay?"

"Nothing," she mumbled. "It's just - someone I used to know."

Eric looked around and saw that another couple had been seated near them and the man was gazing speculatively at Eric's date. Lori was practically cringing. All of Eric's male hackles rose. "Who's he?"

"Dr. Warren Chamberlain," Lori answered. "Chair of the Business Management Department."

That explained the perfectly tailored three-piece suit and the hundred-dollar tie. Those Business School types set a great store by their appearance. It was one of the reasons Eric usually didn't have much use for them. This guy, with his razor-cut dark hair and manicured fingernails, Eric detested on sight. He also realized there was more going on than Lori was telling him.

"And?" he prodded.

She fixed her eyes firmly on her hands, which were twisting something, probably her napkin, in her lap. "And he's my ex-fiancé."

Eric mentally winced when she pointed out her ex. Ouch!

"That's the current model he's with now." Lori made a face and went on. "She's his boss's niece and my boss's secretary."

Eric was no social genius, but he could see that the elegant looking couple still had the power to make Lori feel insecure and for some reason that bothered the hell out of him. "Do you still love him?" he asked gently, although the thought made his stomach turn, after the way she'd responded to his kiss the night before. Still, he had to know.

"God, no!" she said, with a genuine flicker of amusement penetrating her expression of discomfort. "I just can't stand the way they look down their perfect little noses at me. They always manage to make me feel like a bug under a microscope."

Eric smiled nastily. "So let's fix that, shall we?" He stood and held out his hand, offering to assist her up from the table. "Just follow my lead, okay?"

Her dinner sat like lead in her stomach, but Lori nodded and accepted his hand. What a mess. Of course Warren had had to show up tonight, it put the finishing touch on a miserable evening. This might not have been her first date since the break-up of her engagement the previous summer, Wesley had seen to that, but this was the first time she'd really wanted the date to lead to something more. She wasn't be exactly sure what yet, but she knew she wanted to get to know Eric a whole lot better and after tonight that didn't seem too likely.

As he came around the table, Eric pulled Lori close and to her great astonishment, kissed her hard. All the passion she'd felt the night before flooded through her and she instinctively wrapped her arms around his waist for balance. His soft cotton turtleneck was warm and smooth beneath her trembling fingers. By the time he pulled back, Lori's breath was coming in short, labored pants. Eric's green eyes gleamed down at her and his big hands steadied her while she regained her balance.

As her brain regained control from her hormones, Lori became mortified. "What was that for?" she hissed under her breath.

Eric grinned unrepentantly. "Ready to go?" His arm remained possessively around her waist as they walked to the door. His other hand teased a small strand of hair that had come loose from its knot during their kiss. To Lori's further humiliation, their exit took them right past the table where Warren and Marji were sipping aperitifs. Warren's gaze was censorious. Marji's was downright petulant. It seemed that a confrontation was inevitable.

"Lori," Warren offered curtly. "How unexpected to find you here." His polite words were at odds with his castigating tone.

"Oh, hello, Warren," Lori offered absently, as if she'd just noticed the man. At least that was the tone she'd been striving for. Eric's arm squeezed her waist - in encouragement, she hoped.