He cocked an eyebrow at her. “How about to the beginning of something that just might be very interesting indeed.”

“Hear, hear,” she said. “Was your flight okay?”

“As much as any flight can be nowadays.”

“What about your sons? You’re leaving them again so soon.” Did she sound suspicious?

He touched his fingertips to the back of her hand, gently smoothing them over her skin. “I told them I had more law enforcement consults out here. Since they’re all caught up with end-of-school finals and proms, it really doesn’t bother them that I’m not there all the time.” A lie, he thought, a big honking lie. If his boys had heard, they’d have laughed and pounded on him.

“Are you here to seduce me, Dix?”

Was that excitement in her voice?

“We’ll see, won’t we? You know, I heard about your brother, Charlotte, the one who plays the violin with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and attended Stanislaus Music School in my town.”

She blinked, rapidly, and then she nodded slowly, as if coming to a decision. She sipped her wine. “Is that why you came back to see me?”

“I did wonder why you’d lied about something so obvious, something that did indeed give us a very real connection.”

“Very well, I should have told you. Given how much I look like your missing wife, it would make sense for you to do all sorts of checking on me. You want the truth, Dix? His name is David Caldicott, as you know—that’s my maiden name— and the fact is we haven’t spoken to each other for a very long time. We had a falling out years ago, over money, of course. I loaned him some and he never paid it back. It was he who kissed me off, then headed to Europe. I’ve seen him only once since he came back. The meeting didn’t go well. And no, he still hasn’t paid me back.

“I heard he attended Stanislaus. I’ve heard of it, of course, but to be honest, I never connected it to you.”

“My wife knew your brother. Isn’t that a small world?”

“Incredibly small.”

“She liked to go to the concerts and recitals at Stanislaus. She really appreciated your brother’s talent and told him so.”

“Since you checked David and me out, can you tell me how he’s doing now?”

“He’s doing well, though I wonder why he wouldn’t call you after he’d met my wife to tell you how much you two look alike.”

She drank a bit more wine. “Do you know, I’d like some peanuts.”

Dix had decided to give her three minutes to think. He wondered what would come out of her mouth. He called the waiter over for a brief discussion of mixed nuts. When the nuts arrived, Dix watched her pick an almond from the bowl and slowly chew it. When she swallowed, she asked him, “Did you speak to David?”

Did he hear wariness in her voice? “No, I merely read his bio and found out he was your brother. That made me remember that Christie mentioned him.”

“So, you haven’t given it up, this idea there’s some connection between your wife and me? David never called me, not once. So you see, there’s nothing important you need to know about David at all. He’s just a musician and something of a flake. I wish him well. So I’m hoping we can put it behind us now. Tell me, Dix, how long are you planning to stay here this time?”

“That depends,” he said slowly, his eyes on her face, then only on her mouth. She licked her bottom lip and he stared at her tongue stroking over her wet mouth, and he smiled, with what he hoped looked like the promise of hot sweaty sex. Light color flushed her cheeks. Good.

“When you make up your mind, Dix, call me. Right now, my husband is expecting me.”

He frowned as he looked down at his watch. “I promised Mrs. Sherlock I would be there for dinner too. I’m sorry you have to leave so soon, Charlotte.” He clasped her hands between his. “But I had to see you, and I didn’t seem to have a choice.”

“I’m glad you called me.”

He ran his fingers over her hands, her wrists. “I see you’re not wearing the bracelet.”

“I thought about it, but I didn’t want to give you cause for any distress, so I left it in my jewelry box. Perhaps we can get together again tomorrow, maybe for the afternoon. What do you think?”

“Do you have a specific restaurant in mind?”

“No, not a restaurant, Dix. I was thinking I’d like someplace more private, like the Hyatt Regency at the Embarcadero. I’m like a little girl when I ride up in those glass elevators. What do you say?”