His gaze lingered on her face, then dropped to her chenille robe.
Sara kept her gaze steady and even managed to offer Annie a smile.
After all, her housekeeper had done her a favor and it wouldn’t do to forget it. Annie had intercepted the mail and brought it to Sara without Crow or Meg being the wiser. And her flirting had given Sara the time she needed to stick the mail deep inside the oversize pocket of her robe.
“I better get the coffee cake out of the oven.” Annie headed toward the stairs, casting a backward glance at Crow.
“I’ll be right down.” Crow kept his gaze fixed on Sara.
“I’ll be waiting,” Annie called out cheerfully.
“When will you be ready?” Crow didn’t even acknowledge that Annie had left and he seemed in no hurry to follow her downstairs. “Fifteen minutes?”
“Give me thirty,” Sara said, backing slowly toward her door. “I’m not through with my makeup yet and I still have to dress.”
His eyes met hers and a strange tension filled the air. “You look fine to me.”
Sara moistened her suddenly dry lips. “Do I?”
“I think you do.”
Sara stared.
He took a step forward.
She kept her eyes focused on him and swallowed hard.
He took another step forward.
Her heart pounded against her ribs and she couldn’t have moved if she’d wanted to.
His final step closed the last of the distance between them. Now he was so close, she could have reached out and touched him, if she dared.
The spicy smell of his cologne wafted over her and she inhaled, deeply reveling in the masculine scent. From where she stood she could feel his warmth and almost taste the sweetness of his lips.
Sara took a step forward and lifted her face. Would this one be as good as the first?
Her pulse skittered and she held her breath.
He lowered his head.
“Are you coming or not?” Annie’s irritated voice from the bottom of the stairs had the effect of a splash of cold water.
Crow immediately stepped back, his face expressionless.
A wave of heat rose up Sara’s neck.
“I’d better go help her.” Crow turned toward the stairs. No one watching him would believe only moments before he’d been as caught up in the moment as she had. But she remembered his eyes burning like hot coals and she knew he’d wanted that kiss as much as she did.
Had she ever felt this way about kissing anyone? Sara didn’t have to think twice to answer that question. No one stirred her senses like Crow. She shoved aside a twinge of guilt and returned to her room, focusing instead on the mail burning a hole in her pocket.
Sara plopped down on her bed and pulled out the envelopes, dropping them onto the quilt. Junk mail, bills and personal correspondence scattered everywhere.
Then she saw it. It was a tiny envelope, the size of a wedding invitation. The envelope had no return address and Sara knew there would be no invitation inside.
For a moment she felt lightheaded. She took several deep breaths before glancing at the postmark. It had been mailed in St. Louis, just like the others. Her fingers trembled, and she could barely break the seal. Inside would be a threat; that was a given. But would it be more specific than the others? And would Gary actually have the guts to sign this one?
Sara took another deep breath and pulled the note from the envelope. In a second she had it unfolded.
She stared unblinking at the words: Judgment Day is near. You will pay for your sins.
Sara flung the sheet of paper on the bed. The nerve of the guy. If anyone deserved to pay for his sins it was Gary Burke.
Leaving the note for the moment on the bed, Sara rose and quickly finished dressing. Every time her eyes strayed to the note, she forced herself to think of her upcoming recording session, on James’s plans for her career, on the way Crow filled out his jeans, anything but on the note and Gary Burke. Nothing would be accomplished by worrying.
This note was no worse than the others. But it did confirm one fact she should never have doubted.
Gary was back in her life.
And he wouldn’t leave her alone until he had gotten his revenge.
“Did you get that pilot light lit?”
Crow heard Sara’s footsteps before her voice. He lazily lifted his gaze, his lips widening into an appreciative smile. The cornflower blue of the dress she’d chosen accentuated the blue of her eyes while the clingy fabric highlighted her curves. She looked, he thought idly, like every man’s idea of heavenly. “Did you have any doubts?”
Sara smiled and shook her head. “Where’s Annie?”
“She said something about being late to class.” He shrugged. “I thought I’d have a cup of coffee before we left. Care to join me?”
“Since this is my house—” her smile came easy and took any sting from the words “—shouldn’t I be the one asking you?”
He chuckled. “I don’t think either of us minds breaking a few rules.”
For an instant Sara flushed as if he’d hit a nerve, but then one hand rose to her heart and when she spoke her voice was melodramatic and slightly teasing. “Speak for yourself, mister. I’m as straight as they come.”
Even if the twinkle in her eye hadn’t given her away, he’d come to know her too well the last couple of weeks to fall for a line like that.
“What about the beer?” he asked innocently.
“What beer?”
“How soon they forget.” Crow’s grin widened. “The pitcher we shared at the diner last weekend?”
“Oh, that.” Sara waved a dismissive hand. “I had one glass. So what?”
He raised a brow. “One?”
“Okay, maybe one and a half.” A slight flush crept up her neck, but her shrug was nonchalant. “You had a few, too.”
She’d had a couple, while he’d kept to only one, knowing he’d be driving home. But she’d been so busy talking, he doubted she’d noticed. “Unlike you, I don’t need to justify my actions.”
“And you think I do?”
“Not to me,” he said smoothly, surprised to hear the edge in her voice. “But to others, maybe. After all, you’re Sara Michaels. People watch what you do. I’m just along for the ride. I can bend the rules. Break them even. Nobody cares, much less notices.”
“I disagree,” Sara said softly. “God notices. He cares.”
Crow stirred uncomfortably, thinking of some of his actions the last few years that he’d just as soon God didn’t notice while at the same time wondering how Sara had managed to once again shift the focus back on him. “I’m sure God has more important things to do than to watch me.”
“So you do believe?” Sara slipped into the seat opposite him and leaned forward. “You’re not an atheist.”
“Of course I’m not an atheist.” His faith may have been seriously shaken, but he could no more be an atheist than he could be a vegetarian.
“Great.” The worry that had clouded her gaze faded and her blue eyes sparkled with an irrepressible missionary zeal. “You can go with me to church on Sunday.”
Crow groaned to himself and forced a noncommittal smile. He’d taken the last few Sundays off and had one of the backup bodyguards pull the church duty. He might have to do that again.