“Then what?”

“I wanted her to leave the secret service and marry me. She wasn’t interested. If you insist on knowing the details, I’ll give them to you.”

“No.”

Zach took a sip of his wine. “I left the army soon after that. I didn’t have the heart for it anymore. Unlike Marie—her work, with all its risks, was her whole life. She was the bravest and most dedicated woman I’ve ever known. Although it was painful at the time, she was right to turn down my proposal. Marriage and a family would have bored her within a year. It was painful, don’t misunderstand me. I loved her more than I thought possible.”

They both were silent for a moment, then Janine asked, “What did you do once you left the army?”

“Over the years, I’d managed to put aside some money, make a few investments. Once I was on my own, I decided to go into business for myself. I read everything I could get my hands on about the business-supply field and modeled the way I dealt with my clients and accounts after your grandfather’s enterprise. Within five years, I was his major competitor. We met at a conference last year, and decided that instead of competing with each other, we’d join forces. And as they say, the rest is history.”

“Was she pretty?” Even as she asked the question, Janine knew it was ridiculous. What difference would it make if his Marie was a former Miss America or had a face like a gorilla? None. Zach had loved Marie. Loved her as he’d probably never love again. Loved her more than he’d thought possible. By comparison, what he felt for her, Janine, was indeed only fondness.

“She was blond and, yes, she was beautiful.”

Janine made a feeble attempt at a smile. “Somehow I knew that.”

Zach shook himself lightly as if dragging himself back to the present and away from the powerful lure of the past. “You don’t need to worry. It was a long time ago.”

“I wasn’t worried,” Janine muttered. She got to her feet and collected their wineglasses. “I’m a little tired. If you don’t mind, I’ll go to bed now.”

Zach was still staring into the fire and Janine doubted he’d even heard her. She didn’t need a crystal ball to know he was thinking of the beautiful Marie.

No more than ten minutes after she’d turned off her bedroom light, Janine heard Zach move down the hallway to his room. For a moment she thought he’d hesitated in front of her door, but Janine convinced herself that was just wishful thinking.

From the second Zach had told her about the one great love of his life, Janine had felt as if a lump were building inside her. A huge lump of disillusionment that seemed to be located somewhere between her heart and her stomach. With every breath she took, it grew larger. But why should she care about Marie? Zach had never confessed to any deep feeling for her. He hadn’t cheated Janine out of anything that was her right.