“I’m hungry.” She hesitated and then said quickly, “But Tanner fixed me an omelet for breakfast before I went to work.”

“I thought he might have.” Maria’s voice was noncommittal. “And how did that work out?”

“Fine.” She put the silverware out on the bar. “Different. We agreed to start a new page. I told you that he probably thought it was a mistake.” She watched her spoon the cheese dish onto the plates. “We…talked. It was nice. I liked it.”

“And he did, too?”

She nodded. “But I did most of the talking. He always asks a lot of questions. I told him about the horses.”

“Really? I don’t think you’ve ever told anyone about them but me.” She made a face. “Not that you have a wide circle to chat with.”

“It just came up. I told you, he’s always asking questions. And it was fun to share something happy.”

“I’m sure he enjoyed hearing about it,” Maria said gently. “I know I did.”

“Maybe.” She shrugged. “It was kind of weird. But then so was my life.”

“But you made the best you could of it. That makes you remarkable.” She took another bite. “And Rennell’s dish is totally remarkable.”

But they were only halfway through when Tanner strode into the kitchen.

Lara instinctively stiffened as she saw his face. His eyes were glittering, his cheeks flushed with color, everything about him vibrantly, wonderfully alive.

“Hello, Tanner,” Maria said. “Have you had dinner? Try some of this mystery meal that Rennell concocted.”

“He doesn’t want anything to eat.” Lara put down her fork. “Look at him. Can’t you see? What is it? What’s happened?”

“Maybe good news for a change.” He grinned at Maria. “No, I don’t want any of Rennell’s exotic cuisine. I had enough of that when we were competing in the kitchen for Sandrino’s approval. I could never win that battle.”

“What’s happened?” Lara repeated.

“I just got a call from Kaskov. He phoned from his plane. He’s on his way to New York. He should be arriving tomorrow.”

“And why is that good news?” Lara asked warily. “He’s still an unknown factor to Maria and me. The last I heard, you weren’t on such good terms with him, either.”

“But I told you that I thought he’d keep his word and when he called me tonight, it was to tell me he’s ready to do so.” He poured a cup of coffee from the coffeemaker on the cabinet and sat down on a stool at the bar. “Which means that we’ll manage to get you settled, too. It’s all part of the deal. He said we’d work out all the details when we meet at the hotel tomorrow.”

“Hotel?” Maria asked. “What hotel?”