“Our apartment. Very nice. Not like the Taj, but you’ll like it. Tanner brought me here to okay it before he took me to the office.”

“What office?”

“Tanner has an office on Wall Street. Very sleek, but I think I can make it comfortable.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The first time I met Tanner, I hadn’t been with him for thirty minutes before he was talking about hiring me for a managerial position. He said I was a natural.” She grimaced. “And I thought it was bullshit. I never thought about it again until he took me to that office today.”

“And what did you think then?”

“I could do it.” Her face was lit with excitement. “Give me a little training and I could do a damn good job of anything Tanner’s executives could throw at me. Anything Tanner could throw at me.”

“And you want to try it?”

“I want to try it. I felt alive today.”

And how long had it been since Maria had felt that excitement and hunger for life? Lara wanted to reach out and hug her so that she could physically touch that excitement. “That’s fantastic. Of course you can do it. You can do anything. What else did you do today?”

“Tanner took me for a tour of the city. I liked it better than Las Vegas. That was nice, all gloss and make-believe, but New York is real, sometimes wounded, but always strong. I like strength.”

“I know you do.” Lara added lightly, “But I bet Tanner can find us some glitter that we’d enjoy to balance that strength. He has a talent in that direction.” She changed the subject. “I imagine we’re going to head your way for dinner, if you’re not too tired.”

“I’m not tired.” She hesitated. “What about the tornado?”

“Nothing to worry about. Tanner was just excited about being right about you. I’m glad you got along well together today. I’ll see you soon.” She cut the connection.

It was only a couple moments later that Tanner called. “Ace in the hole?”

“Maybe. You’ve made her very happy. But do you value her? Do you realize what you have?”

He said soberly, “I realize that she’s a unique personality who made you the person you are. I like her and respect her, and I feel closer to her all the time. I will care for her and honor her. Value her? I think she’s brilliant and will probably run that office like a brigadier general. Is that enough?”

“That’s quite a bit.”

He grinned. “Then do I win the competition from Kaskov?”

She laughed. “You’re very persuasive. He had only one thing to offer me you didn’t.” But that one thing had filled her day with warmth, laughter, hope, and togetherness. It had opened a new world to her. Her eyes were suddenly twinkling. “Now, I don’t want you to panic. It’s not what you think.” She paused. “But how do you feel about families?”