Peter stood up, stretching his legs. He caught his reflection in a brass mirror and dusted the broad lapels of his suit coat. His grin returned, more brightly than before. “I always wondered if you were upset that Laura found me attractive.”

“She didn’t.”

“You’re wrong about that. All the girls back then were interested in me. You were the exception. Or were you just playing hard to get?”

“Oh, please.”

“Is that why you didn’t like me dating your best friend?”

“Laura broke it off with you. She told me she did.”

“Ah, but are you sure she wasn’t lying? Maybe Laura didn’t want you to know what was really going on between us.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Tish snapped.

“I wonder what you would have done if you’d found out the truth,” he said. “I imagine you would have been very upset.”

“Are you finished?”

“I haven’t even begun. Don’t tangle with a lawyer, Tish.”

“I’m going to get you,” she insisted.

He laughed. “You know that’s not going to happen.”

She cringed, feeling on display as he watched her. His eyes glittered with lust that he didn’t bother hiding.

“The sad thing is, I’m telling you that I think you’re a murderer, and you still want to sleep with me.”

Peter sat down next to her on the sofa and took an oversized swallow of his scotch. Their legs touched. “True.”

“Are you that desperate?”

“I’m not desperate at all.”

“I picture you with a harem of twenty-something models,” Tish said.

“Sometimes.”

“So why come on to a woman in her late forties who thinks you’re the devil?”

“I’m not the devil. I thought you were finally beginning to find me charming.”

“Hardly.”

“Believe it or not, I like women who are mature. Strong. Independent. I don’t find many women who stand up to me.”

“So you’re saying that having a woman accuse you of murder turns you on.”

“I’ve heard worse accusations than that.” He grinned. “I think you’re lying, Tish. You do find me attractive. You always have.”

“You find yourself attractive enough for both of us.”

“There aren’t many women who get to reject me twice.”

Tish felt a shiver of fear. “What does that mean?”

“Not what you think. I just mean you’ve managed to deflate my ego, not to mention my manhood, in two separate decades.”

“You’ll live.”

“I already told you that I don’t take rejection well. It just makes me more determined.”

“Do I need to scream?”

“Not at all. I wouldn’t dream of ravishing a woman who doesn’t want me to ravish her.”

“Good.”

“I am going to kiss you, though,” Peter said. “I think you owe me that.”

“I don’t owe you anything.”

“So slap my face if you want.”

He leaned across the sofa. Tish stared into his eyes and didn’t turn away. His lips were rough as they moved against hers. She felt nothing but responded as if she did. She put her hands around his neck and held him to her. He smelled like a man. She felt his fingers stroke her breast with a feathery touch, testing the waters. It was now or never.