Dancing in the Moonlight - Harlequin.com

206 DANCING IN THE MOONLIGHT
He took a chair next to her, and they sat in a companionable
silence lit only by the moonlight slanting in
from outside, the trio of candles and the fire’s glow. He
felt as if he’d been contracting every muscle all day and
finally they could begin to relax.
Though he had tried to subvert it during the party, he
had been desperate for peace, he realized, as he felt the
stress and anguish of his failures—of losing a friend and
a patient—recede a little further.
He closed his eyes, letting the night and the place and
Maggie’s presence soothe his soul.
“I used to come down here a lot after my father died,”
she said after a moment. “You can see the Cold Creek
across the river. See?”
He opened his eyes and followed the direction of her
gaze. Through the trees, he could see lights flickering
from the party. Over the fast, pounding creek, he thought
he could hear the musicians as well, playing some kind
of a waltz.
“My mother and Guillermo are in love. I caught them
locking lips on the front porch tonight.”
Of all the things she might have chosen to discuss
with him, that particular conversational bent would
never have entered his mind. “That must have been
awkward for all three of you.”
“You could say that.” She gave him a considering
look. “You don’t seem very surprised.”
“Should I be?” he asked, distracted by the flickering
play of light on her lovely features.
“I don’t know. It shocked the heck out of me. I guess
I was the last to know.”