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again, battling both anger with himself and frustration.  Hell, yes it is you. You& distract
me, and I want it to stop. I ve waited a long time to get Brancotti. Can you understand
that?
 YES. Natalie studied him through narrowed eyes. She thought she understood a great
deal more than what he was saying. He d spent one night with Natalie and disappeared
for three months. Then he d spent one night with Rachel and turned all business.
Now, he d spent a day and a night with Calli, and he was all set to run for the hills again.
Chance raked a hand through his hair.  We can pretend we ve had a fight. You ve run
away to the beach and I ve followed. That will give us an excuse to keep our distance, and
tonight I ll sleep on the couch in our room.
Not going to happen, she thought. This time, she was going to have something to say about
it. She had a hunch all three of the women inside of her would.
 Do you turn tail and run every time you have great sex? she asked.
 No. There was shock in his eyes, followed by a frown.  What are you talking about?
Keeping her eyes steady on his, she leaned back against the palm tree.  Well, you spent
one night with me when I was Rachel and backed off. Now, you ve spent a day and a
night with Calli and you re ready to back off again. My cousin Natalie never said you
were a coward.
His gaze narrowed.  I m not. I m concerned about the job. Don t tell me that you aren t
having some of the same misgivings. Otherwise, why would you have run away down
here to think?
In spite of the jitters in her stomach, she raised her brows and sent him a cool look.  Sure, I
came out here to think and, yes, I find you distracting, too. But not enough to change our
game plan. We ve set up Steven and Calli as lovers who are passionately involved and just
a bit unpredictable. Tonight at the masquerade ball, I figure we re going to need an excuse
to slip away together so that we can pin down the location of the safe. Sex is something
that Brancotti understands, and we ve laid the foundation for it. She reached over to pat
his hand.  Stop worrying about the sex and let s concentrate on getting the diamond. I
think I know where the safe is.
 He showed you his office?
 Twice. When he finished showing me the gardens, he let me into the house through the
wing where he keeps his  workspace. He didn t take me inside, but he made sure I saw
the coded keypad.
 That s where the diamond is?
She shook her head.  That s where he wants me to think it is.
Chance frowned.  Then you think he suspects you?
She rolled her eyes at him.  Well, yeah. We re in a room where we can t even talk to one
another unless we go in the bathroom and turn on the shower. She shrugged.  But I think
he suspects everyone.
 Okay. So why don t you believe that the diamond is behind the door with a keypad
lock?
 Because of a couple of things. One, he s a man who believes that he s smarter than
anyone else and constantly likes to prove that. And two, he told me himself that he likes
playing games.
 So?
 Well, I ve been thinking. What if showing me the room with the coded keypad was just a
bit of game-playing or misdirection, if you d rather call it that? Then because he s so
smart and his ego is enormous, he couldn t resist showing me the room where he really
keeps the things that are most precious to him.
 Where? Chance asked.
 There s a small art gallery down the hall from the main salon where he keeps his
collection of paintings. He told me he s going to hold the auction there, and I think the
diamond is in a safe in that room.
Chance thought for a minute.  It would be just like him to pull something like that. He s
always been a risk-taker, and I agree that he s a game-player. In fact, he could have a
diamond in both places a fake in one safe and the Ferrante diamond in the other. He
met her eyes.  Unless we get lucky on the first try, we ll have to break into both safes.
Natalie s eyes gleamed.  Yeah. That s the way I figure it, too.
 How many paintings are in the gallery?
 Ten.
 Ten paintings& I don t suppose you have any idea which one the safe is behind?
Natalie smiled.  Did I say I thought it was behind a painting? I think he s a bit trickier
than that. I m betting it s concealed behind a panel in one of the pillars. He stood right in
front of one of them, and I got this& feeling. She rubbed the back of her neck.
 How sure are you about this?
A small frown appeared on her forehead.  It s a hunch. But I m sure enough that I m
going to lure you into that room tonight and seduce you. You ll have to take care of the
camera. Then I want to poke around those pillars.
 How long will you need? Chance asked.
 As much time as you can get me.
He raised her hand and pressed his lips against her fingers.  You re very good at this
game of deception we re playing.
She gave him a quick glance and caught the intent look in his eyes. For one moment, she
wondered if he knew that she wasn t Rachel Cade.
 We d better get back to the house, she said.
Chance didn t move. He merely studied her for a moment. He might be losing his focus,
but she wasn t losing hers. He was very glad that he d brought her to Florida with him.
 Carlo is going to wonder if we don t get back, she said.
 Let him, Chance said as he remembered the way she d looked when he d first seen her
here on the beach.  Let s go wading first.
 Wading?
The surprise on her face pleased him.  You take your shoes off and walk in the water.
 I m familiar with the concept. I just don t get the purpose.
The dryness in her tone had him shooting her a sideways glance.  Fun. Once we go back
to the house, we re Calli and Steven. Right now, we can be whoever we want. Didn t you
ever skip school and play hooky as a kid?
 No.
Chance grinned at her. It was his Natalie who d answered. He was certain of it.  No. Of
course not.
Her chin lifted.  And you played hooky a lot?
 You might say that my early life was pretty much one long game of hooky. He walked
to the shoreline, toed his shoes off and then leaned down to take off his socks.
 How so? she asked, kicking off her sandals and joining him.
 It s a long story, Chance said.
 I can wade and listen at the same time, Natalie pointed out.
They began to walk. The sun beat down on their shoulders and arms, and the lukewarm
water lapped at their ankles.  My mother moved around a lot, mostly within London and
the south of England. But a few times, she followed a band to Scotland or Wales. She was
what you would call in America a groupie and she was especially fond of young groups
that were just starting out. Sometimes, they d give her work, repairing and laundering
costumes or passing out flyers. I got to help with that.
Natalie frowned as she slipped her hand into his.  She took you with her?
 She was only sixteen when I was born, and she didn t have any family. Most of the time
she supported the two of us by waitressing. She thought that was the best kind of job
because she could bring home food. Plus, it was something that she could do just as well
in one town as another.
Chance shot her a look and saw that the frown had deepened on her face.  It wasn t as bad
as it sounds. She was pretty and she laughed a lot. And she loved me. It wasn t until I got
to the orphanage that I started to go to school regularly.
 Orphanage?
Chance shrugged. He rarely let himself think about that part of his life, and he never
talked about it. He wasn t sure why he was now except that what they were doing
reminded him in a way of that early part of his life before the orphanage.  One night she
never came home. Police came to the door the next morning. She d been struck by a bus on
her way home from a concert.
Natalie simply turned and wrapped her arms around him.  I m sorry. How old were
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