Page 21 of Zane

"There's no need to make excuses for him. He's..." She searched around for a term that would not offend and could not come up with one. "He's something else."

Kara laughed and felt the tension easing around her heart. "That's one way of putting it."

"I've been trying to come up with an answer to this baffling question, and I cannot seem to find one. What's a beautiful, intelligent woman like you doing with someone like him?"

The question was so close to the one the woman's brother asked that she had to turn her head away. "We've been together for two years." She shrugged. "We go to the same church."

"And you fell into a pattern."

"My mother thinks he's a catch."

Something in the girl's voice had Zoe staring at her curiously.

"What do you think?"

"I don't know." She twisted the tissue between her fingers and felt despair coating her very soul. She had stood there in the garden and felt alive for the first time in her life. A man, a virtual stranger, had kissed her, and nothing, absolutely nothing, had ever felt that good.

"We're supposed to get married."

She jolted when Zoe tightened her hold. "And that would be the biggest mistake of your life. You deserve better."

Her eyes flashed. "Like your brother? I'm sorry."

"Why? My brother can be very difficult. He's not your normal type of guy. He defies the rules deliberately and does his own thing. But he's caring and a softie at heart.

"He would go to bat for the underdog, and he hates that he's so wealthy while there are people having to scrounge around for their supper. He hangs out with bikers because it happens to drive our parents crazy. He volunteers at the legal aid clinic downtown, and I have to add that he's an excellent attorney. And I've never seen him look at another woman the way he looked at you."

The words, especially the last part, had Kara's heart pounding.

"I cannot be involved with him. I'm just a novelty and I... I'm with William." The tissue shredded some more. "I go to church and have lived a respectable life without scandals or even the glimmer of one. It's who I am."

Zoe saw the full picture, or a glimpse of one. She had seen the woman around, briefly. They did not run in the same circle, and she had only seen her a handful of times in the courtroom. While she was always as neat as a pin, the outfit she was wearing now was something she would never have worn in normal circumstances. She appeared to be a woman who scrupulously and absolutely followed the rules. And being with Zane would not only be bending them, it would also be uprooting them. She must be scared to her very bones.

"What shall I tell William?"

"What?"

"Clearly you cannot go back into that room looking so distraught. Did you drive yourself here?"

Kara nodded.

"Good. I'll make your excuse. A stomachache good enough?"

A slight smile touched her lips. "You seem to be familiar with this kind of thing."

"I have several girlfriends, and high drama doesn't even begin to describe what they go through on a regular basis. So, stomachache?"

"Yes." She drew in a breath. "He's angry with me."

"Who? William?"

"No." She shook her head. "Your brother. I said some things."

"He's a big boy. He'll get over it."

"Thank you."

Zoe patted her hand. "Go on home and have a glass of wine."