First Impressions by Nora Roberts

Shane’s hands in hers. “Why do you love him, Shane?”
    â€œI don’t know,” she answered immediately. “That’s another reason I’m sure it’s right. I know almost nothing about him except he’s not a comfortable man. He’ll hurt me and make me cry.”
    â€œThen why—”
    â€œHe’ll make me laugh too,” Shane interrupted. “And make me furious.” She smiled a little, but her eyes were very serious. “I don’t think he’ll ever make me feel—inadequate. And when I’m near him, I
know.
That’s enough for me.”
    â€œYes.” Donna nodded, giving Shane’s hands a squeeze. “It would be. You’re the most loving person I’ve ever known. And the most trusting. Those are wonderful traits, Shane, and—well, dangerous. I only wish we knew more about him,” she added in a mutter.
    â€œHe has secrets,” Shane murmured, and Donna’s eyes sharpened. “They’re his until he’s ready to tell me about them.”
    â€œShane . . .” Donna’s fingers tightened on hers. “Be careful, please.”
    A little surprised by the tone, Shane smiled. “I will. Don’t worry. Maybe I am more trusting than most, but I have my defenses. I’m not going to make a fool of myself.” Unconsciously, she glanced out the window again, seeing the path to his house in her mind’s eye. “He’s not a simple man, Donna, but he is a good one. That much I’m sure of.”
    â€œAll right,” Donna agreed. Silently, she vowed to keep a close eye on Vance Banning.
    For a long time after Donna left, Shane sat in the kitchen. The rain continued to pound. The steady drip from the ceiling plopped musically into the pan. She was aware of how reckless her words to Donna had been, yet she felt better having said them out loud.
    No, she wasn’t as blindly confident as she appeared. Inside, she was terrified by the knowledge that she loved so irrationally. She was trusting, yes, but not naive. She understood there was a price to pay for trust, and that often it was a dear one. Yet she knew her choice had already been made—or perhaps she’d never had one.
    Rising, Shane switched off the lights and began to wander through the darkened house. She knew its every twist and turn, every board that creaked. It was everything familiar and comforting to her. She loved it. She knew none of Vance’s twists and turns, none of his secret corners. He was everything strange and disturbing. She loved him.
    If it had been a quiet, gentle love, she could have accepted it easily. But there was nothing quiet in the storm churning inside her. For all her energy and love of adventure, Shane had grown up in a slow, peaceful world where excitement was a run through the woods or a ride on the back of a tractor at haymaking. To fall suddenly in love with a stranger might seem romantic and wonderful in a story, but when it happened in real life, it was simply terrifying.
    Shane walked upstairs, habitually avoiding the steps that creaked or groaned. The rain was a hollow, drumming sound all around her, whipped up occasionally by the wind to fly at the windows. Her bare feet met bare wood with a quiet patter. A small bucket caught the drip in the center of the hall. Expertly, she skirted around it.
    Who was she to think all she had to do was to sit patiently by until Vance fell in love with her? she asked herself. After flipping on the light in her room, she went to stare at herself in the mirror. Was she beautiful? Shane asked her reflection. Alluring? With a half laugh, she rested her elbows on the dresser to look closer.
    She saw the dash of freckles, the large dark eyes and cap of hair. She didn’t see the stunning vitality, the temptingly smooth skin, the surprisingly sensual mouth.
    Was that a face to send a man into raptures? she asked herself. The thought amused her so,