Undercover Passion by Raye Morgan

lifestyle. No one but his grandmother had ever tried to do that before. He supposed he ought to appreciate Abby’s interest in his welfare. If only he believed it was for real.
    â€œOkay, listen. I’m giving you this as a gift.” He waited until she was looking into his eyes again, then he gave her a grimace of satisfaction. “I stopped at the Hungry Corner and had a three-egg omelet this morning. Satisfied?”
    Her eyes actually did light up. “I’m so glad!”
    His wide mouth tilted in a half smile. “Yes, it appears I may just live another day.”
    Abby grinned. “And for that, you can thank a chicken, mister.”
    Phoebe laughed out loud, and then Danielcouldn’t help but join her, with Abby pealing in a moment later.
    â€œYou two,” Phoebe said as she regained her composure. “The way you do go on. One minute I’m afraid I’m going to have to call in a referee to keep you from coming to blows, and the next you’re chortling together like old friends. Make up your minds! Friend or foe?”
    â€œBoth,” Daniel said acidly. “We’ve got issues.”
    â€œDo we?” Abby said, looking surprised.
    â€œYes,” Daniel said firmly. “Only we can’t talk about them.”
    She blinked at him, looking blank. “Why not?”
    He shrugged. He couldn’t tell her the whole truth. Still, he had to say something. “I don’t know. It seems to be a rule or something.” He glared at her, leaving no doubt that he didn’t want to go on with this line of conversation.
    â€œOh.”
    That obviously left her puzzled. What the hell. She was hardly the Lone Ranger when it came to puzzlement. He was puzzled by everything life was throwing at him right now.
    A nurse came in to check Phoebe’s temperature and blood pressure, and Daniel and Abby roseand stepped outside to give her some privacy. They stood side by side, leaning against the hallway wall.
    â€œListen,” he said, giving Abby his hard-as-nails stare, developed over the years to make perps come clean. “Tell me about the atomizer.”
    â€œThe atomizer?” Her puzzlement was deepening in a regrettably believable way. “What atomizer?”
    â€œThe atomizer used by the clinic.”
    Her brow furled, making her look cuter than a beagle puppy, and she thought hard, then shook her head. “I don’t know anything about any atomizer,” she told him.
    He believed her. He had experience with liars and what they were was exactly what she wasn’t.
    â€œYou’ve got the new product list printed, don’t you?” he asked.
    She nodded. “I can look again, but I’m pretty sure I’ve got a handle on the whole line now, and I haven’t seen anything about any atomizer.”
    He caught a hint of her scent, and glancing down, his gaze fell on her beautiful mouth and suddenly all thoughts of atomizers faded from his mind. Here she was, pretty in pink and closeenough to grab, and he wanted her so badly he could hardly see straight. Who cared about the clinic? Who cared if her attraction to him wasn’t real? He wanted her anyway, wanted her so much he actually glanced at the next-door room, wondering if it was empty, before he caught himself and let out an unpleasant expletive.
    â€œHey,” Abby said, looking disapproving, “watch out. There are children around.”
    For some reason that made him laugh, and she joined in, although it was obvious she had no idea what was so funny. Her gaze met his and something passed between them. Daniel steeled himself. This was no good.
    The nurse left and they went back into the room.
    â€œI’ve got to get going,” Daniel said to his grandmother.
    â€œMe, too,” Abby said.
    Phoebe grabbed her hand, not letting her go. “Wait a minute. I have something I want to say. Daniel, did you get that envelope out of the top drawer of the desk in the