"Ready for dessert?" Darius held the plate of tarts out to her. Nicole quickly swallowed the bread she'd just popped into her mouth and dabbed her lips with her napkin. "Yes. Thank you." She reached for a strawberry one from the pastry plate, smiling shyly. He smiled back, and Nicole savored the ease that had built between them. "Wonderful," he said, selecting a blackberry tart for himself. "Then perhaps you are also ready to tell me about the trouble you're running away from." Nicole's gaze flew to his, the peace of the moment obliterated as effectively as a hunter's shot blasting through a morning meadow."