Renaissance Man by Unknown Page A

the soft magic had become steel bonds. She felt deeply and
    utterly committed.
    It was frightening in a way. Thank heaven Jared was the kind of man he was. For Battista the magic had come with
    a man who couldn’t be trusted. Alina shuddered.
    The shop soon filled with browsers, and business became pleasantly brisk. Customers wandered down the long,
    ceiling-high shelves of old books, sometimes becoming lost for hours. Others pored over the really choice items
    housed in glass cases, and still others hovered around the collection of newly published materials.
    By the end of the day, Alina was feeling restless. She knew she was in serious danger of heading straight for home
    and then sitting around the house all evening waiting for a phone call from Jared. The thought made her grimace. Alina
    Corey did not allow herself to wind up in such situations!
    He was probably expecting her to do just that, too, she decided. He’d kissed her good-bye with such open
    possessiveness that morning…. Determinedly Alina took a grip on herself. Whatever she felt for Jared, she would not
    allow herself to behave in such an insipid fashion. She was a woman who had a full life to lead in her own right, and
    she would not start behaving totally irrationally simply because she might be on the verge of falling in love!
    On the verge? Or already well entrenched in the quicksand of that dangerous emotion? She didn’t want to think
    about it closely, she realized as she drove home after work.
    The phone was ringing as she walked in the door, though, and in spite of all her good intentions, she found herself
    flinging down her purse and racing for it.
    „Hello?“ She wished her voice didn’t sound so breathless.
    „Alina? This is Brad----“
    „Oh, Brad.“ Desperately she tried to keep a naturally lively touch in her words. What a stupid reaction this sudden
    depression was! „How are you? Did your poet friend enjoy the party?“
    „Of course he did. Everyone always enjoys your parties, you know that I’m calling to see if you’d like to have a
    drink down at the marina this evening. It’s been a hard day at the university,“ he added with a theatrical groan.
    „Budget cuts?“ she asked, smiling.
    „No, one of my students is about to publish a paper which I wish I’d written. It’s unnerving!“
    She laughed. „I can imagine.“
    „So come and comfort me. Doesn’t a nice Margarita while we watch the sunset over the ocean sound enticing?“
    „Delightful, but I don’t think I can make it tonight….“ Alina’s voice trailed off regretfully. To her own astonishment
    she realized she was turning down the invitation because she simply didn’t want to be with another man, even though
    he was only a friend. She didn’t want to be with anyone tonight, except Jared. Barring his presence, she felt like being
    alone. And Alina usually did exactly as she liked. „Can I take a rain check?“
    „Oh, sure. But it’s tonight my ego needs boosting,“ he coaxed hopefully.
    „You’ll survive. Think of it as a tribute to your teaching abilities. The little twerp couldn’t have done it without
    your brilliant coaching, now could he?“
    „That’s a thought“ Brad chuckled ruefully. „I suppose I ought to take that attitude.“
    She said a few more soothing words about his intellectual prowess and somehow Brad hung up the phone on a
    more cheerful note. Alina replaced the receiver with a quirking smile and glanced at the clock. She’d have a bite to eat
    and then…
    She remembered the tiny canister of film in her desk. How on earth could she ever have forgotten? That’s what she
    would do tonight It would get her out of the house and give her something to occupy her mind totally. The library
    would be open until nine, and she could use one of their microfilm readers.
    In a far lighter, more focused mood now that she had a goal for the evening, Alina changed into a pair of jeans and
    a ruffled plaid shirt She made herself a salad