do as he pleased. There'd be no trouble finding another job. He'd cast his lot with Toni, and he would stand by her.
Toni, on the other hand, began to eat her dessert as soon as the waiter set it before her. The only thought running through her mind, other than the thought of
confronting Steven, was a curiosity as to why she'd suddenly developed such an enormous appetite. Then a surreptitious glance in Connie's direction brought a
sobering expression to Toni's face. Connie and Mark were good friends, caught in a situation they'd had nothing to do with. She certainly had no desire to see them punished for something she was about to do.
"Why don't the two of you leave?" She posed the question seriously, hoping they would understand that she wasn't expecting them to blindly follow her.
"No," the answer came, swiftly and firmly.
It was only one word, but to Toni it was as if she had been alone on a battlefield, then suddenly turned and discovered that an entire battalion had materialized behind her.
Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of the waiter making his way toward the two lovebirds by the window. With the barely audible murmur of "I think Steven is about to receive the biggest surprise of his life," she nodded toward her fiance, then let one small, slim hand ease forward and lightly grasp the stem of her wineglass.
She watched alertly as the waiter approached the table, spoke in low-voiced conversation to Steven and Lea Simmons, then turned and gestured toward Toni, who raised her glass in a silent saJute.
For what seemed like an eternity the shocked man stared disbelievingly into the dark, expressive eyes of the woman several tables away. Where once there'd been a never-ending flow of warmth and love for him, Steven now saw anger, distrust, and sadness. He dropped his gaze and turned back to the attractive woman seated opposite him.
Without thinking of what she was about to say or do, Toni rose to her feet and glided across the room till she was standing beside Steven.
"What a lovely surprise," she said easily, despite the hard, cold hand clutching her heart. She looked from her tongue-tied fiance to Lea Simmons.
"Since Steven
seems to have misplaced his manners, it looks as though I'll have to introduce myself. My name is Toni Grant.'
"Hello, Toni. I'm Lea Simmons. You must be a friend of Steven's. Thanks so much for the cham-pagne. It was such a sweet idea," the redhead said pleasantly and Toni knew immediately that Lea Sim mons was as much a victim of circumstances as she. "You could say that. Actually I'm his secretary." Toni directed her gaze toward a grim-faced Steven, whoo was sitting as though turned to stone.
"Did your 'business' meeting go well, Steven?"
"Yes," he said shortly. "It went as planned."
"Don't you just love this place, Miss Simmons?" Toni asksd warmly. "This is my first time, but I'll be coming back every chance I get."
" It is beautiful," Lea agreed. "Steven has been promising to bring me here for weeks. I must say,though, the wait was worth it."
"Shame on you," Toni said to her fiance. She reached out as though to tap him on the wrist. But instead of an innocuous flick of her fingers against his
tanned skin, she slipped them beneath the edge of his soup bowl and tipped the steaming liquid directly into his lap.
"Oh. dear!" Toni exclaimed in feigned horror at her supposed clumsiness as her victim shot to his feet like a bolt of lightning. "Just look what I've done."
"Think nothing of it," Steven snapped. He was wip-ing frantically at the front of his pants while muttering a number of rather colorful oaths.
Toni threw the astounded Lea an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry for ruining your evening. But perhaps you can get Steven to bring you back. I know for a fact
that be'll have more free time on bis hands starting in the very near future." Without another word, she turned on her heel and walked back to the table where
Mark and Connie stood waiting.
"Feeling better?" Mark grinned as he stepped to one side of her and took her arm. He motioned Connie to the other side, then shepherded his party from the
room.
"Much," Toni said faintly.
"Will our ... er ... esteemed leader need medical attention?"
"He might. The soup was giving up spirals of smoke like Indians sending signals."
"You don't think he's seriously burned, do you?" a tenderhearted Connie asked.
"I sincerely hope so, Connie. I sincerely hope so," Toni said without the slightest hint of compassion softening her voice.
The drive back to town and to her apartment was one of the longest Toni had ever made in her life. Now that those first explosive moments of shock had been dealt with and her anger had cooled somewhat, she felt numb.
Mark and Connie tried to keep a conversation going, but after getting no response from Toni on several occasions, they too lapsed into a moody silence.
When Mark stopped the car in front of Toni's apartment building, he turned off the engine and reached for the door handle.
"Don't," Toni said quietly. "There's no need for you to get out." She smiled. "What I need at the moment is a cup of hot tea and some time to think."
"Are you sure?" Connie asked. "I'd be happy to spend the night with you."
"I know you would, but I honestly think I'd rather be alone."
"Will you be in tomorrow?"
"I'll be in," Toni said firmly. She opened the door and stepped out, then turned and smiled at her two friends. "Don't look so worried. A year from now
we'll look back on this evening and have a good laugh
The words were brave and Toni wanted to believe them . But as she let herself into her apartment, she couldn't help but think of the old cliche about talk being cheap.
She made her way to the bedroom, where she took off her dress, then slipped into a pair of comfortable old pajamas. Her movements were mechanical and, at
the moment, so were her thoughts. It wasn't until she was in the kitchen waiting for the water to boil for her tea that the events of the evening began to seem real. The man she'd trusted with her heart, the same man she'd planned to spend her life with, had betrayed her. She was amazed that her eyes were still dry.
Why? she asked herself over and over again as she fixed the tea, then carried it to the living room where she curled up on the sofa. Why can't I cry? But no answer pressed itself.from the moment she'd looked up and seen Steven me£ Lea in the restaurant till she'd tipped the bowl of iat soup in his lap, the only emotions she'd felt been shock and anger.
She looked at the diamond solitaire she wore on her left hand. Perhaps the redheaded Lea wouldn't mind a soondhand ring.
Wkhout thinking, Toni removed the ring and slowly moved it back and forth, watching the brilliant fire it gave off as the light of the table lamp caught the many facets of the stone. It was beautiful.
She remembered the evening Steven had given it to her and the words he'd spoken as he slipped it on her finger. "Now I can stop worrying that some other man will steal you away from me," he'd whispered. "This is my brand on you, Antonia Grant. And soon there'll be a band of gold to wholly make you mine."
He'd kissed her then, passionately and hungrily, until Toni finally pulled back, preventing them from consummating their vows prematurely.
She frowned. Could that pulling back and the fact that she'd continued to do so during the months afterward have been a warning in itself? Or could she have known on some level that Steven's behavior—the outbursts of temper, the canceled dates, the moody silences—meant that he was hiding his real feelings from her and that he couldn't be trusted?
The questions continued, swirling in her head until she almost became dizzy from trying to sort them out. Finally she gave up and went to bed, having made only one definite decision. She would resign her job at the television station.
As the first gentle pull of sleep touched her eyelids, Toni was jarred awake by the shrill ringing of the phone.
It was probably Steven, she told herself as she sat up in bed and stared at the lighted dial of the phone on the bedside table. Nothing on earth could induce her to speak to him this evening.
She reached out and lifted the receiver and immediately heard his voice calling her name. Very calmly, and with a definiteness of purpose that surprised even
her, Toni depressed the button to break the connec-tion then unplugged the phone.
As Toni swept into the front door of the station the next morning, there was little evidence to indicate that she'd only gotten three or four hours of sleep the night before.
The skillful application of makeup to hide the cir- cles beneath her eyes, and the determination not to become an object of pity among her co-workers, had her looking her usual attractive self. Even her clothes, a deep cranberry skirt and a matching silk blouse, had been chosen because they were stylish and cheerful. Connie, whose desk faced the door, glanced up as Toni entered, a concerned look on her face.
"Good morning." Toni smiled as she paused to as- sure the other woman that all was well.
"Are you okay?" Connie immediately asked, getting right to the point.
" I'm fine, and you're not to worry," said Toni. "I realize it's a silly question, but is Steven in yet?"
"He got here before I did. Can you believe it?" "Has he said anything to you about what happened?" Toni asked curiously. "Was he abrupt with you in any way ?”
Connie shrugged. "He nodded when we passed in the hall. Other than that, I haven't seen him."
"If you can possibly avoid it, don't put through any calls to him for a while, okay?" Toni asked.
"Sure thing. And if you need any help, just yell."
"Connie grinned. "I'll keep one ear trained in the direction of his office."
Toni walked through her office and past her desk, pausing only when she reached the door to Steven's domain. She raised a fist and knocked. At his bid to enter, she opened the door and stepped inside, then closed the door behind her.
"Toni!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet and hurrying around his desk toward her. When he was within arm's reach his hands shot out to grasp her shoulders. Toni neatly avoided his touch and stepped around him.
"Good morning, Steven," she said as she walked over to his desk. She opened her purse and removed a long, slim, velvet-covered box containing a bracelet he'd given her for her birthday, and a tiny square box that held her engagement ring.
"What are you doing?" he asked nervously. He'd followed and was now standing beside her.
"I'm returning your bracelet and your engagement ring, Steven." She looked up at him, her expression unreadable. "Under the circumstances, don't you think it's best that we break our engagement?"
"What for?" he asked sulkily. He ran one hand around the back of his neck, then walked over to the window and stared out.
"What for?" Toni repeated. "I think that should be obvious. You're not ready for marriage. My ideas regarding marriage are simple, Steven. I believe in a man and woman who love each other exchanging vows and staying faithful to each other till death them do part. I really don't care for your idea of having a spare female stashed away in case you decide you need a change in the menu."
"That's not a very nice thing to say about the man you love," he snapped as he swung around to face her. "Maybe if you had been a little more affectionate I wouldn't have had to go elsewhere."
Toni leaned one hip against the edge of the desk and regarded him thoughtfully. "That's very convenient. What you're really saying is that if I'd gone to bed with you, then you wouldn't have gone out with other women?"
"Who the hell told you about the others? Was it that nosy broad Connie?" he snarled.
"Connie and Mark had nothing to do with me learning about the little games you've been playing. But it doesn't take a great deal of intelligence to figure you out. The only thing I regret is that Lea Simmons seems like a nice girl. It's a shame she's had the mis-fortune of becoming involved with a rat like you." With that, Toni swung around and headed for the door. She'd heard and seen enough. In fact, she told herself she'd learned more about Steven Crowell in
the last twenty-four hours than she had in all the months since she'd first met him. Before she could open the door, however, Steven was beside her, one long arm slipping in front of her, his other hand catching hold of her elbow. "You can't
walk on me like this, Toni," he said in the deep, persuasive voice she used to think so appealing.
"I made a mistake . . . several of them, honey, but it's you I love . It's you I want to spend the rest of my life with."
Toni stared incredulously at him, disliking him more with each passing second. It was becoming in-creasingly clear to her that Steven could lie as easily as most people breathed.
"I'm sorry, Steven, but my mind's made up. I could never trust you again. Can't you understand that?"
" Of course I can," he hurriedly agreed. "I've hurt you and you're striking back. That's understandable.
But if you'll just bear with me, I'll prove you can trust me."
"But you're missing the point, Steven," she said firmly, determined not to let her temper get the upper hand, as it had the evening before. "I don't want to bear with you, nor do I intend to work for you any longer. I'll be handing in my resignation at the end of the day."
“I won't accept it." He smiled suggestively, as if that simple statement would make everything all right again.
"Then I'd suggest you reconsider, Steven. You need a secretary," she said crisply. Then she reached beneath his arm for the doorknob, leaving Steven no choice but to step aside. Instead of leaving her alone for the moment and letting tempers cool, he followed Toni into her office.