Intimate Betrayal (40 page)

“I’m so happy, Matt.”

“Mmm, me too.” He kissed her hair. “Oh, by the way, now that this project is finally finished, there’s something I’ve been
meaning to talk to you about.”

She looked up at him. He smiled. “It’s about Powerdyme. I really hate that new headquarters we built a couple years ago. It
was never quite what I wanted, and it’s just not right. I was hoping that you and Darcy might submit a proposal for a new
Powerdyme headquarters. Now that you’ve got Fabrications up and running again.”

“Gee, I don’t know, Matt.” She gave him an impish smile. “Seems to me I tried that once before—and got royally rejected.”

“I suggest you try again anyhow. I hear the CEO of Powerdyme has turned into something of a softie.”

“A softie, huh?”

“Yup. The guy’s getting married, having a big church wedding with Barbara Rae Acker officiating. They say he’s got a lot better
taste both in women and in architectural design these days.”

She laughed and inclined her face to his. “Do you think anyone’ll mind if we steal a prenuptial kiss in the cathedral where
our vows will be spoken?”

He shook his head. “The way I figure it, this cathedral owes us its life.”

As he took her lips, the setting sun slanted in through the great rose window behind them, bathing their bodies in light.

Alex Gotfryd

The author of fourteen novels, LINDA BARLOW is a former lecturer in English literature at Boston College. She began her
professional writing career in 1984 with the publication of several contemporary romances. In 1986 she received the
Romantic Times
award as Best New Historical Novelist of the Year, and in 1989 Romance Writers of America awarded her the Rita for
Leaves of Fortune.
Warner Books published Her
Sister’s Keeper
in 1993 and Linda’s first novel of romantic suspense,
Keepsake,
in 1994.

Highly respected by other writers, Linda was the 1992 president of Novelists Inc. and is currently a member of the Authors
Guild Council. She lives in Massachusetts with her daughter.

She loves to hear from readers, and you can write to her care of Warner Books, Inc., Time & Life Building, 1271 Avenue of
the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

Warm, generous Annie Jefferson, talented architectural designer, is determined to put tragedy behind her and rebuild her future. Designing a fabulous California cathedral can be her ticket to the top—until betrayal and suspicion enter her life.

Ruggedly handsome Silicon Valley tycoon Matt Carlyle doesn’t look like a man who was once accused of killing his socialite wife. But appearances can deceive. Will the quick, hot attraction between them lead to ecstasy— or to a complex web of danger and deception?

As sabotage stalks Annie’s cathedral project, her job and future lie in jeopardy. In finding passion, has she embraced treachery? Dazzled by a golden surface, is she blind to the secret interior of a man’s soul? Trusting in love, will she be trapped by the darkest of emotions: revenge, jealousy, and murderous rage ...

“A COMPLEX AND FASCINATING TALE.”

—
Romantic Times
on
Keepsake