Ninety minutes later they were riding up the elevator to his loft. Kelly was thinking about what Duncan was going to say to her. She was pretty sure he was going to tell her he had reconsidered her suggestion that they move in together. Hopefully her little stint in the ER had knocked a little sense into his head about how easy it would be to lose her. Good thing that accident was so less serious than it had appeared at first. She felt better and better. In fact, she hadn’t felt this good in years. She smiled to herself as they stopped at the third floor. She opened the door since Duncan’s hands were full with their late lunch. She walked in and went straight to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water and then pulled out some dishes. She was STARVING. Duncan followed her silently. He had been brooding the entire way back, and barely even heard her when she asked him questions. She looked at him, and said “Duncan?” he didn’t seem to hear her. “Earth to Duncan…heeellllooooooooo”. He started and looked up at her. “Huh?” She grinned and patted his cheek. “Boy, what planet are you on today? I’m going to go change. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He looked at her. “OK. I’ll start dishing out lunch. Did you want some wine?” She thought about it, then decided that wine sounded good. “Sure, how about the Gewurtztraminer?” He nodded as she headed into the bedroom. Duncan began methodically pulling out cutlery and glasses and setting the dining room table. He was trying to gather his thoughts about how to proceed. He had helped a lot of other Immortals face their new lives before, but never someone like Kelly. He thought back to the first time he had met her and grinned at the memory. He had special ordered a book from the bookstore near his gallery, and as he walked in the door, a woman was walking out, her head buried in a book. She was wearing a shapeless gray overcoat, and her long auburn hair was pulled back in a ponytail under a baseball cap. She was a fairly tall, about 5’8” and muttering under her breath about idiotic amateurs. He had politely held the door open for her, but after about 15 seconds of just standing there with the door open and her standing just beyond the threshold engaged in a large book, he finally cleared his throat, and said, “Miss? Are you coming out?” Her head shot up and he got a bright blue gaze turned o! n him. “Huh?” She seemed totally unaware of her surroundings. “Can you believe this idiot? He claims that the GREEKS were known for their use of satire…where did he find that claptrap? Anyone knows the Romans were the ones that honed satire to an art form. Next thing you know I’ll read that this idiot thinks the CELTS were the ones that toppled the western Roman empire. Jesus.” Duncan grinned at her. Just then she realized that she was talking babble to a total stranger. “Actually, the Celts DID travel to Rome, but well after the Visigoths,” he had said. He couldn’t help it. She stared at him. “Well, yes, but the Celts, as a culture, were more inquisitive than they were ACQUISITIVE in that context.” He laughed and she got a puzzled look on her face. Then she blushed. “I…I…am so sorry. I got so engrossed reading this that I didn’t realize that I’m not in a lecture.” She lowered her eyes in embarrassment and Duncan stepped through the door to stand very close to her, letting the doo! r shut after him. “It’s ok. I think you’re right. And I’d be more upset at the publishing company that printed the book than the author.” She looked up at him and a tentative smile crossed her face. “Yeah, you’re probably right. By the way, how do you know so much about classics?” As he looked at her, he realized that she was really quite lovely, in a delicate way. She had a heart-shaped face with high cheekbones and surprisingly bright blue eyes. Her hair was a dark auburn, bordering on chestnut. “I’m an art dealer, and I deal quite a bit with antiquities. My name is Duncan MacLeod.” He held out his hand, and she looked at it like it was a strange animal. Then she blushed again and shifted the book in her right hand and took his. “Kelly Granger, graduate fellow at the University. I’m studying Classical Humanities.” She shook his hand and then suddenly seemed to LOOK at him. “So, Mr. MacLeod, art dealer, can I buy you a cup of coffee? I feel like an idiot and you seem like a fasci! nating individual.” He had looked at her intently, then grinned and said, “sure…I’d like that.” He didn’t get his book that day. --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month!