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“You know I’m a reporter. What if all this was a ruse just to get a story from you? Maybe I want you to ask me to dinner?”
    The challenge was more than Matt could resist. He winked. “Then let’s just say I played right into your hands.” He knew he’d have to be on guard. Still, after all they’d shared he couldn’t believe she’d callously milk a story from him with no thought to his privacy.
    Still, she hedged. “It’s just dinner, Raven. No strings attached.” Unless you want them to be .
    Her expression softened and she nodded. “All right. I’ve heard these machines are real torture anyway. Dinner with you has got to be preferable.”
    The teasing glint in her eyes shot through his heart, igniting feelings that had eluded him since he’d watchedher walk away. She still had him. Hook, line and sinker, his heart belonged to this woman. All she had to do was say the word and he’d bring out that velvet box containing her engagement ring and pick up right where they’d left off.
    Maybe he had a future after all. And maybe that future was wrapped up in Raven Mahoney.

Chapter Four
    R aven couldn’t believe her luck. She stared across the table as Matt gave the waiter his order and handed back the menu. How was it possible that he’d grown even more handsome during the past fifteen years? A few lines etched the skin next to his eyes and around his mouth, but these served only to give him a mature, distinguished appearance. A few silver strands of hair near his temple added to the effect and Raven found herself wanting to giggle like a nerdy high school girl who had landed a date with the captain of the football team.
    One disturbing question probed her mind. How could she have ever led herself to believe she was over Matthew Strong?
    He glanced up. A slow grin spread across his face. “I caught you.”
    Raven quickly averted her gaze to her own menu, feigning nonchalance. “Caught me what?”
    “Staring.”
    “Oh, please.” Raven smiled despite her embarrassment. “Still full of yourself, I see.”
    “What some people see as egotism, others—Mom, for instance—consider confidence.”
    “Confidence, huh?” Raven tried to control her breathing. Keep it even and light. Not give away her out-of-control feelings. But one look into Matt’s eyes and she knew she was fooling no one. Least of all, Matt. The one person who could read her like a copy of the Washington Post.
    She didn’t resist when he reached across the table and took her hand, lacing her fingers with his, forming a steeple. “Why, Rave?”
    “W-why what?” She swallowed hard, kicking herself for not preparing for this inevitability. Of course Matthew would grab her heart again. She just hadn’t realized he would do it in five seconds flat. That had to be a world record.
    “Why did you walk away?”
    “I just—had to, Matthew. It’s nothing I can put my finger on, really. I just knew it wasn’t right between you and me.”
    “It was right.” His thumb traced the sensitive skin between her thumb and forefinger, making it hard for Raven to concentrate. “We were right together.”
    “I—I don’t think so. Life was too complicated. I wasn’t ready to commit.”
    “Doesn’t it seem strange to you that we’re both still single? Neither of us moved on.”
    Raven snatched her fingers away and hid her hands in her lap. “What makes you think I haven’t moved on?”
    Disappointment washed Matthew’s features as the intimate moment between them passed. “No ring.”
    “Maybe I don’t believe in conventional tokens of commitment.”
    He gave a short laugh. “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend. Even unconventional girls.”
    Raven had to smile. Then she grew serious once more. “Just because I haven’t tied myself down to a man doesn’t mean I haven’t moved on, Matt. It just means I’m not interested in a relationship. What I have moved on with is furthering my career.”
    “I see.”
    And Raven could tell by the