Chapter One<br >At first gla~ace， primarily because of his size， the<br >man lurking in the shadowy hallway of Penny Hay.<br >den s apartment building looked faintly alarmln~.<br >Penny immediately tried to quiet the little t~e~or of<br >fear that zigzagged down her spine. The man was<br >standing in plain sight， after all， not hiding like a<br >dangerous criminal.<br > He probably had a very good reason for being<br >there， Penny decided. Maybe he was just locked out<br >and waiting for the landlord to turn up with a key. Or<br >maybe he was meeting someone and he d arrived<br >early. Those were certainly logical explanations， and<br >she much preferred those to the violent scenarios that<br >had flashed through her mind whet<br >ted him.<br > Of course， she reminded herself as<br > the hall with slightly more caution th<br >have a tendency to be entirely too l<br >from growing up with doting paten<br >made her feel safe and protected. Th4<br >natural curiosity about the unknowz<br >stilling fear.<br > That， of course， was precisely the<br >Halloran had insisted she take a<br >before moving from Los Angeles tc<br >she d be entirely on her own for the<br >life. He d determinedly tried to plan<br >head that every stranger representer<br >was ridiculous， of course. Strangers <br >whose fascinating secrets she didn t t<br > On the off chance that just this oi<br >ther might be right， Penny drew in a，<br >marched past the man without her us<br >She kept her gaze straight ahead， b:<br >sudden movement， even the slightest<br >in her direction.<br > Unfortunately， she had terrific peri1<br >addition to tracking his movements，<br >his well-muscled physique， emphasi<br >faded black T-shirt， and the shagg3<br >beneath a backward Red Sox cap.<br >scruffy， but definitely sexy.<br > There was something Vaguely farr<br >lazy half smile that turned his expre~<br ><br >