The waitress came with green salads and they were silent while they ate.
“Was Mimi there?” he asked finally.
“Yes, she came before nine o’clock. She and Gladys and Stoddard think our weird marriage is wonderful.”
“I know,” he answered with a grin. “They rank right up there with Elnora. When Mimi looks at me, I feel as if I sold my soul to the devil.”
“That’s a fine way to view me!”
“It isn’t the way I view you or the boys. It’s just my ac- ceptance of Elnora’s inheritance and your grandmother’s smug satisfaction. It’s the same way Elnora would look at us.”
“Elnora didn’t think a woman could possibly be happy without a man.”
“The world’s filled with women delighted to be without a man,” he stated dryly. “And I think you were one of them.”
“Not delighted, just too busy to think about it.”
“And not overly delighted with the one that got dropped into your life,” he said lightly.
“There are moments and you know it.”
Amused, he looked at her and the expression in his eyes was intimate, sharing knowledge of their moments of pas- sion, the times they enjoyed each other’s company.
“Now you’re the one looking smug.”
“Not smug, just happy. Life’s better now.”
Startled, she looked up at him and lowered her fork. “Is it really?”
“Sure. Isn’t it for you?”
“Some of the time,” she answered cautiously.
He grinned. “Now you sound like the evasive lawyer.”
“Yes, it’s better some days,” she agreed. “But today hasn’t been one of the better times.”
“I thought it was pretty great back there in my office.”
“Yes, it was,” she answered softly and his head came up and his eyes narrowed.
“Then why did you make me stop?”
“Good sense. Caution.”
He gave her a level look. “Now I wish we were back in the office. A week ago, you wouldn’t have given me an answer like that.”
“Don’t tell me I’m changing.”
“I think we both are.”
While she arched her eyebrows and stared at him, he wondered how much they were changing. And he won- dered if she had any idea of the effect she was having on him.
She looked out the window for a moment then turned back to him. “Have you already bought the horse?”
“As a matter of fact, yes. A two-year-old mare and she’s gentle and has been with a family that had kids.”
She sighed, and he wondered if the issue of the horse still annoyed her. “A horse will be good for them,” he insisted. “And you watch Quin take to a horse like he has to Snooks. A horse will be better for him than a cat.”
“If he doesn’t get hurt.”
“Don’t get overprotective. I’ll watch out for them.”
“You’re not used to doing that.”
He held up his hand. “I promise to watch them carefully around the horse and teach them the proper care of one.”
She threw up her hands in a gesture of submission. “You win, Counselor. I can’t argue with that.”
“Just watch—you’ll be the one who loves the horse the most. I may get another horse so I can ride with you.”
She slanted a look at him that made him draw a deep breath and wish again that he had the afternoon alone with her.
“Be careful, Counselor. We’re back on dangerous ground.” She glanced at her watch. “I need to get back to the preschool…I have carpenters coming.”
“When you give me looks like that, I want to lock up my office and carry you off to a hotel.”
She gave him a level gaze. “Not a chance.”
He shrugged. “I’ll work on it.”
She shook her head in exasperation as they left the res- taurant. They walked back to his office. In the parking lot beside her car, he turned her to face him. He placed his hands on her shoulders and her heart began to race with ex- citement and alarm that he might kiss her here on the street with people and traffic around them.
“I still wish I could cancel everything for the afternoon and go home with you.”
“Well, we both know it’s wisest not to. I’ll see you at home tonight.”
“That sounds so damned good,” he said solemnly, making her heart skip a beat. “Am I forgiven?”
She shook her head. “You knew you were forgiven when you kissed me.” She tilted her head and studied him. “I wish I could resist you.”
He inhaled, his chest expanding, his eyes darkening. His hands tightened on her shoulders. “I’m going to remind you of that statement tonight,” he said in a husky voice.
“I better go.” She could barely get out the words. Sparks danced between them, the air seeming to crackle as they stared at each other and she struggled with her emotions. She turned and grabbed the car door, yanking her hand back with an exclamation. The sun had heated the door handle.
“Did you get burned?” he said, reaching past her to open the door. She looked up at him.
“Badly. So damn badly,” she said softly, thinking about him and knowing she was heading for hurt. She slid into the car that enveloped her with heat and he stepped back, pushing his jacket open as he placed his hands on his hips and watched her back out and drive away. Before she turned out of the lot, she looked in the rearview mirror to see him still standing there watching her.
She tried to concentrate on traffic, her thoughts and emotions churning while she muttered darkly to herself about Cal turning her life upside down.
That night it got worse.
Juliana arrived at six and thirty minutes later, Cal drove up. He came bounding up the stairs as she started down. He looked virile, filled with healthy vitality and she realized that even with the boys and Gladys and Stoddard around, it was sexier to live under the same roof with someone on a day-to- day basis
