This Heart Of Mine

the trade.'

'Let's not talk about that now. Let's talk about us. About our future.'

'I can't talk about the future until I understand the here and now.'

He must have known she wasn't going to let it go, but he still tried to sidestep. 'I've missed you so much. Without you, I stopped being happy.'

It was everything she'd wanted to hear. And yet… 'All I have to do is call her.'

He wandered toward the fence. 'All right, we'll do it your way.' He braced a hand on the top rail. 'I wanted to try to set things right with them once and for all, so I went out to the house. Dan wasn't around, but I saw Phoebe. I told her I loved you and that I was going to ask you to marry me for real. I said I wanted her blessing.'

Molly needed something to hold on to, but there wasn't anything around, so she sank down in the weeds, drew her knees to her chest, and concentrated on sucking in air.

He gazed down at her. 'You could look a little happier.'

'Tell me the rest.'

'Phoebe didn't like it.' He pushed himself away from the fence, the lines around his mouth deepening. 'As a matter of fact, she hated it. She accused me of using you as an insurance policy toward my retirement.'

'I don't understand.'

'Everybody knows I want to coach eventually, and I've talked to Dan about his front-office work.'

Molly finally got it. 'She said you were using me to guarantee your future with the Stars. Is that it?'

He erupted. 'I don't need a guarantee! I proved myself a long time ago! There's not a player in the league who knows more about the game than I do, but she looked at me like I was a no-name parasite. Molly, I understand that you love your sister, but football's a game about winning, and I have to tell you right now that I've lost all respect for her.'

Her legs had regained enough strength for her to stand. 'There's more, isn't there?'

His expression was a mixture of anger and confusion, as if he couldn't comprehend how a life made of gold could have developed any tarnish. 'She said I could have you or the Stars, but not both. She said if I saw you again, my career with the team was over. If I stayed away, I still had my job.'

Something warm opened up in Molly's heart. 'And you believed her?'

'You're damn right I believed her! And it's her loss! I don't need the Stars. I don't even want to play for them anymore.'

Her loving, interfering sister… 'She was scamming you, Kevin. This whole thing's a scam.'

'What are you talking about?'

'She wants me to have a Great Love Story like she had with Dan.'

'I saw her face. This wasn't any scam.'

'She's very good.'

'You're not making sense. What do you mean that she wants you to have a love story? I'd already told her I loved you.'

'She's a romantic. Almost as much as me. An ordinary love story isn't good enough. She wants me to have something I'll remember my whole life, something to pull out and examine if you forget to send flowers on our anniversary or get mad because I put a dent in the car.'

'I'm sure you understand what you're talking about, but I don't have a clue.'

'If you were a woman you would.'

'Well, excuse me for having a-'

'Words are wonderful, but every once in a while a few women are lucky enough to have something extra, something unforgettable.' This was so basic to her that she had to make him understand. 'Don't you see? Dan saved her life! He was willing to give up everything for her. Because of that, Phoebe always knows she comes first with him-ahead of football, ahead of his ambition, ahead of everything. She wanted me to have the same thing with you, so she convinced you that you had to choose.'

'I'm supposed to believe that she jeopardized the entire team just to force me into making some kind of grand romantic gesture?' He was starting to shout. 'I'm supposed to believe this?'

Kevin loved her! She could see it in his eyes, hear it in his frustration. He'd been willing to give up the team for her, and her heart sang. But the sound was almost drowned out by another noise-one as unexpected as it was inevitable.

The clang of a fire alarm.

She tried to ignore it. Even though she knew Kevin's career with the Stars was as secure as ever, he hadn't known it, and the fact was, he'd been willing to make the sacrifice.

Yes, her heart was definitely singing. Yes, this was a moment she could spend her entire life reliving. A moment that was perfect.

Except for the fire alarm.

She refused to listen to it. 'You seem a little angry.'

'Angry? Now, why would I be angry?'

'Because you thought Phoebe kicked you off the Stars.'

'You forget that I don't care about the Stars anymore. You forget that I want to play for a team with an owner who understands that the point of the game is winning, not jeopardizing millions of dollars in revenue so her star quarterback can play Sir Galahad!'

The fire alarm clanged louder. 'Then you didn't make much of a sacrifice.'

He was a champion, so he could spot the blitz coming from a mile away, and his expression grew wary. 'This is important to you? This whole romantic-gesture thing?'

Clang… Clang… Clang… 'I have to get ready for tea.'

'I haven't done enough? You want something more?'

'Not at all.'

A muffled curse, and then he swept her into his arms and began carrying her toward the woods. 'How's this for a romantic gesture?'

She crossed her arms over her chest, crossed her ankles, a perfect portrait of petulance, but she felt sick. 'If this involves naked bodies, it's sex, not romance.'

Unfortunately, he set her down instead of kissing her until he'd drowned out the sound of a thousand fire alarms. 'You think I don't know the difference between sex and romance? You think because I'm male, I'm obtuse.'

Her Great Love Story was on a downhill spiral because of a fire alarm that had grown so loud she wanted to cover her ears. 'I guess only you can answer that question.'

'All right, here's what I'm going to do.' He took a deep breath and met her gaze straight on. 'I'll win the Super Bowl for you.'

She realized he meant it, and little starbursts of happiness exploded inside her-each one punctuated by the noise of the alarm. Right then she understood that she was facing the fundamental question of her life, a question that had its roots in the heart of a little girl who'd been emotionally abandoned when she was much too young. Kevin Tucker was strong enough to slay dragons for her and strong enough to win the Super Bowl for her, but was he strong enough to love her even when she wasn't lovable? She needed an answer that would quiet the fire alarm forever.

'It's only July, loser,' she sneered. 'By Super Bowl Sunday I'll have forgotten your name.'

'I seriously doubt that.'

'Whatever.' She scratched a mosquito bite, looked bored, and spoke the ugliest words she'd ever said. 'My mistake. I really don't think I love you after all.'

Horrified, she began to snatch it back, then stopped because he didn't look upset, only calculating.

'Liar. Have you ever heard of the Saxeten River Gorge?'

'Can't say as I have.' Had the fire alarm lost a few decibels? 'It sounds boring. Did you hear me say I didn't love you?'

'Yeah. Anyway, it's in Switzerland, and it's as treacherous as they come. But I'm prepared to rappel to the bottom, and once I get there, I'll carve your initials in the rock.'

Yes, definitely not as loud. She tapped her foot in the grass. 'Touching, but