"Oh, Lord, you're incorrigible," Molly said, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Nuh-uh," Joseph argued. "I'm as good and easy as it gets. All you have to do is say the word and I'm yours."

"The word," Molly said.

Joseph tilted his head back and laughed loud and long. "You just wait," he said. "You just wait until I can get you alone. I'll make you pay for this."

"Now Joseph, I know you're good...but I don't think you're good enough to start charging for-"

He stifled her remark with a kiss that started a fire of its own. And then nothing could be heard but a m.u.f.fled moan and a shifting of feet across the office floor.

When he could think, he remembered why he'd come by. "Joey wanted to show you his head. He got his siches' out."

"Oh, dear, was it bad?" Molly asked, remembering what h.e.l.l it had been just to put them in.

Joseph grinned. "Well, you know how interesting they've been to him, and how often he's looked at himself in a mirror to check their progress. All I can say is, giving them up wasn't easy."

"Then we'd better go see the little man," Molly said, as she led Joseph out of her office. "I need to be properly impressed. I'll bet he was an angel for the doctor."

Joseph grimaced. "You need to think again," he said. "He was h.e.l.l on wheels."

"Just like his daddy," Molly said, and traced the length of the zipper on his pants lightly with the tip of her fingernail, and left Joseph standing in the middle of the hall with a silly smile on his face.

Molly came out the back door of her shop just as Joey tossed a handful of fish food into the water all at once.

"Hey, buddy," Molly called.

Joey pivoted and grinned. "Momma!" he cried, and ran toward the door, the fish forgotten in his need to show off his wound.

Molly scooped him up into her arms and planted a swift kiss on his cheek before he could object. "I heard you got your st.i.tches out. Can I see?"

Joey nodded importantly. He swiped his hand across his forehead, lifting his hair away from the tiny red mark, and frowned, trying to work up new indignation from the procedure.

"I'll bet you didn't even cry, did you?" Molly asked.

Truth warred with Joey's need to impress his favorite female. It came out somewhere in between when he answered.

"I cried...but not so loud," he said.

Molly nodded, trying desperately to keep a straight face.

"That's good. Big boys don't cry real loud." When she saw the concern on his face, she couldn't keep from whispering, "but they do cry, Joey. It's always okay to cry if you have to."

He nodded and started to stick his thumb in his mouth.

"Better wash your hands first," Molly said, as she grabbed the dirty little fist before the thought became deed. "You don't want to eat the fishes' food, do you?" The dry, dusty meal was all over his hands and shirt.

Harry grinned. "Come on, partner. Let's go wash, and then I'll bet I've got an extra quarter in my pocket. We'll put it in the gum machine and get us some gum, what do you say?"

"Yea!" Joey said, and made another run for the shop.

Harry had to hustle to keep up, and once again, Molly and Joseph were left alone.

"What will it take to get you to come over tonight and have dinner with us?" Joseph asked.

"An invitation."

"Consider yourself invited," he said, and then watched the way the blue in her eyes turned dark. She was all long legs and slender body, and he very badly wanted to strip her down and have his way with her.

She grinned and started toward him, her hair bouncing lightly upon her shoulders. The motion caught the hot rays of the afternoon sun, highlighting the auburn curls and framing her face in a halo of fire. Joseph's eyes narrowed as he watched her walk, remembering the fluidity of her body beneath him as they made love.

Molly slid her arms around his waist, hugging him just tight enough to reactivate the ache behind his zipper, and then slid her lips up the column of his throat, pausing at his chin long enough to make him worry that she was stopping there. She didn't. Her lips slid across his mouth and delicately nailed whatever he'd been about to say.

"Consider yourself warned," she whispered, and then followed Harry and Joey into the Garden of Eden.

For a long moment, Joseph was unable to move, and when he did, he looked around blindly, unaware whether or not he'd just made a fool of himself in front of G.o.d and everybody, then didn't care if he had. He turned around and stared at the sign across the back door of her shop and grinned at the implied meaning.

"The Garden of Eden...and Adam thought he had problems. I think I've just been handed a whole d.a.m.n basket of temptation. And I can tell you now, I don't have the presence of mind to turn down one...single...solitary bite."

He stuffed his hands in his pockets, hoping that it would help hide the condition in which she'd left him, and walked toward the back door. He had to collect his child and his sanity before he could drive them both home.

Dear Miss Jordan, I'm writing to you as one woman to another, simply to let you know that your son may not be cared for in the manner in which you believed when you relinquished custody. Please understand that I'm not pa.s.sing judgment on what must have been a difficult decision for you to make, but I feel that you should know that another woman has come into your son's life who may not be the best influence for him...or for Joey's father.

If you have any...

Marjorie finished rereading the letter she'd just composed, slid it into the preaddressed envelope, licked and then sealed it, tamping it lightly to insure that the glue had stuck. Making certain that the stamp was in place, she walked out of her house and toward the mailbox on the curb.

She didn't see the beauty of the fall flowers along her walk or smell the crisp tang of the first signs of autumn in the air. She didn't see her old neighbor across the street waving at her to come over for a visit. She was on a mission. She walked to the edge of the street, slipped the letter into her mailbox, and raised the red flag for the postman's notice.

"There, that does it," she said, and dusted her hands as if she'd just completed a dirty job.

In one respect she had, but the dirt was all on her. The letter she'd just written and mailed to one Carly Jordan was the first step she'd taken down the path of meddle. She'd never been on that particular path before, but Marjorie was certain that if she had, her husband would still be her husband and not her ex.

She smoothed a hand over the gray helmet of her hair, found a place that needed some extra spray, and headed for her house with determination. Marjorie was big on propriety as well as people staying in their places. Everyone and everything had a place, and her hairdo was no exception.

"It's bedtime, buddy," Joseph said, as Joey made a mad dash through the living room, rolled across the throw pillows on the floor, and jumped to his feet and yelled, "Taa-daa!"

Molly rolled her eyes and tried not to laugh at the look of utter disgust on Joseph's face.

"No more taa-daas," Joseph said. "Pick up your toys and I'll be in to help you bathe and put on your pajamas."

Joey stuck out his lower lip and glared at his father's hard stare.

"Want Momma to do it," he said.

"Now, Joey. You know what-"

"It's all right," Molly said. "If it'll make things easier on both of you, I'm willing." She looked to Joseph for permission.

He shrugged and nodded. "I owe you," he said.

Molly smiled, slowly. "I'll collect later." Then before Joseph could respond, she turned toward his son and clapped her hands. "Race you," she shouted, and darted down the hall with Joey right behind her, squealing and shouting with every step.

Joseph didn't know whether to be glad that Joey loved Molly and had accepted her without batting an eye or worry that Molly was so taken with his son.

He told himself that he was being foolish, but he couldn't forget what she'd told him about not being able to have any more children.

What if she only loves me for my son? he asked himself. Yeah, and what if you're just making excuses for yourself? he thought. You know that Molly cares for you, too. You're just jealous because she's going to give Joey a bath instead of giving one to you.

He shoved his hands through his hair, then pivoted, unable to stay alone in the room with the feelings he couldn't control. He walked out of the house and onto the flagstone terrace, staring into the darkness and seeing nothing but an occasional night moth dive-bombing the yard light, remembering when he'd wished for someone to love and gotten nothing but another set of foster parents, then trying to forget that they'd been more of the same. As far as Joseph had been able to tell, most of his foster parents had considered him another paycheck rather than another child to help reach maturity with some illusions intact. Shadows darkened the yard-and his eyes-as he tried not to remember anything else at all.

A siren sounded somewhere off in the distance. A dog barked in a backyard three houses over. And the sun set on another day in Oklahoma.

Molly leaned over, kissing Joey's soft cheek and smiling to herself at the way he snuggled his stuffed rabbit beneath his tummy. When he was asleep, she slipped quietly out of his room.

Joseph was nowhere to be found. It took a few minutes for her to think to look outside, and when she did, she stood un.o.bserved, watching the play of emotions sweeping across his face as the sun disappeared from view.

Her heart ached for his uncertainty, and for an instant, she saw the child in the man. It was enough to end her observation and send her outside and into his arms.

Molly slid her arms around him from behind, laying her cheek against the place between his shoulder blades and listening for the heartbeat she knew was there.

"Are you all right?"

He smiled. "I am now. I didn't mean to leave you alone for so long. I guess I got lost in thought. Is Joey already in bed?"

"He's been asleep for nearly fifteen minutes," Molly said, and then she grinned. "But the bathroom's a mess. He got more water on the floor than I got on him. However...he's clean and quiet. A woman couldn't ask for more."

"I could," Joseph said softly, and turned in her arms. "And I'm going to." His voice deepened, his grip tightened, and the air between them seemed charged. "Molly...why do you love me?"

She inhaled sharply. How could he not know?

Joseph continued, as if he'd never asked the first question. "I'm a man with a lot of baggage. Old problems, a new child, and a budding business that has yet to become a success. Not exactly the greatest catch on the block."

"My G.o.d," she said. "Is that how you see yourself?" Her fingers wrapped in the sleeves on his shirt and she resisted the urge to shake him. "I love you for a thousand reasons. I've never even stopped to disa.s.semble them. They're all a part of you"-she paused, cupping his face in her hands-"just as I hope to be. I want to be a part of your life, whatever that means. I wish I had the right to wake up beside you each morning, and crawl into bed beside you each night. I wish I could point to you on a street and say, he's mine,' and know that it was the truth."

She stopped and shook her head. "You ask, why do I love you...better yet...why do you love me? I'm a broken woman, Joseph. I can love, I can even make love. But I'll never be able to make babies with you. I'll never be able to feel the love we share grow inside of me. What do you think about that?"

He was stunned by her lecture, and the truth of her words. But he knew in the instant that it was voiced that nothing would matter if they could be together.

"I think that you've been cheated out of something you desperately want. But you've got to believe that the only thing I want or need from you is love...the knowledge that you'll always be there for me...and"-he smiled, and caressed her cheek with the tip of a finger-"our son. Remember, you're already someone's momma.'"

Her sob came quickly, unexpectedly. Molly shuddered, then buried her face in her hands, too moved to allow him to see her vulnerability.

"Ah, G.o.d," Joseph whispered. "I didn't mean to make you cry."

"It wasn't from sadness," she whispered. "It was just that dose of overwhelming love that took me by surprise."

Joseph scooped her up into his arms. "If you think that felt good, wait till you see what's next."

Molly buried her head against his shoulder. "Don't forget to lock the door," she said, as he carried her back inside the house. "I won't be going out again tonight."

That could only mean one thing. She'd finally succ.u.mbed to his pleas to stay the night. "Molly...are you sure? I don't want you to feel pressured by what I said."

"Are you going to respect me in the morning?" she asked shyly.

"Not unless I actually have to," he teased. "I'd a whole lot rather...." He leaned down and whispered in her ear.

It was dark and quiet inside his house, yet he heard her gasp and saw her blush. But he should have known he'd never get the better of her.

"Is that a one-time offer?" she asked. "Or can I have seconds?"

"Oh, woman!" He laughed softly as he lifted her up into his arms. "I promise I'll die trying," he said, and carried her into his room.

Seven.

"You can't fire me. I quit!"

Carly Jordan slammed the files she was holding onto the desk and glared at the man behind it, daring him to make a scene.

Marcus Huddson shrugged. Whatever it took, seeing the last of her would be good riddance.

"And furthermore," Carly said, "ruining my reputation to get back at me won't wash. You shouldn't have played dirty with me, Marcus, then I wouldn't have been forced to do this."

She yanked an envelope of photos from her purse, tossed them on top of the files scattered across his desk, and smirked with satisfaction as the blood slowly drained from her boss's face.

"What are you doing with these?" he gasped, unwilling to even touch the pictorial reminders of their illicit affair. "When did you have these taken?"

He looked down at them in horror and then back up at the woman before him, wondering what he'd ever seen in her. Suddenly her tall, Scandinavian beauty had turned into something hideous and evil.

"I'm not doing anything with them," Carly said. "I have no idea what your wife's plans are, but I'm sure they don't include me. After all, I have nothing left to lose. You've already made that perfectly clear."

"Oh G.o.d," Marcus Huddson groaned. Then temper overcame panic. "You b.i.t.c.h!" he whispered. "I'll make you sorry."

Carly shrugged. "I'm already sorry. I should have stayed with Peter, not you. He's much better in bed, and even though he's not vice president, he's still the CEO's nephew."

Marcus Huddson blanched. He'd met some conniving women in his day, but none who were so blatantly willing to admit that sleeping their way to the top beat all-out work every time.

"You'll never work in the computer industry again," Huddson warned. "I'll see to that."

Carly leaned forward, giving her ex-lover a bird's-eye view of her ample cleavage, and whispered, "I don't intend to try, Marcus darling. And"-she smiled viciously-"I'll bet I have another job before you can find another wife."