He released her and Kylie thought she fell in love with him even more at that moment. "You're good at that, you know."

He glanced over at her as he began backing the car out the driveway. "Good at what?"

"Soothing my ruffled feathers."

He smiled. "Glad I could help."

"Hey, man, did you have to bring your own personal cheerleader?" Bas whispered as he set a screen for Chance to shoot.

Chance laughed as he made yet another shot and Kylie stood and cheered again. "Jealousy won't get you any points, Bas. You could have brought Ca.s.sandra."

Bas frowned. "Are you kidding? Can any of you imagine her sitting over there on the bleachers watching me get hot and sweaty?"

Donovan chuckled. "No, I don't think we can."

"Hey, will the three of you cut the c.r.a.p and let's get some playtime?" Morgan growled, pushing Bas out of the way and getting the ball from Chance.

"Hey, that's a foul, Morgan," Chance called out, watching Morgan dribble the ball down the court to make a shot. He then turned to Bas. "What's his problem?"

"Seems like some lady he was interested in last night at the ball wasn't all that receptive," Bas said as they ran down the court to retrieve the stolen ball.

"Who?"

"The woman who could be Queen Latifah's twin, Helena Spears. He asked her out and she declined. She's probably the first woman who's ever turned down a dinner date with him. He evidently doesn't handle rejection well."

Chance grinned. "Evidently."

The game ended an hour or so later with Bas and Chance winning. Morgan, who'd made six fouls, would have gotten thrown out of the game had they been playing by real basketball rules.

Kylie sat patiently on the bleachers waiting for the men to come out of the locker room, where they had gone to shower and change. When Bas came out first, he crossed the gym to come over to talk to her.

"So," he asked dropping in the seat next to her, "what did you think of our game?"

She couldn't help but smile. "Interesting. A lot of rules were broken."

Bas chuckled. "Yeah, better broken rules than broken noses. We need this game every week to work off frustrations. Otherwise, we'd be at each other's throats at some point during the week."

"So I heard."

After a few moments of silence, Bas, who had a habit of shooting straight from the hip, said, "Chance has never brought a woman to watch us play before, so I figure you must be special."

Kylie gave him a wry glance. "Do you?"

"Yes, I do."

"That's good to know because I think he's special, too."

Bas shook his head and chuckled softly. "You don't seem too happy about it."

Kylie let out a sigh. "We should be concentrating on our kids."

"Hey, Marcus is a smart guy and from what I hear your Tiffany is a smart girl."

"Yes, but trouble has a way of finding even smart people."

"You're talking to someone who knows. Trouble used to be my middle name."

Kylie caught her bottom lip between her teeth. "Chance is a nice guy," she said quietly. "Marcus is lucky to have him for a father."

"That's the same thing Chance said about you."

Kylie glanced over at Bas. "What?"

"That you were a nice person and that Tiffany was lucky to have you as a mother." Bas then leaned forward. "Hey, do me a favor, will you?"

"And what favor is that?"

"You've made him happy and-"

"Me?"

"Yes, you. I've never seen him in such a good mood. Sometimes I think that smile is plastered to his face."

Kylie shook her head. "I have nothing to do with it."

"Yes, you do. At first he was all bent out of shape at the thought that Marcus's attention had gotten off his books and shifted to a girl, but once he met you then he saw why."

Kylie's eyebrows pulled together in a frown. "What do you mean?"

Bas smiled. "He was so taken with you that he could see how Marcus could be taken with Tiffany." When Kylie didn't say anything, Bas said, "Now getting back to that favor..."

"Yes?"

"Keep making Chance happy. He's had a lot of sadness in his life and if there's anyone who deserves to be happy, it's him. I think he's a pretty great guy."

Before Kylie could say anything, Bas stood, jumped off the bleachers to the court and called over his shoulder, "I'll go see what's keeping him."

Kylie leaned back and thought about what Bas had said. Before she could give it too much thought, every nerve ending in her body came instantly alive when Chance walked out of the locker room. He had changed into a pair of jeans and another T-shirt. He crossed the gym to her with a heart-stopping smile on his face.

Catching her breath, she decided to go down to meet him. As soon as she got close he leaned down and brushed his lips over hers. "Sorry for the delay. I had to talk to Morgan about something."

She nodded as he took her hand in his and led her out of the gym. "That's okay. I enjoyed chatting with Bas while I waited. Is Morgan okay? He was playing a mean game today. He committed a lot of fouls."

Chance's smile curved into a full grin. "Yes, they were intentional. He had a lot of frustrations to work off."

"Oh."

Snaking his arm around her waist, Chance snuggled her closer to his side as they walked to the car. "What were your plans for today?"

"I was going grocery shopping."

He laughed. "Hey, so was I. Do you want to go together?"

When Chance opened the car door and she slid inside, she glanced up at him and smiled. "Why not? It just might be fun."

Later that evening as Kylie finished getting dressed for dinner she thought that grocery shopping with Chance had not only been fun, it had been educational as well.

He had known what fruits were in season, he made sure she checked the expiration date on everything she purchased and he advised her to stay away from the generic brands, claiming there was a difference in taste.

And she had discovered that they liked the same foods, and the same flavor ice cream. In fact, they had almost argued about who would get the last half gallon of chocolate-chip cookie dough until one of the store clerks a.s.sured them there was a case in the back.

After their shopping adventure he had brought her home to unload her groceries and indicated he would return around seven to take her to dinner. It was almost seven now and she was ready.

Kylie smiled as she glanced at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a dress she had purchased earlier that year when she had attended her father's retirement party. Her mother had complimented her on how good she'd looked in it, and now she hoped Chance shared that same opinion. She was just about to add strawberry lip color to her lips when the phone rang. She quickly picked it up. "h.e.l.lo."

"Hi, Mom."

"Tiffany! I'm glad you called. How's Disney World?"

"Disney World is fine but I think Gramma had too much of Mickey and Minnie for one day. Me and Gramps are going to leave her at the hotel and go to Epcot later. How was the ball last night?"

Kylie was surprised her daughter remembered anything about the ball. "It was nice. Your G.o.dmother's committee did an excellent job."

"Was Marcus's father there?"

Kylie raised an eyebrow, wondering why Tiffany wanted to know. "Yes, he was there."

"So you saw him?"

"Yes, I saw him."

"Was he with someone?"

Kylie refused to answer that. "Tiffany, why are you asking me questions about Marcus's father?"

"Oh, just curious. Marcus and I talked before I left and he's concerned that his dad doesn't date much."

"It's not the end of the world for a person not to date, Tiffany."

"I know and that's what I told Marcus since you don't date, either. Okay, Mom, I got to go, Gramps is waiting for me. Talk to you later."

"Okay, sweetheart, have fun and tell Mom and Dad h.e.l.lo."

After she hung up the phone Kylie decided to cover all her bases in case Tiffany hit up her G.o.dmother for answers about the ball. She quickly picked up the phone and dialed Lena's number. "Don't be surprised if you receive a call from Tiffany asking questions about last night's ball," she told her friend.

"What kind of questions?"

"Like who Chance was with."

Lena chuckled. "He was with you."

"Yes, but I prefer her not knowing that, Lena."

"Sure, if that's the way you want it."

"It is." Something in Lena's voice made Kylie wonder if her friend was all right and she decided to ask.

"No, not really. I met this gorgeous man last night at the ball. He asked me out and I turned him down."

"Why?"

"Kylie, you know the score. Do you know how many times I've been dropped, sometimes even before the first date, when the guy finds out Mom and I come as a pair."

"Not all guys will make a big deal out of it, Lena."

"Yes, but I'm tired of trying to figure out those who will and those who won't. I don't plan on dating for a while."

Kylie frowned. "I don't know if that's a good idea."

Lena chuckled. "Looks who's talking."

"My situation is different and you know it. I don't date because I prefer not to. You want to date but you're afraid to."

"I am not."

"You are, too."

"Okay, so maybe I am. What's wrong with me protecting myself against heartbreak?"

"You don't know that will happen for sure. And if a man doesn't want you because you care enough to see to your mother's welfare, then screw him."

"Umm, speaking of screw...where did you and Chance disappear to last night?"

Silence pulsed over the line for a brief second and then Kylie said, "He took me home."

"And?"

"And what?"

"And why do I think there's more to this story?"