And it wasn't. Sterling lifted his brow at her reply. "What are your plans for the rest of the day?" he asked her.

"I don't have any."

He thrust his hands into the pockets of his pants. "Then there's no reason for us not to spend it together."

"Doing what?" Colby asked curtly.

He gave her a smooth smile. "Sight-seeing. How about if I show you around the area. Then there's one more thing we need to discuss in detail before you leave California."

"What?"

"Our wedding plans."

First, Sterling took Colby on a personal tour of the major movie studios. From there, the places became unlimited. They toured The Boulevard, Hollywood and Griffin Park. That was followed by lunch in Santa Monica at Palisades Park. The two-mile stretch of green provided a magnificent view of the ocean and beaches below. Later they took a walk along the Santa Monica Pier, which jutted out into the Pacific Ocean. He told her it was here where his action-packed movie, Duncan's Revenge, Duncan's Revenge, the one he'd made with Sylvester Stallone, had been filmed. the one he'd made with Sylvester Stallone, had been filmed.

Dressed comfortably in shorts and both wearing sungla.s.ses and big straw hats, they had blended in well with the numerous other tourists.

"Wow! This place is beautiful," Colby said of Jesse Owens Park. The twenty-acre park named in honor of the black Olympic gold medal track star had a huge gym, a large indoor pool, basketball, volleyball and tennis courts and a three-par golf course. Quite a number of people had chosen the park that day to have a picnic.

Leaning against a guardrail, Colby watched a group of teenagers play a serious game of basketball against a group of older men. Sterling, who was standing beside her, turned to her and began softly stroking her shoulder. At first she had stiffened at the contact but then she relaxed. His touch was both surprising and welcoming. She had done some heavy-duty walking that day and her entire body was beginning to get achy. His slow, gentle ma.s.sage of her shoulder was helping to relieve the tightness lodged there.

She gazed up at him, her eyes filled with appreciation. "How did you know I needed that?"

His expression was soft as he gazed down at her.

"Somehow, I just knew. I think it's time for us to return to the hotel. You've done enough sight-seeing for one day."

Taking her hand in his, he led her back to the area where his car was parked.

They walked together silently. When they reached the parking area, Sterling turned and, placing light pressure on her hand, gently pulled her to him.

Colby fixed him with a mildly surprised look.

"Don't look now," he whispered, "but there's a photographer who's been following us for the last half hour. We may as well make his day and give him a picture worth taking," he said. He tipped her chin up to him and lowered his mouth to hers.

The kiss, although a lot gentler than the one they'd shared in the hotel room yesterday, was just as greedy, possessive and pa.s.sionate. Colby's heart pounded furiously in her chest, as her body shivered from the feel of his mouth taking hers with such breathtaking thoroughness.

She dismissed from her mind the rule against kissing in public. She didn't understand exactly what she was feeling or the type of pa.s.sion consuming her senses. And at the moment she didn't feel compelled to understand. She just wanted to enjoy what was taking place between them. So she clung to him with all the strength she possessed. And his hold on her was both protective and powerful.

When Sterling finally ended the kiss, he rested his forehead on the top of Colby's head as he fought for control. Again he had lost it. Kissing her always made him lose control; control he didn't like losing. Whenever he kissed her, an exquisite weakness seemed to take over his entire body, and all he wanted to do was to crush her against him and kiss her like there was no tomorrow.

He sighed heavily. Those thoughts were disturbing.

Colby was also absorbed in her own thoughts. She stepped back out of Sterling's arms, annoyed with herself for responding to him that way.

"I can't believe I let you kiss me here," she said, nervously running fingers through her hair.

Sterling leaned against a wooden post. Shoving his hands into the pockets of his shorts, he gazed down at Colby with an unwavering absorption that made his eyes appear even darker. "I really didn't give you a choice," he said huskily.

"No, you didn't," she agreed. At least not in the beginning, At least not in the beginning, her mind taunted. her mind taunted. But you could have stopped him afterward anytime you wanted to. But you could have stopped him afterward anytime you wanted to.

"Was that kiss necessary?" she asked, still reeling from the effects of it. His kisses left her feeling weak and vulnerable.

"Yes," he answered with quiet a.s.surance. "It seems we've been forced into action."

Colby frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Sterling took her hand in his once again. "Come on. I'll explain things in the car. I've discovered that in some places even the garbage cans seem to have ears."

They began walking and when they reached the car Colby turned to him. She stared up at him, confused. "That was the second time you've kissed me. You can't go around doing that whenever you feel like it. It's not proper."

Sterling couldn't help but grin at her choice of such an old-fashioned word. "It's not proper, huh?"

"No, it's not, and you can't do it anymore."

"I can't?"

"No, you can't."

Out of the corner of Sterling's eye he saw that the photographer had disappeared. Evidently the man had been pleased with the shots he'd taken of him and Colby kissing.

"I'll try and remember that I can't kiss you anytime I want to," Sterling finally answered pleasantly, opening the car door for her. He closed it again after she had slipped inside, then went around to the other side and got in.

"Yeah, just like you're supposed to try knocking before entering my room, and try changing my opinion of you," she said as he turned the ignition and backed the car out of the parking s.p.a.ce. "As far as I can see, you aren't doing a very good job."

"I said I would try, Colby. You shouldn't expect miracles overnight," he said, smiling. She sat stiffly with her arms folded. He could tell she was teed off. And as usual, whenever she was angry, she was more beautiful than ever. A broad shaft of sunlight shone through the car and seemed to concentrate its golden rays just on her. It highlighted her flawless smooth brown skin and made her hair appear shinier, more silky.

After they had driven for a while, Colby said, "All right, Sterling, I want an explanation of what happened back there."

When the car came to a stop at a traffic light he turned to her. "It's easy enough to explain. Evidently that photographer works for one of those tabloid magazines. It's my guess our picture will make the front page in a few days. Who knows? It may be out as quickly as tomorrow."

Colby's eyes widened. "The one of us kissing? In a public place?"

Sterling shrugged. "It wasn't all that public. There weren't many people around."

"But it was a park, for heaven's sake."

He lifted a brow. "You've never been kissed in a park before?"

"No."

"That's interesting." For some reason that bit of information pleased him. "From here on out, we have to lay it on thick for the media."

"Lay what on thick?"

"Our absorption with each other. We have to convince them we're madly in love."

"Why?"

Sterling met the confused darkness of Colby's eyes. "My wanting to get married will raise a lot of questions, since I've gone on record on numerous occasions and said married life wasn't for me. And since neither of us want to draw any unnecessary speculation-especially from the media-as to why we're getting married, starting today we'll give them performances worthy of the Oscars."

Colby couldn't help but think about the kiss they'd shared at the park. Did he mean there would be more public displays of them that way? She hoped not. She didn't think her body could handle too much of kissing him. Already it melted each and every time he took her into his arms.

"Will that be absolutely necessary?" she felt compelled to ask.

"Yes. If it was just me I'd care less, but since we don't want my son to grow up with the stigma of being a surrogate child, I don't want to give-"

"Why did you just refer to the baby as 'your son'? Do you have a problem with the possibility of having a daughter?"

Sterling smiled. "No, but that's not a possibility. There hasn't been a female born into the Hamilton family in over a hundred years."

"Not a one?"

"No, not a single one. Right now there aren't any women in the Hamilton family, period."

"Didn't you get females in your family when the Hamilton men married?"

"Not for long. There's a high divorce rate among Hamilton men. It's known as the Hamilton curse."

"That's awful that there weren't any females around."

His brow furrowed. "Why would you think so?"

"Because you lacked a female influence in your life. And why is there a high divorce rate among Hamilton men?"

"For the longest time the Hamiltons, including my own father, were lumberjacks who resided in a small logging town in the wooded mountains of North Carolina. Because of the nature of their work, they were away from home living in logging camps for extended periods of time, so it wasn't advantageous to have a wife. And those who were married discovered the wives they left behind eventually got bored waiting for them to return home. Most of the women decided a logging town was no place to live for the rest of their lives, so they up and left."

"Is that the reason your mother left?"

Sterling's mouth tightened and the words he spoke were cold and emotionless. "I've told you I don't have a mother, and I would appreciate it if you'd try not to forget that fact again."

The rest of the ride to the hotel was in silence. Colby could not stop wondering why Sterling's mother had left. Whatever the reason, he had not forgiven her for it and from the way he sounded he never would. She could not imagine ever having her child grow up feeling that way about her. That was why she was determined not to let Sterling send her away. She would always be a part of her child's life.

She smiled at the thought of one day having a baby. In her mind, she could picture a bouncy baby with black curls and dark eyes to match. And a part of her just knew it would be a girl.

She grinned to herself. So there hadn't been any girls born into the Hamilton family in over a hundred years? Well, she hoped Sterling was ready for "sugar and spice and everything nice" because their child would be a girl.

She just knew it.

Chapter 9.

Colby looked at herself in the full-length mirror. She ran her hands under the thick hair flowing past her bare shoulders, letting her fingers tangle in the curls there.

She wasn't the type to stand in front of a mirror checking herself out, but the impression she would give tonight would be an important one. Sterling was taking her out to dinner and would announce their engagement to the media.

After they had returned to the hotel from sight-seeing, he'd explained their plans and how important tonight would be. Then indicating he had a number of things to do before they left for dinner, he had departed, leaving her alone.

She had wasted no time rushing to her closet in search of something to wear. Unfortunately, she had not brought anything fancy with her to California. At least nothing fancy or sophisticated enough to be seen out with Sterling Hamilton.

Seeing she had no other choice, she had left the hotel, caught a cab, and gone shopping. Upon entering a number of the stores she had been taken aback by their high prices, but she then remembered the stores' usual clientele were the rich and famous. A number of the shops indicated you could only shop by an appointment, and at others you were a.s.signed your own personal salesclerk-or clothing representative a.s.sistant-who a.s.sisted you on a one-on-one basis while you made your selections.

Colby's afternoon spent on Rodeo Drive had been fun. Some of the names of the shops she had recognized as ones that supplied clothing for major network television shows. Their names often appeared among the credits at the end. And others, such as Gucci, had a worldwide reputation. She herself owned one of their purses.

She considered herself a person who liked nice things and dressed accordingly. However, she thought paying two hundred dollars for a pair of stockings a bit too much. Her eyes widened at the underwear prices that began at four hundred dollars. But she was soon forced to bite the bullet, and pulling her paid-up charge card from her wallet she proceeded to go shopping wild.

Three hours later she had walked out of the expensive shop with an outfit she felt would be perfect for tonight, along with all the accessories she would need. She had even purchased a couple of casual outfits and a bathing suit that had cost more than she had paid for the sofa in her living room at home. She cringed when she thought of the amount of money she had spent. The balance on her charge card would probably take her the next fifty years to pay off.

But now as she stood in front of the mirror admiring the raw silk dress she had purchased, she knew it was well worth it. Everyone always told her she looked good in red, and as she gazed at herself, she had to agree with them. She liked what she saw and hoped Sterling would, too.

She would find out soon enough, she thought, when she heard his knock on the connecting door to the suites. When she opened the door she took a step back as Sterling's imposing height and stature filled the doorway.

The man looked absolutely gorgeous.

He was dressed in a black dinner suit that was immaculately tailored to fit his broad frame. His crisp, designer white shirt and the black bow tie he wore made him look so devastatingly handsome that a lump suddenly lodged in Colby's throat. The man who stood before her, the son of a lumberjack, whose strikingly handsome features often graced the pages of numerous magazines as well as the big screen, exuded a physical magnetism that was awesome.

Awesome.

Colby released a sigh. That was the one word that could describe him. Sterling Hamilton was awesome. He would do justice endorsing her brother's new cologne. Awesome would perfectly describe the man promoting it.

"h.e.l.lo, Colby. You look nice. Very nice."

Sterling's words, spoken soft and husky in a deep voice, brought Colby back to full awareness. She knew he'd been observing her close scrutiny of him. Evidently he felt now it was his turn to do likewise with her. He gave her a penetrating stare with clear and observant eyes. Awareness flowed through her body as she watched his open and unbidden gaze begin at the top of her head and slowly work its way down.

His gaze met hers and she saw something in the dark depths of his eyes that made her slightly wary. She felt like a canary caught by a cat, and somehow felt he knew it. She tried to relax but discovered she couldn't. The only thing she was capable of doing was standing there and returning his stare as he gave her a heated appraising look.

Then after holding her gaze, much too long to Colby's way of thinking, his eyes slowly moved down and settled dead-center on her mouth. And they stayed there.

He had a problem.

That thought occurred to Sterling for the second time in two days, as he stood before Colby with his gaze fastened on her mouth. It was a mouth whose lips had been pampered with glossy red color. He inhaled sharply when she nervously swept her tongue across those red lips to moisten them. Desire, hot as volcanic lava, suddenly rushed through his body.

He forced his gaze down. The dress she was wearing could have been made just for her. It showed off her figure to a degree he found enthralling. His eyes consumed every sensuous detail, including the way the t-straps left her shoulders partially bare, and how its simple bodice emphasized her generously rounded b.r.e.a.s.t.s and small waist. But it was the front slit in the dress that captured his full attention. It provided him a tantalizing glimpse of a dark, silk-clad thigh.

He was quite taken with her appearance. Most people wouldn't consider her drop-dead gorgeous, but her attractiveness definitely made a statement. And he knew without a doubt that to him, tonight, she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on. And that was a strong conclusion to make considering that his profession placed him in the company of many glamorous and beautiful women.