Charlotte's thin mouth remained clamped firmly shut, but the misery in her eyes was a dead giveaway.

"Never mind. I won't say anything," Deanna promised. "But you owe me, Charlotte."

The woman finally sighed. "You're right. I do. I wouldn't have let him fire you, you know. I would have confessed if it had come to that."

"But you were willing to let the mistake go on my record," Deanna reminded her. "I won't forget that."

She turned and left the suite before Charlotte could respond. When Deanna reached the outer office, she was surprised to find Sean perched on the edge of the reception desk chatting with Ruby. They both regarded her with worry when they spotted her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked Sean.

"I called him," Ruby said. "Mr. Hodges never yells like that unless he's ready to can somebody. I was afraid you were about to get fired, so I figured you'd need a big, broad shoulder to cry on. So, what happened in there?"

"He blew a gasket about a really stupid mistake, but then I explained about the fire and the extra hours at Joey's, and instead of firing me, he's going to talk to the landlord and try to wrangle a settlement for me. Actually, except for Charlotte's role in it, it's pretty amazing," she said, still bemused by the whole turn of events.

"Charlotte?" Sean asked, looking confused.

"The snake who runs Mr. Hodges's office," Ruby said, then turned to Deanna. "What did she do?"

"Turns out she was the one who made the mistake I was getting blamed for."

Ruby regarded her with indignation. "I hope you told Hodges," she said.

Deanna shook her head. "No. I didn't even realize what had really happened until after I'd left his office."

"Why the heck didn't you go right back in and tell the man the truth?" Sean demanded.

"Because it turned out okay. Charlotte won't do anything like that again."

"You're too darned n.o.ble," Ruby said.

"Actually, I'm not," Deanna said with a grin. "Now I have something I can hold over her head for years to come. Having leverage over Charlotte is a very good thing."

Ruby grinned. "Then I suggest you start by telling her you're taking the afternoon off and that she's going to cover for you. Then the three of us are going to pick up Kevin and go celebrate."

Deanna glanced at Sean to see how he was taking Ruby's attempt to plan his afternoon. He winked at her.

"Sounds like a plan to me. I don't go back on duty till midnight." He glanced pointedly at Ruby. "Neither does Hank."

Ruby frowned at that. "So?"

"Just thought you might be interested."

"Oh, go on and call him, if you want to," Ruby told Sean grudgingly.

Deanna didn't think Ruby ought to get off the hook so easily. As Sean reached for the phone, she stopped him. "Why don't you make that call, Ruby? I'll go and speak to Charlotte."

"But-"

Deanna cut off the protest. "If I can go in there and face down dragon lady, you can call Hank."

"Oh, for heaven's sake, go. I'll call," Ruby grumbled.

She was still on the phone with Hank when Deanna came back. "How are they doing?" she asked Sean in a whisper.

He chuckled. "The subject of the celebration hasn't actually come up yet. Those two are doing a dance that defies explanation. I'm almost tempted to yank the phone out of her hand and tell the poor guy why she really called."

"She'd never forgive you," Deanna said.

"But Hank would be forever grateful. I like to shift the balance of power in our partnership arrangement from time to time."

Deanna groaned. "You men and your macho games. I thought the two of you were friends."

"We are. That's how we stay that way," he explained in a way that almost made it sound like a perfectly rational way to live.

"Whatever," Deanna said. "Thanks for coming over here when Ruby called. You didn't have to."

He laughed. "You wouldn't say that if you'd heard her on the phone. I expected you to emerge from that office bloodied and defeated."

"But I notice you didn't rush in to save me," she said.

"Only because when I got here and heard the whole story, I got a somewhat different picture of the crisis unfolding." He reached in his pocket and withdrew a package of tissues. "I ran out and got these."

"Antic.i.p.ating my weeping, were you?" she inquired, amused by his attempt at preparedness. "A lot of men would have run at the prospect."

He shrugged. "Not me. I'm a sensitive kind of guy."

"You say that as if it's a joke, but you are, you know."

"You wouldn't say that if you knew about my plan to go in and pound your boss for making you cry in the first place."

She bit back a smile. "When were you going to do that?"

"As soon as I gave you the tissues and turned you over to Ruby."

Deanna laughed. "I don't need you fighting my battles for me."

"I know. I can see that."

"But I appreciate your willingness to step in, just the same."

He seemed suddenly uncomfortable with her praise. "Don't turn me into some kind of hero. All I did was show up."

She reached up and touched his cheek. "That's quite a lot for a man who claims to know nothing about sticking it out through tough times."

"Dee-"

"Hey, you guys," Ruby interrupted. "Are we going to hang around here all afternoon or are we going to celebrate?"

Deanna met Sean's gaze and held it. "I think we have quite a few reasons to celebrate, don't you?"

For a minute she thought he might prolong the argument, but eventually he shrugged. "Whatever you say. Who am I to argue with a woman who managed to emerge from battle unscathed?"

Satisfied, Deanna turned to Ruby. "Is Hank joining us?"

Ruby shrugged. "Beats me. He was still grumbling a lot of nonsense about being awakened out of a sound sleep for no good reason when I hung up on him."

"But you did tell him where we'd be, right?" Deanna persisted.

"How could I?" Ruby asked reasonably. "I don't know where we're going to be."

Deanna sighed.

"I'll call and give him a heads-up when we get there," Sean said.

"Whatever," Ruby said, setting off down the street at a brisk pace that left Deanna and Sean trailing behind.

They stared after her, then exchanged an exasperated look.

"Do you have any idea what's going on between those two?" Deanna asked.

"Not me," Sean said.

"Well, he's your friend," she said irritably.

"And she's yours. Do you get it?"

"No," she admitted.

"Why do I think that getting in the middle of it is a very bad idea?" Sean asked.

"Because you're an intelligent man," Deanna said. "But you're going to call Hank, anyway, right?"

Sean nodded. "If only to get a firsthand look at the fireworks."

Brave man, Deanna thought. Then again, he was a firefighter. A hot, noisy skirmish probably wouldn't faze him. After all, he had lots of experience extinguishing out-of-control blazes.

Sean wasn't prepared for Hank's haggard look when he finally joined them at the ice-cream parlor that had been chosen for the celebration. He looked every bit as bad as he had a few weeks ago at the gym. He cast a sour look at Sean, barely managed a smile for Deanna, then squeezed into the booth next to Ruby, who never even looked up from her hot-fudge sundae.

Sean might not know what game those two were playing, but one thing was plain-Hank had it bad for the woman beside him. Sean couldn't think of a single occasion in the past when his pal had been so hung up on a woman. Usually after this length of time, he'd slept with a woman a few times, tired of her and moved on.

Suddenly the answer dawned on him. Hank and Ruby hadn't hadn't slept together. That was why they were both so cranky and out of sorts. Sean almost laughed at the irony of it. All this time, he'd been half-envious of Hank's success, and Ruby had been keeping Hank at arm's length. She was obviously a whole lot wiser than Sean had given her credit for being. He wondered if Deanna had guessed the truth, but judging from the puzzled way she was studying the two of them, she hadn't. slept together. That was why they were both so cranky and out of sorts. Sean almost laughed at the irony of it. All this time, he'd been half-envious of Hank's success, and Ruby had been keeping Hank at arm's length. She was obviously a whole lot wiser than Sean had given her credit for being. He wondered if Deanna had guessed the truth, but judging from the puzzled way she was studying the two of them, she hadn't.

"Hey, Dee, feel like going for a walk?" he turned and asked her.

She regarded him blankly. "Now?"

"Seems like a good time to me," he said with a pointed glance across the table.

She looked at Ruby and Hank, then nodded with evident reluctance. "I guess so. Come on, Kevin. We're going for a walk."

Ruby's gaze shot up. "You're leaving?" she asked, a faint hint of panic in her voice.

Deanna regarded her worriedly. "Unless you want us to wait for you?"

Hank seemed to be holding his breath as he awaited Ruby's reply. She looked at him, waged some sort of internal debate that Sean couldn't interpret, then finally shook her head.

"Go ahead," she told them. "Hank hasn't even ordered yet. I can stay with him."

"You're sure you don't mind?" Deanna persisted, as Sean latched on to her hand and began tugging her from the booth.

"You heard her," Sean said. "She told us to go on."

Kevin regarded all of them with impatience. "Are we going or staying?" he grumbled.

"Going," Sean said firmly.

Deanna looked as if she might balk, but then she shrugged. "We're going."

Outside, she scowled up at Sean. "What was that all about? Why were you so anxious to get out of there?"

"Discretion," he said.

"What?" she demanded. Then understanding obviously dawned. "Oh, of course."

"You two are acting all weird again," Kevin declared with disgust.

Sean laughed. "You'll understand when you're older."

"So, where are we going?" he asked. "Is the celebration over?"

"Not yet," Sean rea.s.sured him. "How about my place? Want to head over there for a while?"

Kevin's expression immediately brightened. "Will Mark and Davey be there?"

"More than likely."

"All right!" he enthused.

"Deanna, is that okay with you?" Sean asked.

To his surprise, she looked hesitant, but one glance at Kevin's excited expression had her backing down from whatever objections she had. "Sure."

As soon as they reached Sean's apartment, Kevin spotted the older kids and took off without another word. Deanna watched him go with a contradictory mix of dismay and relief on her face. Sean wished he could read her mind.