He laughed, the sound craggy. "And you were cute. Maybe even sweet."

The word instantly made her think of her father, and she felt those damn tears threaten. He had called

her pumpkin.

"I'm right, aren't I?"

"Maybe. A little."

He looked at her for a long time, and she grew uncomfortable. Then he asked, "What made you think

cute and sweet weren't good enough?"

Her breath caught in her throat, surprised at the question. Its accuracy stunned her.

"Come on, Julia," he said. "Tell me."

She pushed up from the bed and moved away before he could catch her.

"Julia?"

She stopped at the door, but she didn't look back. "My dad always told me I was cute and sweet. But

none of the slew of women he dated were cute or sweet."

"They were wild and outrageous," he predicted with a wealth of caring in his voice, which made her throat tighten.

She stood there remembering, hating the way those memories made her feel. "Yeah," she said truthfully,

"they were."

"But why would you try to be like women he dated?"

"Putting it like that, you make it sound weird. And as an adult now, I can see that it wasn't such a great

idea. But as a kid, with my mom gone and no one to teach me any better, all I saw was that the only

people my dad paid attention to were the women who were wild and sexy. There, you got your secret.

Now let me work in peace."

She left then, before he could say anything else. But when she got back to her office, her father's old office with that space under it where she used to play, she couldn't breathe.

When the phone rang, she picked it up without thinking.

"Hello?"

"Thanks for playing cards."

She sat back, not understanding what she felt. "No problem. Anything else?"

"Yeah. I miss your hair."

Then he hung up with a quiet click, leaving her there with a soft smile pulling at her lips.

To: Julia Boudreaux From: Katherine Bloom Subject: Station Manager (Resume DOWNLOAD FILE)

Jules, I know you've been swamped dealing with Ben, but I really think you need to make an appearance at the station. Andrew Folly, is... well... energetic. He's determined to make his mark in TV, and he's taken over your office. He's also been asking about you. I'm afraid if you don't show up here, or at the very least answer his e-mails, he's just aggressive enough to show up at your house. I've attached a copy of his resume with photo so you'll be prepared.

Kate

Katherine C. Bloom News Anchor, KTEX TV, West Texas

To: Katherine Bloom From: Julia Boudreaux Subject: My office!

He's taken over my office? Though I guess it only makes sense since the station isn't mine anymore. Though it gives me more reason to work from here. Did I tell you I've set up shop in my dad's office?

Plus, I can't believe that photo. He looks like a kid. Then I found his birth date and he is a kid! Twenty-four!

xo, j To: Julia Boudreaux From: Katherine Bloom Subject: re: My office!

What a great idea about your dad's office. I used to love it when we'd play house underneath his desk.

As to Andrew Folly, Chloe and I were even younger when we started at KTEX. And need I remind you, we're only three years older than he is now.

K.

To: Katherine Bloom From: Julia Boudreaux Subject: Defending him How can you defend him?! He's probably spilled Gerber baby carrots on my leopard-print sofa. In fact, what kind of man would work in an office that is filled with purple kiss pillows and a chair like a throne?

xo, j To: Julia Boudreaux From: Katherine Bloom Subject: re: Defending him

I'm not defending. Just giving you the lay of the land. I mean it when I say he could get it in his head to show up at your house. He asked for your address. When I said I didn't think it was appropriate to tell him, he scoffed and headed for the personnel files.

Be on the lookout...

K.

p.s. Your purple kiss pillows have disappeared.

Chapter Eight.

Thursday afternoon, Julia started going through the list of vendors who had responded to her classified ad. The open call interviews for her Primal Guy were scheduled to begin first thing Saturday morning. It felt good to be working, finally, after she had taken Ben to the doctor and he had gotten the word that he was definitely on the mend. Getting him to stay off his leg since Sunday had done a world of good.

Now it was time to focus.

She was worried about getting everything done in time because the clock was ticking and she'd been way too distracted by Mr. Fm-Perfectly-Fine. She was also worried about Andrew Folly. She had every intention of putting together a great show-or she should say, a great local show. But after reading Folly's resume and seeing the extensive network programming he had been involved in, she just hoped that he understood the sort of programming KTEX TV could realistically produce.

Julia pulled out her notes. The only interruption she expected was from her former housekeeper, who was supposed to stop by. Zelda was returning the house key, and Julia knew it would be an emotional experience for both of them. Zelda had always been more surrogate mother than employee.

Julia smiled at the thought that if Zelda had stayed, the woman would have whipped Ben into shape in no time. There were times when Julia's father had lamented that he didn't know which was worse-having Zelda there, or not having her there. The woman was a short, stocky general who had always run the house and its occupants with military precision. Though if anyone could have charmed the orthopedic shoes off the woman, it was Ben.

To prove just how wonderful he was doing, when she glanced up, he stood in the office doorway. He looked hot, sexy, and disreputable in a T-shirt, jeans, and bare feet. She resolutely wouldn't allow a single shiver of yearning to race down her spine and settle low at the sight of him.

And it worked, too. Almost. But almost was better than not at all, so she gave herself points.

"You're looking chipper this morning," she said.

Ben leaned up against the doorjamb, crossed his arms on his chest, and studied Julia. He was all about solving mysteries. But the longer he was around this woman, the more he couldn't figure her out.

When they had played that kids' game, he really had wanted to learn her secrets, since he knew people well enough to know that Julia Boudreaux wouldn't give up any information willingly. He wanted to understand what made her tick. But her answers only made her more of a puzzle.

When he had come to the door of the office a few minutes ago, she had been working intensely, not realizing that he was standing there. Even in the conservative clothes she was wearing now, she looked hot. Today she wore a capped sleeve sweater, though instead of the woolen pants she had taken to wearing, she had on a pleated plaid woolen skirt-only a step away from a girls' school uniform. And he still couldn't get used to her hair. Short and conservative. All she needed was a velvet headband to complete the picture.

But somehow she still managed to look sexy. Both the clothes and the hair were like a good-girl veneer over what he knew to be a very bad girl. Sweaters and pearls hiding a body that he knew was hot as hell with an attitude to match.

The window dressing made him want her all the more.

When he had stepped inside the office, she looked up. It was in those few seconds of surprise that the old Julia flared-the heat in her eyes that she wasn't yet used to hiding, the way her lips parted. Though she was getting better at portraying her new image. It didn't take her long to find the prim expression.

That's what bothered him the most. If she kept it up, would she actually succeed in wiping out the bad girl?

"May I help you?" she asked formally.

This from the woman who had seen just about every inch of his body. Though he smiled at the thought that she was the one woman who wasn't a nurse or an emergency room doctor who had seen him naked who he hadn't slept with.

He felt his dick swell at the thought of solving that.

"I can think of something you could help me with," he said, his gaze running over her.

He saw the way the pupils of her eyes flared until they were nearly a deep dark purple. He could tell that

her nipples drew into tight buds underneath the cashmere. His cock swelled even harder at the sight.

He walked over and sat on the edge of the giant desk. The office looked every bit as formidable as Sterling's office at Prescott Media. "Something hot and wild," he added.

She scoffed, though he could tell she didn't really have her heart in it.

"Absolutely not," she stated after she cleared her throat. "Now that you're on the mend, we need to stay

in separate corners. Really."

"Why? I think we both could use a little tension relief- in the form of a good old-fashioned, no-commitment fuck."