print jeans. Her heels were high, her toenails painted hot pink. A reminder of her once pampered rich girl's life. No more $500 pants for her.

Cocking her head, she waited a second as the thought sunk in.

"Nope," she said to herself, "still doesn't bother me."

Which was odd, since she thought she'd miss the money, miss owning the station. Miss her old life. But

all she missed was her father.

She had left her long dark hair loose, hanging straight nearly to the small of her back. One day she'd have

to cut it. She couldn't wear her hair long forever. But at twenty-seven, she wasn't yet ready to cut away her youth.

The doorbell rang a third time just as she pulled open the front door. Chloe and Sterling stood on the

front steps. Sterling's strong jaw ticked with impatience, and Chloe halted mid-search as she rummaged

in her purse for a key. But it was Ben, as always, who commanded Julia's attention.

He leaned against the redbrick half wall that lined the three steps that led to the front door, looking like he didn't have a care in the world. He also looked about as happy at this turn of events as she was.

His heated gaze slid over her, one dark brow rising in quiet assessment when he got a good look at her pants. As much as the man didn't like her, he looked like he wouldn't mind stripping the Escada leopard jeans off of her and slamming hard and deep.

A tingle of sensation raced through her at the thought. It had been way too long since she'd had sex.

"I thought you forgot we were coming," Chloe said, forcing a smile.

"Heavens, no, sugar. Just forgot I no longer had anyone to answer the door," she answered with typical

candor. Sterling appeared a tad uncomfortable about that, since he was the one who had bought the station from her. But Julia knew he had given her more than a fair price for KTEX, and he had offered her a job to boot. He might be a cutthroat corporate raider, but when it came to Chloe, he turned into a knight in shining armor. Now Julia just needed to prove to everyone and herself that she deserved what had been offered. A job.

"Come in," she said, stepping aside.

Sterling reached down to pick up a thick canvas duffle bag.

"I can do that, Sterling," Ben stated through gritted teeth.

"Damn it, Ben, the doctor said you can't lift anything. That is, unless you want to end up back in the

hospital."

That shut the grumbler up.

Sterling and Chloe headed inside. Ben pushed away from the low wall and started to follow.

"I'm happy you're here," she said, trying to mean it.

There went that dark brow again, rising, the gesture appearing all the more sinister given the thin scar that slashed the brow in half. More than once since she'd met him, she had wondered how he hadn't lost an eye.

She pulled a beauty-queen smile for him as he strode past her, his gait stiff, making her wonder how high up on the thigh he'd been hit. Lost in thoughts of thighs more than wounds, she stood there staring out into the front yard, not moving. She heard him grunt when he got inside, showing just how much of a rugged, unman-nered heathen he truly was. She bet he was great in bed.

Damn.

She shook the image from her head and stared to turn away, but a utility truck parked across the street caught her attention. For a second she thought the driver was holding a camera.

"Yes, I can imagine how happy you are to see me," Ben said.

His voice was so close that she whirled around. He was right behind her.

"Oh," she squeaked.

She, Julia Boudreaux, tormentor of all deliciously bad men, squeaked. She couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe how Ben Prescott could turn her into someone she was not-a squeaking schoolgirl. And she wasn't, she told herself firmly. She ate men like him for breakfast, then spit them out in time for dinner.

But what really unsettled her was how he looked now that she was standing so close. Beneath the icy exterior was a man who was trying very hard to act like he wasn't hurt. Her heart leaped with unaccustomed worry. If he really wasn't okay, maybe she'd been a little hasty in offering him a place to stay. She didn't know the first thing about taking care of anyone, much less a man who had been shot.

Worse news, however, was something else she noticed. He smelled like a hot, sexy man. And she should know. She was an expert on hot, sexy men. But this was a specimen that her internal radar warned her against. Letting her guard down around this man spelled nothing but dark storms and turbulent seas. With her father's sudden death, and now her life turned upside down, she was managing, yes, but the last thing she needed was more bad weather.

"Do I make you nervous, cupcake?" he asked.

Cupcake, she mouthed silently with an incredulous shake of her head.

The corner of his mouth crooked up in amusement.

"Nervous? Me?" she asked innocently. She bit her lip and looked at him through lowered lashes. "Not at all. Though I wonder if I make you nervous . . . beefcake."

That wiped the grin off his too handsome face.

There, she felt better already. She had regained her footing.

"Shall we go inside?" she asked.

She didn't wait for an answer. She took one last glance across the street and found the utility man out

of his truck and hard at work with tools and wires, relieving her that it wasn't anything weird after all.

Smiling, she swept past Ben like a queen at court. Or at least she tried. He caught her arm, grimacing when she jarred him, though he quickly pulled his features into a hard, implacable mask. God forbid this caveman show an ounce of pain.

"Just so we understand each other," he began, "I have no interest in staying with you, but I'm not going

to be responsible for Sterling and Chloe canceling their honeymoon."

"Oh, darn." She pouted prettily. "I'm heartbroken. I thought you were about to rip off that leather jacket to reveal a tuxedo, whip out a bouquet of wild pink roses, and then propose." She stamped her foot.

"Damn."

"Funny."

"Do you think?"

For reasons she couldn't imagine, his eyes suddenly sparked with humor. "What I think is that you're

the only woman I know who'd rather have wild pink roses than the standard red."

"I'm anything but standard, beefcake, which you should know by now."

She flipped her hair over her shoulder, then leaned close and whispered, "If you don't want to play

Wedding Proposal, maybe you'd rather play doctor. Remember that little game we played a few weeks

back? If you want, I can give you another exam."

She expected him to flinch, maybe even blush. Instead he tipped his head back and laughed. The sound was deep and rich and infectious, and she might have laughed along with him if she hadn't been so miffed that he was the only man she knew who never did anything that she expected.

Swallowing back annoyance, she headed toward the grand living room where Sterling and Chloe waited, just beyond the wall of stained glass.

"Where should I put this?" Sterling asked, hefting Ben's bag.

"I have a guest room ready. The one down the hall with the door open. Thanks."

Sterling heaved the duffle over his shoulder as if it didn't weigh more than a feather and walked to the east wing of the house.

Julia turned to Chloe. "I'm so excited about your trip. I can't wait to hear all about it when you get back."

"I'll keep in touch while we're gone."

"No keeping in touch! This is supposed to be just the two of you. Ben and I will be fine."

"Yeah, don't worry about us," Ben stated, though his voice had softened into a gruff kindness for his new sister-in-law. "You and Sterling need the time away."

"I'm not worried about you two-"

Julia and Ben snorted in unison.

"-it's the new station manager I'm a little worried about."

"What's wrong with him?" Julia instantly wanted to know.

"Nothing, I'm sure. Sterling knows him, and thinks the world of him. But, well, KTEX has been my baby for so long ..."

"And it's hard to let go," Julia finished for her. "Not to worry, we both love KTEX. Between Kate and me, we'll keep an eye on him. You need to worry about making new babies."

Chloe flashed red. "Julia!"

"Oh, don't go all prude-girl on me, Miss I-better-seduce-Sterling-so-he'll-lose-interest-in-me."

The embarrassment on Chloe's face brightened even more. Ben actually chuckled.

"I've heard some pretty flimsy excuses in my day, but that one takes the cake." Julia laughed. "First Kate going all sexy on us, then you. Thank God I don't have to turn into the complete opposite of who I am.

I'm already sexy, sugar."