That would have to be edited out.

"I forgot that there would be cameras," she added.

"Rob, cut." Julia stepped forward. "Hi, Fiona. I'm Julia Boudreaux. We spoke on the phone."

"Sure, I remember. Hi."

"As awkward as it might be, if you could just pretend the camera isn't there, that would be great."

"Of course. I wasn't thinking."

"Let's just reshoot from when you walk in the door."

They did, and this time it was perfect.

The whole shoot went great from there, everything from the way Rocco took Fiona's coat, to this once rough-around-the-edges man offering his date a glass of champagne. He held her chair, stood when she stood, served her plate, and by the end of the evening, Fiona actually took a bite of the chocolate mousse

from the spoon Rocco offered. It was sweet and endearing and the perfect finale to show the successful journey Rocco Russo had made from primal guy to sweetie pie.

Giddy excitement pushed at concern. She had footage she believed she could make into a show. She

was back as the woman she knew. She wanted to laugh and dance around the room at the thought that

just when she thought things were falling apart, they were actually working out.

By the time she and her crew wrapped up and were ready to leave, Fiona was smiling like a smitten schoolgirl. Julia had worried for no reason.

It was six o'clock in the evening when Julia, Todd, and Rob stood out by their cars.

"Wow, that was cool," the teenager enthused.

"You've got some great footage to work with," Rob added.

"I know. Now we just need to do the final edit. We'll start first thing tomorrow morning and work

through the weekend."

"Awesome," Todd said.

"I'm game," Rob added.

Julia wanted to do the work over the weekend when the staff, most especially Folly, wasn't there. As

an added bonus, working at the station provided her with a means to avoid Ben.

So she worked. Up early Saturday morning until late Sunday night with Rob and Todd at her side. Ben

clearly was busy as well, since when she did come home, always late, he wasn't there. Good, she told herself firmly.

They finished late Sunday night, and Julia took the morning off the next day to get ready to return to

KTEX with her product in hand. When she walked into the station Monday afternoon, she had the final version of Primal Guy in her hand.

"Julia!" several people called out.

It was good to be back. Nothing looked different, and if she blocked out the thought of Andrew Folly taking over her office, for a few blissful seconds she could pretend that nothing had changed. Her life was still as it should be.

But it wasn't.

Fortunately, she was excited to show Kate the pilot episode of her show. When she walked into the TV host's office, Kate leaped out of her chair and flew around the desk.

"Jules!" she cried, hugging her close. "Finally!"

"You're acting like you haven't seen me in ages," Julia stated over the lump in her throat.

"Don't act all distant. I know it's just an act. Besides, it isn't the same when you aren't coming into the office. I've missed you around here."

"I've missed you, too."

When the women settled into chairs, Kate looked her up and down. "What happened to the blouses

and wool pants?"

She smoothed another of her favorite wrap dresses. "I guess you could say it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks. But that's the least of my concerns." Julia held up the videocassette.

"Your show?" Kate asked with a gasp.

"It is."

Kate grabbed the tape and Julia's hand and dragged her off to the screening room.

"I can't wait to see what you have!"

The curly-headed brunette popped the tape in, then sat back as the show came to life.

Julia's image came into focus on the screen. She hardly recognized herself in the cashmere sweater set

and fine wool slacks she had borrowed from Kate. Staring at her reflection, she couldn't believe she had ever thought that changing her clothes would do anything to change who she really was.

Then her voice filled the room.

"I'm Julia Boudreaux, and like so many women out there, I've had it up to here with bad boys. You know the type, ladies. Those men who have movie-star good looks, and the manners of a caveman who thinks grunts are conversation. The fact is, mothers, sisters, girlfriends, and wives have been trying to fix these guys since the Stone Age. But mothers, sisters, girlfriends, and wives can't tell a man she loves what's really wrong with him-at least tell him and not have to live with the consequences.

That, however, isn't my problem. I don't care if these guys like me or not. So I'll tell them what others won't. I'll tell them the barefaced truth.

"So sit back and hold on. I'm going to do women everywhere a favor. I'm going to . . . Turn That Primal Guy into a Sweetie Pie."

Kate swiveled her head. "Julia!" She burst out laughing. "What a great title!"

"But can she pull it off?"

They jerked around in their seats to find Andrew standing in the doorway. He wore a banker's suit with a blue shirt and white collar. His red power tie was so bright it practically blinked like a traffic signal.

"Andrew," Kate said, pressing the off button. "You've met Julia, haven't you?"

He grimaced as if remembering. Julia fought between a cringe of embarrassment and a shiver of pleasure

when she remembered the day they had met. It was still hard to believe the things Ben had the ability to

make her feel, do, and say.

"Yes, we've met," he said, the words clipped. "Now it's time I see what you've been working on these last few weeks."

He walked farther into the room, took the remote from Kate, and pressed play.

"Let's continue, shall we?" he said.

Julia felt confident about the product. But still, her nerves were on edge. It was like she was exposing

herself, and she didn't have a clue what anyone would say. Had she been delusional, or was it as good

as she thought? She sat perfectly quiet as the remainder of the forty-four minutes of tape ran. They watched the sweeping shots of El Paso, then the melting away into the introduction of Rocco. The tape rolled as Julia cleaned the Primal Guy up, had his hair cut, and taught him the nicer ways of life. Andrew sat forward when they got to the part where Julia transformed Rocco's house.

Andrew glanced over and raised an eyebrow. Julia couldn't tell if he was impressed or disgusted.

Then came the final date, the niceties, the meal, the pure romance of the moment.

"Wow!" Kate enthused as the credits rolled. She turned to Julia and leaned forward. "That was great!"

They both looked at Andrew. He fussed with the crease in his pant leg.

"Come on, Andrew," Kate said, "what did you think?"

He shrugged, then sniffed. "I thought it was ... okay."

Julia felt as if he had stabbed her in the heart.

"Okay?!" Kate demanded. "It was great. Audiences are going to be wowed. Admit it."

He sniffed again. "Fine. It was good."

Julia couldn't figure out what was going on. Then he shrugged.

"All right, I admit it. As much as I never thought you could put something together that would be any

good, Primal Guy works."