"Thank you."

Dan asked, "A daughter, you said?"

"Yes. Margaret Rose. We call her Rosie."

Helen said, "That's lovely. And your wife? Lacey...?"

"Bravo. Her last name was Bravo." He gave out that information fully expecting it to ring some bells.

It did. "Bravo?" Dan's right eyebrow shot toward his receding hairline. "I wonder. Is Lacey any relation to-?"

Loganlet him have it. "As a matter of fact, Lacey is Jenna's younger sister."

Dan's jaw dropped. "Oh," he said. "Well, isn't that..." He didn't seem to know how to finish, so he coughed into his hand instead.

Both Dan and Helen had met Jenna on a number of occasions. They had each said they liked her immensely. Dan's wife had seemed very fond of her, too. As a matter of fact, Fiona had thrown a big engagement bash for Jenna and Logan. It had been a great party-and then three weeks later, Jenna had run off with MackMcGarrity .

Dan lurched to life and tried again. "This is just ... such a surprise," he said.

A painful silence followed, during which Helen took on the task of b.u.t.tering akaiser roll and Dan evinced great interest in his rack of lamb.

Logancould almost hear their thoughts.

Hmm. Jenna left him. And that's when the sister came on the scene. An affair on the rebound. And the woman became pregnant. Now he's married her. I suppose he's made the best of a bad situation. But how long can it be expected to last?

Helen set her b.u.t.ter knife on the corner of her bread plate. "I'm sure you're going to be very happy." She bit into herkaiser roll.

Logandid not flinch and he did not allow his eyes to shift away. "Yes. Lacey and Iare very happy. And of course, we have the most beautiful baby in the world."

Helen finished chewing and swallowed. "I can't wait to meet both your wife and your daughter."

"And you will, I'm sure. Very soon."

Dan had recovered his equilibrium enough by then to exclaim, "I'm just stunned." He reached for the bottle in the center of the table and began topping off their gla.s.ses. "This calls for a toast." He set the bottle aside and raised his gla.s.s high. "Ahem. Here's to you, Logan. And to your bride. And your new daughter."

Loganthought of the long series of toasts at the Bravo table during his wedding dinner. He had liked those toasts better than Dan's. They'd seemed a lot more sincere.

Still, he had to admit that his partners were taking this pretty well.

And then again, why shouldn't they? The situation was something of an embarra.s.sment, but nothing that couldn't be easily handled with the judicious application of proper damage control.

Helen raised her own gla.s.s and chimed in, "Yes,Logan. To your new family." She knocked back a big gulp of merlot.

Dan braced an elbow on the table and rubbed his chin. "I have an idea. Why doesn't Fiona give you and

your bride a little party?" Helen sat up straighter. "That's an excellent suggestion." She swung her sharp gaze Logan's way, thenlooked at Dan again. "But not asmall party. A big one. A big party in honor ofLogan's new family. GetGabriella Rousseau to cater it. She's the best."

The corners of Dan's mouth drew down. His wife and herhostessing skills were a big a.s.set to him, and he was always protective of her territory. "That's Fiona's department. She'll choose the caterer."

Helen dipped her perfectly groomed blond head. "Of course. It was just a thought."

"And I'll pa.s.s it right on to her."

"Great."

Dan was smiling, way too pleasantly. "You're quiet,Logan. Is a party a problem for you?"

A party, with most of the local medical community invited, no doubt, was probably not Lacey's idea of a great time. But he could talk her into it.

He'd have to warn her to be on her best behavior. She did have that wild side-the side his partners would most likely be hearing about once the gossip mill kicked in. But for this, she'd tread the straight and narrow. For his sake. Because she did love him. He had seen it in her eyes. And heard it from her lips on the day that their daughter was born. "Logan?" Dan was waiting for an answer. "I think a party is an excellent idea, Dan. Thank you."

"No problem. Now, tell us some more about your new wife."

Loganset down his winegla.s.s, thinking, she's reckless and a little wild and absolutely captivating. He said, "Well, she's ... a very adventurous woman. She's not afraid to take chances. She goes after what she wants."

"And whatdoes she want?" Helen asked. The question was a particularly irritating mix of sly interest andcondescension. "She's lived inLos Angelesthe last few years, pursuing a very promising career as an artist."

"An artist. How fascinating..."

Loganwished he were anywhere else right then but here at this restaurant discussing his private life with his professional colleagues.

He wished he were home. With Lacey.

Lacey.

All at once, he found himself holding back a fool's deep sigh as a swift series of images flashed on the screen of his mind.

Her incredible face, mottled and slick with sweat, grinning at him between the V of her spread legs on the night that their daughter was born.

What had she said right then?

It came to him:"I feel so utterly demure..."

And then later, not long after the birth, laying her palm against his cheek, confessing that she loved him.

And the night she finally said yes, giving him that grin of hers again across the rough pine table in that tiny, dark cabin, declaring,"I have something of a reputation myself in Meadow Valley..."

Right then, he could almost wish himself back there with her, in that cramped little cabin, just the two of them and Rosie.

"Logan?" Helen was frowning at him. "Are you with us here?"

"Of course."

"We have to make some decisions. When should Fiona have that party?"

Loganpushed his tender thoughts aside and ordered his mind to focus on the all-important subject of damage control. "Let's give Lacey until her six week check-up, how about that? Say, any time from mid-August on."

Dan asked, "Then Fionacan start making plans?"

"Absolutely."

Helen brought out her Palm Pilot and began punching b.u.t.tons.

Loganglanced surrept.i.tiously at his watch. Nine-fifteen.

What was she doing now? Nursing Rosie? He loved to watch that, her breast so white and full, traced with sweet blue veins, pressed against his daughter's plump cheek.

Or maybe she was lying in his bed, waiting for him? She might even be sleeping.

Since the baby, she seemed to have given up her pa.s.sion for staying up until all hours. She'd learned to steal a nap whenever the opportunity presented itself.

Helen glanced up from the electronic device in her hand. "How does Sat.u.r.day, the fourteenth, sound? Is that still too early?"

Dan was consulting his Day Runner. "For me, the fourteenth would probably be a go. Of course, I'll have to firm it up with Fiona." Loganshrugged. "The fourteenth sounds fine to me." * * * Lacey had saved the master bedroom for last. She'd been in there to unload her suitcases, beforeLogan left. But after that, she hadn't crossed that particular threshold again. She'd waited until nine-thirty at night to return to it, first lingering over her solitary dinner, then hanging out in the family room for a while, watching a movie on HBO.

When she finally did enter the master suite, she went straight to the bath.

She showered in the enormous shower stall, glancing more than once at her soft, just-had-a-baby stomach and frowning, thinking that she'd have to put herself on some sort of exercise plan. Once she'd showered, she treated herself to a long, luxurious soak in the big spa tub.

After a while, resting her head back and closing her eyes, she let herself remember a few choice details of the five glorious days that had ended up creating Rosie and thus bringing her back here.

Unreality check.

Yes.

But what a beautiful time that had been.

Lacey heard Rosie crying just as she was drying herself off. She went and got her daughter and returned

to the master suite to sit onLogan's wide bed with her.

Lifting her breast free of her robe, Lacey brushed the side of Rosie's tiny mouth with the nipple. Unerringly, that mouth found what it sought. Rosie latched on.

It didn't even hurt anymore, as it had the first few days. Now, there was only a pleasant tugging sensation and a sweet feeling of warmth and fullness as her milk came down and began to flow. Lacey smiled and whispered to her daughter, stroking the soft, b.u.mpy head, which already seemed to have lost itspointiness and smoothed out into the shape of a very average-looking baby's head.

As Rosie settled in to the rhythm of feeding, Lacey scooted back up against the headboard. She stared around her at the rich, deep textures of the bed linens, at the burled walnut bureau and bedside tables, at the royal blue walls and creamy white ceiling.

It was a very masculine room. Not a ruffle or a frill in sight. It didn't look like Jenna.

It looked likeLogan.

And the rest of the house?

"You know what?" Lacey said aloud, stroking her daughter's head some more. "During this day of unreality checks, it has slowly become clear to me that I like it here. And I could live here quite comfortably."

The only rooms she'd want to change were Rosie's room and the room she'd choose for her studio.

Yes, the house bore Jenna's touch. But it was a very light, very loving touch. And really, Lacey was finding that seeing her sister's touch everywhere bothered her less and less with each hour that pa.s.sed. Perhaps, Lacey thought with a grin, it was because she had made her own mark here. A much more elemental mark than Jenna's.

Lacey had raided that big Sub-Zero refrigerator downstairs, in the middle of a warm September night, after she and Logan had spent hours making love. He'd hoisted her up on the cool green marble counter and made love to her again.

And here, in this bedroom-she had absolutely wonderful memories of what had happened here. If she closed her eyes and let her imagination take her, she could almost hear their sighs, their moans,their low, lazy laughter.

It had been a good time, those brief days in September. A beautiful time. A perfect, magical time. And at the end of it, she'd discovered that she'd found her love.

And now she was back here. In her hometown.Logan's wife.

Unreality check?

Maybe.

A big change, definitely. Major adjustments to be made, no doubt about that.

But she had her love. And her little girl.

A roof over their heads, food on the table. A room to work in, when she was ready to paint again.

It was a lot. And she was grateful for it.

"We're going to do fine, Rosie," she whispered to her daughter. "We are going to do just fine."

After they discussed the party, there were a number of other issues the partners decided they might as well deal with as long as they had each other's attention.Logandidn't sign for the check until after eleven.

And he didn't pull into his driveway until half an hour after that. The light in the master suite, which faced the street, was still on, a golden glow in the velvety darkness of the summer night.Loganstopped in the driveway as the garage door was rolling open. He stared up at the spill of warmth and brightness and felt something painfully sweet wash through him.

Urgency followed.

To be in there, where she was. To crawl into bed with her and turn off the light and...

He dragged in a breath. It didn't really matter what happened next. They might just drop off to sleep until