They made arrangements to meet at a small seafood restaurant Alex liked that wasn’t too far from the house. Alex suggested one o’clock, hopefully ensuring that Julie might be on time. Then he said his goodnights to everyone and headed back to Jansen.

The next day, promptly at one, Alex walked into the restaurant and secured a window table for two. As he’d expected, Julie hadn’t made an appearance yet.

Alex ordered a glass of iced tea and the seafood appetizer the restaurant was known for—cold shrimp and crab in a spicy cocktail sauce—and settled in to wait.

Twenty minutes later, he had eaten most of the appetizer, and Julie still hadn’t shown up. Sighing, he whipped out his cell phone and hit the speed dial number for her cell.

“I know, I know,” she said when she answered. “Sorry. I slept through the alarm—I didn’t get home till almost dawn—but I’m on my way now. I’ll be there in ten.”

Alex just shook his head. It was pointless to be angry with her. Since he knew she was always late, he should have just waited and arrived thirty minutes later himself.

When she walked in—as promised, ten minutes later—he marveled at how fresh and pretty she looked. That was the advantage of being young. Late hours didn’t start to show until you were a lot older. Wearing a bright-yellow dress, long hair gleaming in the sunlight-filled restaurant, she resembled a younger version of Catherine Zeta Jones and drew admiring glances from the other diners. One man sitting alone at the bar stared at her so intently Alex was certain he was going to get up and try to talk to her. In fact, he leaned forward, putting one foot on the floor. But when Julie headed for Alex’s table, waving and giving him a wide smile, the man relaxed back in his seat again.

Alex stood to greet her, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“This has got to be a record,” she said, “seeing you two days in a row.” Her perfume, something light and flowery, drifted around him.

He pulled her chair out and she sank gracefully into it.

“You look awfully pretty today,” he said, sitting again himself. “Hard to believe you got so little sleep.”

She took her napkin out of her water glass and put it on her lap. “Thank you. Now that I’ve reached the ripe old age of twenty-two, I’m trying to take better care of myself.”

Alex couldn’t have hoped for a better opening. “Funny you should say that, because that’s what I want to talk to you about.”

Something in his expression or tone must have alerted her to the fact this might be a discussion she wouldn’t enjoy, because she frowned.

Just then their waiter approached, so Alex didn’t continue.

After she’d ordered something to drink, the waiter left them to study their menus.

“Well?” Julie said. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on or am I going to have to guess?”

“Why don’t we decide what we want to eat first? Otherwise we’ll keep getting interrupted.”

She looked as if she wanted to protest, but finally she just sighed and picked up her menu.

After placing their orders—Alex opted for the fried scallops, his favorite, and Julie ordered the crab quiche—Alex leaned forward and said, “Terrence talked to me last night. He’s worried about you.”

“Why?”

“He’s concerned that you might be involved with drugs.”

“What?” She looked aghast.

Alex studied her. Julie was a good actress, but he didn’t think her reaction was fake. She looked genuinely shocked.

“Geez,” she said. “You’d think he’d know me a little better than that. I know why he thinks this, Alex, but he’s wrong.”

“Why does he think it?”

“Because Penn—you met him last night, the really tall one with the sort of reddish hair?—was busted at a party where they were doing coke. But I don’t do drugs. I never have. They scare me.”

Alex felt tremendous relief. Her voice rang with conviction, and he believed her. “I’m really glad to hear that.”

“Did you really think I might be involved in that scene?”

“I didn’t know what to think. I only knew that Terrence is concerned enough to ask me to keep an eye on you while he’s gone.”

“Where’s he going now?”

“Singapore. Didn’t he tell you?”

She shrugged. “He might have. He travels so much, I lose track of what he’s doing.”

She stopped talking as their waiter appeared with their food.

Once he left them alone again, Alex said, “What happened with your friend Penn?”

“What do you mean?”

“Was he charged? You said he was busted.” He forked one of his scallops.

She grimaced. “Yes, he was charged with possession.”

“And what happened?”

“I don’t know. His dad’s pulling some strings, I think. You know his dad, actually. Senator Penn-bridge?” She ate some of her quiche.

Alex just shook his head. Why should that information surprise him? It happened too often, in his opinion. Kids with rich parents rarely paid the price for their foolish or unlawful behavior.

“I’d feel better if you didn’t run around with him anymore.”

Julie put her fork down and drank some of her iced tea. “But Alex, he’s my friend. I like him.”

“He sounds like a bad influence to me.”

“He’s learned his lesson. That bust scared the hell out of him.” Picking up her fork, she resumed eating.

“For now maybe,” Alex said skeptically.

“I told you. I don’t do drugs. Now will you quit worrying? And will you tell Dad to quit worrying, too? I’m not a child. I don’t need a keeper.”

Alex figured he knew how parents must feel when their kids got older and they couldn’t supervise their every moment as they did when they were little. You just had to trust that you’d taught them right and they’d be okay. Julie might be spoiled, but she was basically a good girl. She’d probably be just fine. Anyway, what choice did he have but to trust her?

As if she’d read his thoughts, she smiled and said, “Now, c’mon, Alex, quit looking so serious and let’s enjoy our food.”

Alex had always known when to fold. Returning his sister’s smile, he nodded and turned his attention to his lunch.

Normally, P.J. really enjoyed her weekends, but for some reason, this weekend she felt restless.

She did her laundry, cleaned her condo then took a long, leisurely bath and washed her hair. These activities should have made her feel virtuous and proud of herself. Instead, they left her wishing she had somewhere to go, something fun to do and someone to do it with.

Here she was, thirty years old, single, and with nothing better to do on a Saturday night except watch a movie on DVD and order in a pizza. She’d be willing to bet Carrie Wancheck wasn’t sitting home alone tonight. Or Alex, either.

Now why had she thought of those two, practically in the same breath?

Oh, you know why.

Was it possible that Carrie had accomplished her mission of catching Alex’s interest? She hadn’t been at Jake’s the night before, either, and when P.J. had casually asked about her, one of the guys said Carrie had bragged that she had a hot date. A sleep-over date, he’d said, and the others had all laughed knowingly.

What if that hot date had been with Alex? Although it was the last thing she wanted to think about, P.J. couldn’t help imagining the two of them in bed together. Carrie had a fantastic body—toned and slender, with curves in all the right places. What man wouldn’t desire her?

The idea of the two of them together made P.J. want to throw up. And that made her even more disgusted with herself. Why did she care anyway? You don’t want him. So what’s the problem?

But even as she told herself this, P.J. knew exactly what the problem was. She did want him. And unfortunately, what she’d imagined to be a corresponding interest from him had turned out to be just plain normal friendliness on his part. Because if he’d been going to make a move in her direction, he’d darned sure have done it by now.

Really disgusted with herself now, she decided that once and for all, she would wipe Alex Noble out of her mind. Not only that, she would stay away from him at work as well as after work. If that meant she would have to give up going to Jake’s, so be it. She needed some new interests in life, anyway. In fact, instead of just giving lip service to some of the areas that interested her, it was past time to put some of those interests into action. Like volunteering at a women’s shelter. And getting involved in politics.

It was a good thing she had that management meeting in Seattle this week. She needed to get away. Maybe after a week of meetings, she’d have her head back in the game again.

And nowhere near Alex Noble.

Chapter Eight

The week went fast for Alex. They were extremely busy at work, and it felt as if he’d no sooner had lunch than it would be time to punch out.

After work, he always ran his five miles in Jansen Park. He kept hoping he’d see P.J. there since Chick Fogarty had told them she was in management meetings in Seattle this week. But she didn’t come to the park, or if she did, she came earlier or later than he did.

Because he was curious, he gave Gray a call and found out the meetings would be over by noon on Thursday. While he had Gray on the phone, he asked him how his bride hunt was going. As always, Gray was noncommittal.

“What about you?” he asked.

“I’m working on it,” Alex said.

After they’d hung up, Alex wondered if P.J. would be back to work on Friday. He hoped so. Now that he’d decided Miss Paige Jeffers Kinkaid was the perfect candidate for his bride hunt, he was determined to make some forward progress in his campaign to win her.

On Friday morning, as he entered the quad, the first person he saw was P.J. sitting at her desk. She looked up when she heard his footsteps. “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” he said, smiling down at her. She looked great in a short-sleeved sweater the same blue as her eyes. It hugged her breasts and Alex couldn’t help noticing the faint outline of her bra. “How were your meetings?”

She shrugged, not meeting his gaze. “Fine.”

Alex started to say something else, but she’d already turned her attention back to her computer.

Alex frowned as he walked away. She certainly wasn’t very friendly this morning. He wondered if something was wrong. And if so, if it had to do with him. Could she have found out who he was? But he didn’t have time to think about her for long because only minutes later the morning orders began pouring in.

Again, the day went by fast. He barely saw P.J. When he passed her desk, she always seemed to be somewhere else, and she wasn’t around at lunchtime, either. And when he did see her, she never stopped to talk, not even for a few minutes. By the end of the day, he had the distinct feeling she was purposely avoiding him.

When Rick asked if he was planning to go to Jake’s after work, Alex said yes. He hoped P.J. would be there, too. If she was, he was going to make it his business to talk to her.

She was still at her desk when he and Rick left, and Alex was glad when Rick said, “Hey, boss, you goin’ to Jake’s?”

She looked up. Her gaze met Alex’s for an instant before resting on Rick. After hesitating a moment, she shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Ah, c’mon, boss,” Rick cajoled. “Do you good to go. You’ve been uptight all day. Those meetings must’ve done you in. We’ll see you there, okay?”

Alex wondered if she’d show up. He’d almost given up after an hour went by and she didn’t appear. And then suddenly, there she was. She looked tired, not her usual lively self at all. Something must be wrong. Maybe whatever it was had nothing to do with Alex at all. Maybe the week had just been a rough one for her. He wished there was an empty chair near where he was sitting, but even though he’d tried to sit at the far end of the table where there was room for a few more, Rick wouldn’t hear of it and had insisted Alex come and join him and Wayne and Jim, who were all sitting together.

The good thing was, Carrie Wancheck wasn’t there. In fact, the only female to join the group that night was Ruby.

P.J. walked over to the bar, got herself a beer, then sat at the far end where Alex had initially wanted to sit, too.

Damn. She hadn’t even acknowledged his presence, just gave a nod and general “hello” to everyone. Soon she was engaged in a conversation with Buddy Willis, one of the pickers from Quad A. Alex might have been worried at the intimate way they were talking, but Buddy couldn’t have been more than twenty, way too young for P.J. After a few minutes, Ruby drifted down to that end of the table and joined them.

Rick nudgedAlex. “Ruby’s got the hots for Buddy.”

Alex smiled. “What about him?”

Rick grinned. “I think he’s into her, too.”

About six, Rick said he had to go. Soon after that, the other married men left one by one. By six-thirty, only Alex, two of the dock workers, Buddy, Ruby and P.J. were left and finally Alex was close enough to P.J. to actually talk to her.

“While you were gone we had a really busy week,” he said.

“I noticed.”

“We missed you, though.” He nudged Ruby. “Didn’t we?”

Ruby grinned. “You might have. I didn’t.”

P.J. laughed. “Ruby tells it like it is.”

“No, seriously, boss, we did miss you,” Ruby said. “Things never go as smooth when you’re not there.”

“You don’t have to flatter me,” P.J. said. “I’m planning to give you a raise.”

Ruby squealed. “Really?”

By now the two dock workers had decided they were ready to eat and waved the waitress over. Alex waited to see if P.J. was going to order, saw that she was, and placed his own order for a cheeseburger and fries.

After the waitress left to turn in the food orders, the two dock workers got up to play a game of darts. Alex wished Ruby and Buddy would find something to do so he could have P.J. to himself, but they sat there and dominated the conversation, which now centered on video games. At one point when they were arguing the merits of two different war-type games, Alex caught P.J.’s eye and he could see she was as bored as he was. He winked, and for the first time that day, he got a smile.

Once the food came, and the two dock workers returned to the table, the talk turned to the less-than-stellar season the Mariners were having.

“Damn games are too expensive,” one of the dock workers grumbled. “Pretty soon only rich people will be able to afford big-league sports.”

Alex felt a guilty pang at the thought of the HuntCom sky box. He could go to a game any time he wished and sit in comfort, yet he rarely went. He made a mental note that when this charade of his was over, he would invite some of his co-workers from the distribution center to a game or two.

After they’d eaten, the dock workers got up to play another game of darts and Ruby and Buddy decided to have a game of pool.

“Well,” P.J. said after they’d left the table, “I really should be going.”

“Me, too,” Alex said, although he had no reason to leave. But if she was going, he also had no reason to stay.

They paid their tabs, said goodbye to the others, and walked outside together. The late September evening had already cooled considerably, and P.J. shivered. Alex wished he’d worn a jacket. He’d have given it to her.

“Where’s your car?” he asked.

She pointed to far end of the parking lot.

“I’ll walk down there with you,” he said.

“It’s not necessary—” she began.

“I know, but I’ll come anyway.”

When they reached the car, she went to the driver’s side, pausing before inserting her key. “Have a good weekend.”

Alex didn’t intend to let another weekend go by without asking her out. “Wait, P.J.,” he said as she started to unlock the door.

She looked up. It wasn’t completely dark yet, and in the half light of dusk, it was hard to read her expression.

“I was wondering…if you’re not busy tomorrow night…would you like to have dinner with me?”

“I…” She licked her lips. “Thank you, but I don’t think so.”

Alex had not expected her to say no. For a moment, he stood there awkwardly. Faint sounds of music came from inside Jake’s, and somewhere nearby a car backfired.

“Look, Alex, I really like you, and I’m flattered you asked, but I just don’t think it’s a good idea to date someone who works for me.”

Damn. He hadn’t even thought of that. She was right. In normal circumstances, it wasn’t a good idea. Of course, their circumstances were far from normal. The fact that he wasn’t who he was pretending to be was something she couldn’t know. And she certainly had no idea he knew her real background.

“I hope you understand,” she said.

What could he say? “Sure, I understand.”

How was he going to get around this obstacle? he wondered. Maybe he couldn’t. Maybe he’d have to find someone else to fulfill Harry’s challenge. But dammit, he didn’t want to.

When P.J. got into her car, Alex waved and walked toward his truck. He was just unlocking it when he heard the whine of her starter. The sound was unmistakable. Her car wouldn’t start.

Hurriedly, he got into his truck, started it and drove down to where she still sat futilely trying to get the Miata’s engine to catch.

He set the brake, then climbed out of the truck and walked to her side of the car. She lowered the window.

“I’ll give you a jump,” he said.

“You have cables with you?”

“Yep. I was a Boy Scout.”

“Be prepared,” she said, smiling.

Her car started on the first try.

“Let it run a few minutes. Then I’ll take the cables off,” he said. Once he was sure her car wasn’t going to die on her, he unhooked the cables and lowered her hood. “I’ll follow you home, make sure you get there okay.”

“Oh, Alex, that’s totally unnecessary,” she said. “I’ll be fine.”

“I’ll follow you.” His tone left no room for argument.

“All right. Thank you.”

She lived fairly close toAlex’s apartment complex. When they reached her building she put her window down and when he pulled up next to her said, “Would you like to come in for coffee or a glass of wine?”

“Sounds good.” Which was an understatement.

“You can park in one of the visitor slots in front,” she said. “I’m going to go park in back. My unit is 112.”

Alex parked the truck, found unit 112, which was located at the far end, and sat on the low stone wall bordering the front walkway. He wondered why she had invited him to come in. He’d have thought after refusing his invitation to go out with him, she would simply have thanked him and said goodnight.

A few minutes later, her front door opened. She smiled, standing back to let him in. When she closed the door, she leaned back against it, and their eyes met. For a long moment, their gazes held. Without conscious thought, Alex reached for her. There was no hesitation on her part. As if she, too, knew there was no use fighting what they both were feeling, she simply stepped into his arms and raised her lips to meet his.

P.J.’s head spun as the kiss went on and on. Part of her, the tiny part that was still capable of rational thought, was shouting, What are you doing? This is madness! But the rest of her, oh, the rest of her, was reveling in the thrilling sensations flooding her body. Desire, something she hadn’t felt in a long time, ignited every inch of her flesh.

One kiss became two, two became three. Soon kissing wasn’t enough. She wanted more.

And more.

When Alex’s hands slid under her sweater she shivered. When they found her breasts, she moaned. When he unhooked her bra, she never said stop. When he raised her sweater to get it off, she finished the job herself.

Then she reached for his belt buckle. The only sounds in the room were the ticking of the grandfather clock that had belonged to her grandmother Marjorie, the muted hum of traffic from the highway nearby, and their frenzied lovemaking.

They never even made it to the bedroom, which was both a good and a bad thing. The good thing was she stopped thinking and just let delicious sensation take over. The bad thing was she stopped thinking and just let delicious sensation take over. It had been a long time since she’d felt this way.

Maybe she’d never felt this way.

Later, she never remembered exactly what happened. She only knew that her clothes ended up scattered over the floor along with his, that they didn’t even seek the relative comfort of the couch but fell to the carpet.

Alex touched her and kissed her, finding every hidden place that yearned to be touched and kissed. And just at the point where P.J. thought she could stand it no longer, he thrust into her, pushing deep and hard, then deeper still. She reveled in the heat of him and cried out again and again as she crescendoed to a climax, and seconds later, he buried his face in her neck and muffled his own cry as he shuddered with his own release.

Afterwards, they lay twined together as their hearts gradually slowed.

It was only then that sanity returned.

P.J. sat up. Spying her sweater she grabbed it and put it on. She didn’t look at Alex. Couldn’t. What must he think of her? She’d been wanton tonight.

“P.J.” he said softly. He caressed her arm. “You’re not sorry, are you?”

Oh, God.

“Because I’m not.”

Of course not. You’re a man. You have nothing to lose.

“I’m…only sorry about not having a condom. Truth is, I never even thought about a condom. I didn’t think about anything…except you.” Taking her hand, he turned it palm up and kissed it.

P.J. shivered and finally turned to look at him. Her heart thudded as their gazes met. She forced herself to keep her eyes trained on his face instead of sweeping down his magnificent body.

And it was magnificent.

Alex Noble was one of the finest male specimens she’d ever seen. Just thinking about how fine he was made her want him all over again.

“Don’t worry,” she forced herself to say in as normal a voice as possible. “I’m on birth control pills.” The moment the lie was out of her mouth, she was sorry she’d said it. But what should she have said? Don’t worry, Alex. I probably couldn’t get pregnant if I tried, because my insides are totally screwed up. So you’re safe.

Sure, the doctors had said there was a slim—very slim—chance she might be able to conceive, but they hadn’t held out much hope. In fact, the last specialist she’d seen had said in all honesty he would put her chances at about ten percent, if that. And the older she got, the slimmer that percentage became.

At any rate, she had no intention of discussing her health issues with Alex…or any man, for that matter. After all, it wasn’t as if he’d asked her to marry him. All they’d done was have great sex.

You just keep telling yourself that, P.J.

“That’s good,” Alex said. “But I wanted you to know that I believe in safe sex.”

Hell’s bells, she hadn’t even thought of that. Of course not. You weren’t thinking, period.

Seeing the look on her face, he said, “I’m clean. I promise you. You’re in no danger.”

She nodded.

“I wish you’d say something.” Leaning over, he kissed her cheek, then nuzzled her ear.

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