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resume her task although heaven knew she couldn't have typed had her life depended on it.

"You planning on seeing that milquetoast choir director again?"

"I . . . I don't believe that's any concern of yours."

"Perhaps not, but if you do, you're cheating him and you're hurting yourself."

Monica had taken about as much of his advice as she could tolerate. "What gives you the right to say those kinds of things to me?" she demanded.

"I know you, sweetheart."

She hated it when he called her that and he knew it. He was purposely trying to irritate her.

"You've got fire in your blood, not milk. You've sampled desire. Now that you know what it is to be weak with wanting a man, you won't be able to accept second best. Not anymore - it's too late for that."

"You have your nerve."

"You're right," he agreed readily enough, "I do." He stood and walked around to her side of the desk.

Monica watched him, not knowing what to expect. Every nerve was at full attention. A siren was blaring in her head, blocking out all sensible thought.

When he reached for her, she didn't offer the least bit of resistance. As it never failed to do, his touch rippled through her, snapping her senses to life. He roughly lowered his mouth to hers where he planted desperate, hungry kisses.

She resisted him at first, attempting to jerk her mouth from his, but he wouldn't allow it, trapping her face. Her stand against him was pitifully weak, and soon she was as much a participant in the exchange as he was.

Slowly he eased himself away from her. "Heaven help me," he whispered and Monica was convinced he didn't mean this as a prayer.

Something attracted his attention and he jerked his head around. "Someone's coming," he whispered.

Monica was too startled to do anything.

"Whoever it is, get rid of them," he instructed, slipping behind the door that led to her father's office.

Get rid of them, Monica thought in panic. She wasn't accustomed to playing these ridiculous cops-and-robbers games. She hadn't a clue of what to say or do.

The door opened just then and Michael strolled inside. He smiled at her warmly. "I hope I'm not catching you at a bad time."

"Bad time," she repeated with a phony laugh. "Of course not. Come on in, Michael."

Chapter 11

"You're sure you don't mind?" Pam asked, leading Scotty by the hand into Leah's house. "After all the trouble I've gone through for this silly Christmas party of Doug's, who'd believe my baby-sitter would come down with the flu? At the last minute, no less. It was the oddest thing. One minute she was fine and the next she was sick."

"You should have brought over Diane and Jason too," Leah said.

Pam laughed outright at that. "Even my mother won't take all three at once." Flustered and in a rush, she set everything down on the sofa and started unpacking the items she'd brought along for her middle son. Sorting through the brown paper sack, Pam removed Scotty's pajamas, an extra set of clothes for the morning, his stuffed dinosaur and a tattered yellow blanket. "He's mostly given up his blanky, but he might need a bit of security to sleep in an unfamiliar bed."

"I'll make sure he has it with him."

"I brought along some extra training pants," Pam said, setting out a stack of them.

"I don't wet," Scotty said, his fists braced against his small hips. "I'm a big boy."

"I forgot his potty seat," Pam cried. "Oh, well, you'll just have to hold him over the toilet."

"Don't worry, Scotty and I'll figure everything out as we go. Isn't that right, bud?"

"Right." She held out her hand for him to slap, which he did with enthusiasm, his arm making a high arch into the air.

Pam straightened and held back her hair with both hands. "I hope to heaven that's everything. Here's the number where Doug and I'll be," she said, pulling a slip of paper from her coat pocket. Getting down on her knees, she wrapped her arms around her three-year-old. "Promise me you'll be an extra good boy for Auntie Leah?"

Scotty clung to her neck and planted a wet kiss on her cheek.

"We're going to have a great time, aren't we, Scotty?" Leah urged, knowing how bad Pam felt to be leaving him in an unfamiliar setting.

Scotty nodded, but looked uncertain when his mother left. Pam was halfway out the front door when she turned back. "He probably needs to go now."

"Pam," Leah said, ushering