“This is more than I expected,” she said mistrustfully. “What are you going to want me to do for it?”

His eyes glittered and she realized what she’d at first taken for irritation was actually humor.

“So young and yet so cynical,” he said. “I expect you to do a good job for ACW. A very good job.”

She frowned, searching his eyes. She was usually pretty good at reading people, but for some reason she couldn’t get a handle on his moods and motives today.

“I don’t get it,” she challenged. “This is too much money for a job that’s actually an assistant to an assistant.”

He shrugged. “Why don’t you turn it down, then?” he said softly, watching her like a cat watching a mouse.

“Heck no,” she said, tossing her hair back and looking him straight in the eye. “I need the money badly. I just want to make sure I know what the money is actually buying before I agree to take it.”

“I expect top-notch work and I’m willing to pay for quality.”

Funny, but she was still uneasy, feeling there was something behind what he was saying, something he was holding back. His comment about being willing to pay for quality seemed to have an added significance she just wasn’t getting.

“I won’t disappoint you,” she said.

He nodded slowly, but his eyes seemed to be seeing right through her. She waited a moment, then added a question.

“Well then, shall I start tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?”

She frowned. What was the matter with him? He was gazing at her blankly as though his mind was a million miles away.

“Hello,” she said, waving a hand before his eyes.

“Oh, sure,” he said quickly, realizing he’d been drifting away from the conversation. “Tomorrow would be fine.”

He ran a hand through his thick hair, staring at her. His mind hadn’t been a million miles away at all. It had been right here, trying to figure out how he was going to bring up the baby thing as he’d planned to. Why couldn’t he seem to get together the right words to ask her? It had to be done. It needed to be done. And here he was, at a loss as to how he was going to do it.

This wasn’t like him. He never lacked ideas, never shrank from difficult subjects. He went after what he wanted with a singular confidence some even labeled as arrogance. It hadn’t even occurred to him that he would have trouble putting what he wanted into words. But here he was, struggling-and running through different options with no clue.

What should he say? How should he approach it? With humor? Seriousness? Casual unconcern?

Uh…Ms. Stevens? One more thing. You can qualify for a big bonus if you agree to have my baby.

Oh, yeah. That would work.

Ms. Stevens, in looking over your records, I see that you would be the perfect person to have my baby. What do you say?

He winced, knowing very well what she would say to that and not wanting to hear it aloud.

Ms. Stevens, I’m sure you know that the Carver family looms large in the history of Texas. We weren’t at the Alamo, but we were just about everywhere else. The tragedy is, I am the last in the Grant Carver line, and I need to have a son to carry on the name and the legacy. You seem to be uniquely qualified and have been selected for this honor…If you would like to contribute to the cause of Texas history…

Oh hell, that wouldn’t work, either. Why couldn’t he think of anything workable?

But maybe it was just as well. He was probably rushing things. Maybe it would be better to give it a few weeks, to let her get comfortable with him, maybe even start to trust him a little. Maybe…

“Is there something else?” She was looking at him curiously.

He sighed. “No. Not yet.”

“Not yet?”

“I mean…No. Thank you for coming in. I’ll make sure personnel has your paperwork ready in the morning.”

“Fine. I’ll see you later, then.” She rose. “And thank you, Mr. Carver. I appreciate this.”

Rising as well, he shook hands with her and said, “Till tomorrow, then.”

She threw him a last puzzled look and turned to go. It was pure fancy, he knew, but some of the light seemed to dim as she left the room.

“Hey, Mr. Carver.”

He looked up to find Darren Evans, a bright young lawyer who had recently been hired, entering his office but looking back at where Callie was disappearing into the elevator.

“Pretty lady,” he noted, one eyebrow raised as he gestured toward her.

“Yes.” Grant frowned as Darren dumped a stack of contracts on his desk. He seemed to be a pretty good lawyer, but his reputation as a ladies’ man was beginning to loom larger than his talent.

“I heard she’s a widow. Is that right?”

“That’s right.” Grant’s frown deepened. “Why do you ask?”

“I just wanted to make sure.” Darren had a young man’s casual confidence in his own irresistibility. “I was thinking about asking her out.”

“I’m afraid you’re a little late for that,” Grant said without a second of hesitation. Every male instinct in him rose up in a makeshift defensive posture.

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yes. She’s not available.”

“Really? Who…?”

“Darren, that’s really none of your business.”

“Oh. Okay.” He sighed. “That’s a shame. Early bird gets the worm, huh?”

Grant scowled at him. Darren finally seemed to notice that his boss wasn’t pleased with his company and bowed out quickly, but Grant’s mind was churning. What Darren said had opened his eyes a bit. He was beginning to realize he couldn’t fool around waiting for the right moment with Callie. If he didn’t get a commitment from her soon, she might just fall prey to some playboy like Darren Evans. He had to think of a way to approach her with it. Very soon.

But he wasn’t going to think of anything just sitting here. Rising, he shoved his hands deep into his pockets and began pacing the floor. Going to the window, he looked down. And there she was. Callie had stopped at the courtyard fountain and was gazing down into the water.

Now. He had to go now before he lost this chance. Turning on his heel, he raced out of the office, past a startled Lynnette, past the elevator, straight for the stairs. Taking them two at a time, he sailed down six floors like a downhill skier on powder, bursting out into the courtyard at full tilt and coming to a quick stop. She was still there. He was going to do it and he was going to do it now.

As he walked up behind her, he took in her trim form, her slender neck, the way her hair tumbled down her back. This was the woman he wanted as the mother of his child. And suddenly he knew that, once again, where Callie was concerned, all his plans were sailing out the window.

Had he really contemplated asking a woman like this to have his child without offering her marriage? Was he nuts? He couldn’t insult her that way. Maybe that was what had been inhibiting him-knowing it wouldn’t work no matter how gracefully he tried to put it. If he was going to do this thing, he was going to have to go all the way.

“Callie,” he said, and she turned, startled, and stared up at him, her mouth slightly open.

“Callie Stevens…” He took her hand in his and gazed down earnestly into her dark eyes. “Will you marry me?”

Tina was sitting in the middle of the living room rug, rolling a ball to Molly.

“You’re home already?” Callie said as Molly ran to greet her with little baby kisses. “I thought you were taking two jobs today.”

Tina was smiling, but her face was strained. “I got so tired, I just couldn’t go to the second one. I…I’m sorry, Callie. I know I promised you.”

“Oh, Tina, please! If you feel the least bit tired, you are to come home immediately! Don’t think twice. We don’t want you getting really sick. Molly needs you. Don’t you, pumpkin?”

Molly squealed as Callie tickled her tummy.

“But we need the money,” Tina was saying.

“No problem,” Callie said briskly, depositing the wriggling youngster in her mother’s lap. “I’ve got an armload of newspapers. I’m going to scour the ads and get my résumé pulled together tonight, then head out onto the pavement first thing in the morning. I’ll get something right away. You’ll see.” She smiled at her friend. “Don’t you worry.”

“Callie, I do worry. Things were already tight before you got laid off.”

Molly was beginning to fuss and Tina whipped out a red lollipop to tempt her with.

Callie frowned. “Should you really be giving those to her? Won’t they rot her teeth?”

“What teeth?” But Tina was joking. They both knew Molly was developing quite a set. “Don’t worry. I usually only let her have one a day and I brush her teeth right after she finishes. And also, you’ll note the stick is rubbery, so it’s not dangerous.” She sounded defensive as if she’d had to explain this to others before. Her smile was a bit watery. “They’re her favorites. She just loves them. And I feel like she got the short end of the stick in so many ways…”

Her voice trailed off and Callie regretted having said anything. Tina had enough to worry about without her best friend criticizing the way she was raising her baby.

“How did the meeting go?” Tina said, changing the subject.

Callie hesitated, wondering how much she wanted to tell. “He offered me a job. As an assistant in paralegal.”

“Great!”

Callie shook her head, feeling frazzled. Life was spinning out of control and she had to stop it somehow.

“It’s no use. I can’t take the job. The man is a raving lunatic.”

She raised a hand to stop Tina’s inevitable questions. She had to think this through before she could analyze it with her friend.

“Sorry, Tina. I really can’t talk about it right now. Maybe later.”

“Oh. Okay.” Tina’s puzzled look turned tragic. “Oh. The home called. They said they couldn’t hold your mother-in-law’s room any longer. Unless they get the extra fee by Friday, they are going to transfer her to the county facility.”