She swept the twins off their chairs to dance, her back still turned toward the doorway. He watched her wiggle to the rhythm, and he smiled when the boys tried to imitate her. She swung them around, then froze as she saw him.

"Don't let me stop the party," he said with a grin.

"What are you doing here?"

"Peg let me in as she was leaving."

The boys started to squirm and Phoebe released them. "I'm afraid you've got me at a bad time."

Jared tugged on her hand. "The cake's all frosty now. Can me and Jason have a piece?"

"Of course. Let me get some plates."

Her hands were clumsy as she pulled the plates down. She saw that Dan had knelt in front of the boys so they were at eye level. Lines of fatigue were etched in his face, but she didn't permit herself to feel any sympathy. Keeping up with two women at the same time was undoubtedly exhausting. She blinked her eyes against a fresh flood of pain.

"That cake looks mighty good, fellas. You make it?"

"Peg maked it," Jared replied.

"But Phoebe let us put frosty on it," his twin added.

"Chocolate," Jared explained unnecessarily, since it was decorating most of his face.

Dan chuckled, and the sound ripped through Phoebe's heart. She quickly placed a wedge of cake on each of two plates and set them on the cluttered table.

Dan stood to watch the boys scramble for their chairs. "Yessirree, that cake sure does look good."

Jason didn't let the fact that his mouth was already full stop him from talking. "The man wants some, Phoebe."

She tried to keep her voice light. "Not such big bites, killer. You'll choke."

Molly burst into the kitchen. "I'm home! Hi, guys. Hi, Coach." She gave each twin a pat, leaned down to get a kiss from Pooh, who'd jumped up on her, then regarded Phoebe cautiously. "Did Peg tell you what happened?"

"She said you had a meeting."

"There was a problem in the writing lab, and Mrs. Miller wanted to talk to us about it. Thanks for watching the boys." She made the statement begrudgingly.

Phoebe rinsed the frosting from her hands and dried them on a dish towel while Molly fussed over the twins. Dan came up behind her.

"Now that you can pass guard duty over to Miz Molly, what do you say we take a walk?"

"It's too cold outside."

"Shoot, that's good Chicago weather out there." Not giving her a chance to protest further, he grasped her wrist and pulled her from the kitchen. She couldn't engage in a struggling match with him in front of the children, so she went along with him until they had reached the foyer and were out of earshot.

"Let me go!"

For a moment he didn't say anything; he simply studied her with guarded eyes. "Seems like I've been a little slow to catch on. I just thought you were busy this past week, but you've been avoiding me."

"I've been busy."

"We need some privacy. Get your coat."

"I don't think so."

"Fine." He gripped her upper arm and pulled her up the stairs.

"Stop it!" she hissed. "I don't want to do this."

"Too bad." He led her into the bedroom and shut the door. Only then did he let her go, bracing his hands on his hips just as he did when he was standing on the sidelines. He had the same fierce expression on his face that she'd seen when he was about to do battle.

"All right, let's have it. Why the deep freeze?"

She had tried to postpone this encounter, had even hoped to avoid it entirely, but she should have known that wouldn't be possible. Dan wasn't the type of person to avoid confrontations. She bit the inside of her cheek because, once she started to cry, she'd never be able to stop, and she couldn't bear to have him see her break down like that.

"Are you mad because I didn't call you right after we slept together? You know what's been going on this week. I thought you understood." He glanced at his watch. "Matter of fact, I'm short of time right now. We've got a coaches' meeting at six."

"You'd better hurry and get your clothes off, then." She tried to sound tough, but there was a painful rasp in her voice.

"What are you talking about?"

"Sex. Isn't that why you're here? To knock off a quickie before your meeting?" The words hurt her beyond bearing.

"Shit. This is going to be one of those woman things, isn't it? You're pissed off, and I'm going to ask you why you're pissed off, and you're going to say that if I can't figure it out for myself, you're not going to tell me. Dammit, I don't want to play games like this with you." She could feel his anger building.

"Pardon me!" She jerked the bangles from one wrist and threw them to the bed, knowing that rage was a safer emotion to express than grief. "Let's get to it, then." She kicked off her shoes, sending them flying across the room. "Hurry up, Coach. You've still got your pants on."

He closed the distance between them and caught her by the shoulders, his fingers digging into her flesh. "Stop it! I don't believe this. What's wrong with you?"

She had broken her resolution to get through this confrontation with dignity, and she grew still in his arms. Taking a shaky breath, she spoke quietly. "I'm not going to sleep with you anymore, Dan. It was a mistake, and I shouldn't have done it in the first place."

He drew back so they were no longer touching. Although his voice lost its belligerent edge, there was a dangerous wariness in his eyes. "I know you care for me. You wouldn't have slept with me if you hadn't."

"I met Sharon at the Bills game." The guilty look that flashed across his face told her everything. "She's very nice. You have good taste."

"Sharon doesn't have anything to do with the two of us. If you're thinking I was sleeping with both of you at the same time, you're wrong."

"That's what I understand. You had the best of both worlds, didn't you?" Her voice caught. "You could get your rocks off with the bimbo while you kept your future wife pristine."

Instead of being apologetic, he looked furious. "Is that the kind of man you think I am?"

"It's hard to think anything else."

She could see him struggling to hold on to his temper. "I'd made arrangements for Sharon to come to the Bills game weeks ago, and I couldn't call it off at the last minute. But I'm not seeing her any longer. I thought she was what I wanted in a woman, but then, after you and I were together last time, I knew I was kidding myself."

The knowledge that he and Sharon had separated should have made her happy, but it didn't. She needed to hear him say that he wanted more from her than sex, that he wanted love, and until he spoke the words, nothing could be right between them. Her voice was soft and unsteady.

"Did you stop seeing her because she wasn't hot enough for you?"

The muscles in his throat worked as he swallowed hard. "Don't do this, Phoebe. Don't start saying all kinds of things that can't be taken back. I told you how screwed-up my own family was. For a long time I've been wanting to settle down to a real marriage-not just an ongoing orgy like I had with Valerie. I want kids."

"So you held auditions for your future children's mother, and Sharon won the baby ribbon."

"It's not hard to figure out why she appealed to me. I wanted somebody who liked kids, who wasn't going to be slapping them around whenever my back was turned."

"I see. Exactly whose mother was she supposed to be? Your children's or yours?"

He flinched, but she felt no satisfaction in knowing she'd hurt him. She didn't want that. She just wanted him to go away before she fell apart.

"That's a rotten thing to say."

"I guess it is. But I also suspect it's true."

His voice sounded hoarse. "Do you know that when I saw you with those kids downstairs, I was just about the happiest man in the world. For a few minutes today, I thought everything was coming together for us."

He hesitated, and she suddenly knew what was coming. It was as if he'd already spoken the words, and although the room was warm, she felt chilled. Don't say it! Tell me you love me instead. Tell me love is what you want from me, not just children.

He jammed his hands in his pockets. "I'd never seen you with kids. For all I knew, you felt the same way about them as Valerie. But I saw how you acted with those boys, and it wasn't hard to tell they're as crazy about you as you are about them."

Her whole body was aching. "Does this mean that I'm in the running now that Sharon's out of the picture?"

"I don't know why you're putting it like that, but, yes, I think you'd make a terrific mother."

She swallowed. "Am I in first place now or are there other women standing in line in front of me?"

He gritted his teeth. "There aren't any other women."

"So I'm the only candidate at the moment."

"I haven't had more than two hours of sleep a night for longer than I can remember," he said tightly. "I'm running on junk food and adrenaline, and I'm not going to apologize for wanting to marry you."

Of course he wanted to marry her. They were great together in bed, he knew she wouldn't abuse his children, and there was a possibility she'd give him the Stars as her dowry.

Until that moment, she had forgotten about Reed's sly insinuation, but now it came rushing back. The room began to spin. She struggled to speak. "This sudden desire of yours to marry me…" She cleared her throat. "Is it just because you saw me with the twins or does it have anything to do with the fact that I'm only one game away from owning the Stars?"

He went completely still, his face going pale. "Exactly what are you suggesting?"

"We've known each other for months, but this is the first time you've indicated that you want anything more than sex from me. Is that what today's all about? Are you laying the groundwork for a real marriage proposal in case the team wins on Sunday?"