Amusement warmed her pretty face and gleamed in her emerald eyes, as if she were savoring a joke she wasn't ready to share with him. “I'm sure Hulk is excellent company.”

“Ideal company,” he replied, studying her smile with some suspicion. “He doesn't expect me to entertain him or cater to him. He isn't offended when I spend all day in my workshop or if I'm not in the mood to talk or play. It doesn't bother him that I don't know when his birthday is and he has no interest in mine. He's happy with a simple life-plain food, a warm bed, an occasional tummy rub. He's never asked for more from me than I was willing-or able-to give.”

“That's quite an endorsement, Hulk,” she murmured, patting the dog's shaggy head. “You should be very proud. What breed is he, by the way?”

Realizing that she was talking to him again, Banner cleared his throat. “Beats the hell out of me. I found him on my doorstep when he was a pup about three years ago. I figured he was so ugly someone just dumped him.”

“And because you identified with him, you took him in and made him your friend,” Lucy murmured. And then she laughed at his expression.

“I don't mean you identified with the ugly part,” she assured him. “You've got enough mirrors around here to know you're just the opposite of ugly. But perhaps there were other things about him that reminded you of yourself.”

How had she possibly known how strongly he had been drawn to the gawky, oddball, unwanted stray pup he'd found huddling defensively in his yard? And when she had said he was the opposite of ugly, did that mean she found him…?

Shaking his head impatiently, he half turned away. “I'm sure you're eager to get on the road.”

“You seem awfully anxious for me to leave.” She reached out to rest a hand on his forearm. “Maybe I was mistaken, but I thought we had a few things to say to each other before I go.”

His first instinct was to move away from her, but her touch felt too good to shake off so easily. Instead he resorted to cynicism. “The professor and the woodworker? I can't imagine we'd have much to say to each other.”

He'd expected either hurt or anger in response to his dismissive tone. He wasn't prepared for her laughter. The low, husky sound of it went straight to his loins, even as it baffled him. What the hell was so funny?

Her hand slid slowly up his arm to his shoulder, and his imagination kicked into overdrive, so that he could almost feel little pops of electricity everywhere she touched him. “I think we can find something to talk about,” she murmured, looking up at him through her wickedly long lashes.

He swallowed heavily. “You, uh, should realize that we didn't meet under normal circumstances. The holiday mood probably influenced you, and I've made an effort to be…well, more charming than usual. I'm not really like-damn it, would you stop laughing at me?”

“I can't help it.” Her smile was nearly blinding, her eyes glittering with firelight and appreciation. “You're just so sweet when you're all panicky and noble.”

Sweet, panicky, noble. Not one of those adjectives pleased him. “I am not panicky,” he informed her, choosing the one that bothered him most. “I'm trying to keep you from doing something you'll regret.”

“I'll worry about my regrets. Do you want me to leave now, Banner? Because if you do, I certainly don't want to overstay my welcome.”

“No.” He had answered without having to think about it. “But-”

Lucy moved a little closer to him. “You know that make-believe mistletoe in the kitchen?”

“Yeah?”

“It just moved into this room,” she said as she rose onto her tiptoes.

Oh, hell. Who was he to resist mistletoe-even the make-believe kind?

He dragged her against him and closed his mouth over hers, tasting the smile that had been taunting and tempting him.

Had her mouth not been otherwise occupied, Lucy might have been tempted to sigh with relief. She had been so sure that Banner didn't really want to send her away, but she knew the mutual attraction that had developed so quickly between them made him very nervous.

She couldn't blame him; she'd felt the same way initially. But then, Lucy had always been the type to make up her mind quickly. Banner, apparently, took a bit more persuasion.

And this kiss, she thought, sliding her hands up to lock behind his neck, was a heck of an argument in her favor.

His arms were around her now, and the strength she felt in those woodworker's muscles thrilled her. It would take no effort at all for him to literally sweep her off her feet. He'd already done so figuratively, and as far as she could tell, he had made no effort at all.

He lifted his head just far enough to break the kiss, though he didn't drop his arms. “Why aren't you on your way to Springfield?”

Her hands still clasped behind his neck, she allowed her fingertips to play with the back of his hair. It was lushly thick and surprisingly soft and she would have liked to dive into it with both hands-but that could wait. “I will be. Eventually. But I'm not quite ready to go yet.”

“If you're staying because of me…”

“Well, I'm not staying to spend more time with your dog-no offense, Hulk.”

The dog snuffled a lazy acknowledgment, making her smile before she turned her attention back to Banner.

He was frowning at her, though she noted that he still held her quite closely. “You should think about what I said-about how the last few hours haven't exactly been normal circumstances.”

“Yes, I know. You're worried that I've been so dazzled by your suave charms that I've succumbed to a fleeting infatuation.”

He had the grace to color a bit in response to her wry comments about his awkward insinuations. “Okay, I'm aware that I'm not exactly the social type, but I did make more of an effort than usual these past couple of days.”

“Why?”

Her simple question seemed to confuse him. “Why? I don't know. Because it's Christmas, I guess. The kids…and Miss Annie…it just seemed like the thing to do.”

“You were extremely kind to the children and Miss Annie. And to the rest of us, for that matter. Sharing your home and your hospitality, giving up your bed and letting us decorate your living room…you turned a terribly timed ice storm into a pleasant holiday interlude.”

Frowning fiercely, he shook his head, finally letting his arms drop from around her. He took a step backward, moving away from her touch as he spoke flatly. “That's exactly what I mean. I didn't really do anything except open the door. You were the one who came up with the ideas to entertain the kids and keep everyone else busy and content. I'm not a particularly kind person. In fact, I've been accused of being rude and boring and antisocial.”

Now she was the one who frowned, hearing undertones of old pain in his voice. “Who would say such things about you?”

“My family,” he said with a grim shrug. “And my ex-wife had a few extra adjectives to apply to me, but none I'm comfortable repeating in mixed company.”

Ex-wife. That revelation made her blink a couple of times, but it was the mention of his family that twisted her heart. He tried so hard to pretend it was his own choice to distance himself from his parents and half siblings, but she suspected the distance hurt him-maybe because no one else ever bothered to try to bridge it.

“Has it occurred to you that maybe I see you more clearly than you think I do?” she asked him gently.

That possibility seemed to scare him worse than his theory that she was overromanticizing him. “I, uh-”

He didn't seem to know what else to say.

Banner had been kicked around so much he'd learned to expect nothing better, Lucy decided. His ex-wife had obviously been all wrong for him. Maybe it was his experience with her that made him worry that Lucy was trying to turn him into something he couldn't and didn't want to be.

He had lost confidence in his ability to form relationships with other people-and it was going to take patience and understanding on Lucy's part to convince him there was a chance that something special had developed between them during the past two days. Something that might last a lifetime, if they gave it a chance.

Just as Lucy didn't take long to make up her mind about someone, she saw no need to waste time once she had. “I'd like a chance to get to know the real you, Banner, if you're interested in getting to know the real me. Because, you see, I've been using 'company manners' myself the past couple of days. I'm not really perky and cheerful all the time. Sometimes I'm downright surly.”

That brought a reluctant smile to his lips. “I find that hard to believe.”

“Trust me. Or better yet, ask some of my students. They'll tell you that I can be a pain when I'm in a rotten mood.”

His smile died. “Since the chances are slim that I'll meet any of your higher math students, I doubt that opportunity will ever arise.”

It still seemed to bother him that she was a math professor. Though she didn't quite understand that little hang-up, she figured she would find out the reason eventually. She would deal with it then. If he let her get that far.

She thought she had made it clear enough that she would like to stay a while longer. She had done everything short of tackling him, actually-and she wasn't entirely opposed to that measure, if necessary.

If Lucy had been the shy type who wasn't willing to go after what she wanted, she wouldn't have gotten as far as she had in her career this soon. But she would give him a little more time to make a move toward her first, she thought with a secret smile.

She didn't consider that she was being arrogant. Their last kiss had left little doubt that Banner wanted her.

There was an honesty in his kisses that reflected the innate frankness of the man himself. He wasn't a game player, and he had no patience for the type of insincere flattery other men might use for seduction. He was simply Banner, and to Lucy that fact alone was more captivating than any other man's flowery words had ever been.