Her mother held a forkful of cake to her nose and sniffed. “Chocolate mint.” She devoured the first bite. “Light, fluffy and very good. Remind me to get Mildred's recipe. She took one of those leisure classes in cake decorating.” Her mother waved across the room at Mildred, who smiled and waved back. “It's delicious,” her mother yelled.

Although everyone devoured the cake with enthusiasm, Matt finished his huge chunk first. He looked like he'd been mud wrestling and lost. “Matt, how in the world did you manage to get it in your ears and hair?” Jared asked, laughing with Matt.

Katherine glanced at Matt and shook her head. “That's how five-year-olds eat."

Matt held up chocolate fingers. “I'll be six soon."

“Gracious, you look like you swam in it,” Katherine said.

“It's easy to get messy when you're having a good time. Isn't it, pal?"

Matt tugged on Jared's hand. “I need to go potty,” Matt said, lifting his arms up to him.

“Katherine is it all right if I take Matt to the bathroom? He can wash up, too."

She blushed when Matt whispered, “I don't want to potty in a girl's bathroom."

Katherine nodded, her head spinning with the fact that Jared had shown more affection to Matt in three minutes than Paul had in three years.

The DJ started a romantic waltz as Jared returned to the table. He placed Matt in the chair, turned and took Katherine's hand in his. “Don't tell me you don't know how to waltz either."

“At the price I paid for ballroom dance classes, she better,” her mother said.

“Well, let's prove your mom didn't waste her hard earned money."

Jared led Katherine to the dance floor and folded her in his arms. Every time she breathed, his woodsy scent filled her lungs, her thoughts and her head. She felt his strong hands touch the ends of her hair that flowed down her back. The smell, feel and touch of this man intoxicated her. She lifted her chin, mentally chiding herself, but he intoxicates a lot of women, none of them mean anything to him except sexual gratification. And what's wrong with sexual gratification? screamed her body as his leg moved closer to her thigh.

“You're too quiet,” Jared whispered.

She lifted her head and gazed up at him, moving her body to a more traditional waltz pose, placing more distance between them. He twirled her away from him and brought her to him again, pulling her closer against his body. Her eyes closed, she relaxed, savoring his warmth and the feel of his hands moving over her back. She rested her head against his chest, lulled by his steady heartbeat and hearing her own echoing reply.

“I was thinking,” she said.

“What about?” he whispered against her hair. “I hope it's the same thing I'm thinking about.” His lips pressed into her hair. He moved her away from him, turned her and brought her into his warm arms again.

She knew exactly what lurked in Jared's mind, but to her the act of making love had to mean a whole lot more than a fleeting, sexual conquest. And from what she'd heard and seen of Jared, that's all it meant to him. All she would be to him. The thought made her reply tight and strained. “I doubt we're thinking about the same thing. We don't think alike on a lot of things.” She stiffened. Jared held her in his arms and they waltzed across the dance floor.


* * * *

Jared felt Katherine's body tense again while they danced. He replayed tonight's events as he held her, wondering where he'd gone wrong. Once they'd gotten past Laura Brown's attempt to wreck their evening, he'd felt the sensual pull of their mutual desire all during the night.

When she'd first relaxed and leaned into him on the dance floor, he thought his worries were over. During the party, she'd responded to his jokes, his smiles and he suddenly knew he didn't want to date her for Matt alone. He felt relieved they wanted each other, because he'd started to feel like a heel for using Matt to get to Katherine.

He thought she wanted him too, when her cheek rested on his chest and he felt her warm breath through his shirt, but now she had stiffened her back and pulled away. He knew she felt the same desire, but she clamped down on her emotions. Why?

The music suddenly changed from a waltz to a slow romantic dance and Jared, expecting her retreat, tightened his arm around her waist. No way, she wasn't going anywhere until he got her where he wanted her-eating out of his hand. “I thought maybe we might go out on a date sometime."

She moved away slightly and looked up at him. “A date? Like Laura Brown's? Or the woman you had such a lusty conversation with the day before, after we'd been tree shopping?"

He grinned, his gaze blatantly sensual. “You were eavesdropping?"

“Hard not too when you're standing no more than ten feet away."

Without a word, he lifted his hand and touched her bottom lip with his finger again. “You know from the conversation that if I wanted her here, she'd be here. You're in my arms tonight, because that's where I want you."

“According to the town gossip and People magazine, you date a bevy of willing women who have sex with you.” Her eyes gave him a hard, cold stare and she whispered, “I'm afraid I don't qualify for a date with you. I don't have casual sex, and I won't share the man I do have sex with."

His jaw muscles tightened, and his stomach jumped like she'd sucker punched him. How had she managed that? The last time a woman had surprised him was when his fiancée ran out of the church. Since then, he'd spent a year indulging in meaningless relationships, creating earthshaking sensations in women without ever really touching them emotionally or being touched emotionally himself. Somehow though, Katherine Cahill had broken through, unsettled him, just a little, but it unnerved him and fascinated him.

Retreating into cynical humor, he smiled. “Wow, that's a first. I've never had anyone turn down sex with me before I even asked."

When her jaw dropped like he'd intended, he tugged her closer and bent by her ear, back in control. “For the record, I don't have a bevy of sex slaves.” He chuckled. “Although that thought's probably crossed every man's mind at least once in their lives. I define a date as dinner, dancing, or a movie, not a roll in the hay. You name it, we'll do it."

She leaned into him. Maybe she was wavering. He laughed. “Of course, if you're into whips, chains, kinky things, I'd have to tell you I don't really go in for that type of stuff. However, you're welcome to change my mind, just be gentle with me."

When she laughed at his joke, he pulled her closer. “I always respect a woman's right to say no. What are you so afraid of?"

Her eyes rounded. He studied her beautiful face and it looked like she might be seriously considering dating him, as if she actually questioned her hesitancy to accept his offer. Giving her a moment to think, Jared swung her away and back again, asking her once more, “Do you want to go on a date?"

Katherine raised her head, her eyes searching his, her mouth opening to reply when a man tugged her away and drew her into his embrace, flattening her against his chest. “It's my turn."

Her jaw dropped and all the color drained from her face. “Oh, my God, Paul!"

Chapter Five

“Katherine, breathe deeply. Don't pass out on me,” Paul pleaded, staring down at her and pulling her more tightly against him.

Her vision blurred and Katherine took a deep breath as his steel-gray gaze held hers.

“I drove to Grace's to find you and saw the birthday party announcement on the bulletin board. When I spotted your car in the parking lot, I decided to surprise you,” Paul said.

Her rubbery knees wobbled. “You succeeded,” she whispered between deep breaths as they slow-danced across the oak floor.

“Do you need to sit down?"

Feeling the blood returning to her limbs, she fought to keep her tone casual. She didn't want to alarm her mother or Matt by causing a scene. And, no way did she want to let Paul know how upset she felt at seeing him. “No, I'm fine."

His fingers slid through the length of her hair, tugging it lightly, moving to wrap a strand around his palm in an old, familiar, unwanted way. She jerked her chin up, stepped backward, and he released her slowly, unwillingly. A lock of her hair remained curled around his fingers. She pursed her lips together, and her gaze raked from his fingers to his eyes. He released her hair, and she placed more distance between them as they continued to dance.

Glancing at the charcoal suit covering his lean frame, she lowered her gaze and stared at his pearl gray tie. Every time she inhaled, his sharp peppermint scented aftershave angered her. It reminded her of the day she broke every damn bottle of cologne and aftershave he'd left behind and had The Salvation Army haul off his clothes and their bedroom set.

She hadn't been alone with him since the divorce two years ago. And she could count on one hand the times Matt had seen him. She seethed inside. It would take two hands for her to count the times he'd called at the last minute and cancelled Matt's visits with him. Why had he suddenly shown up without any warning?

What was he really after? Would he get Matt's hopes up, just to callously disappoint him again?

“Who's the man you were dancing with? He's giving me the evil eye from across the room,” Paul said.

Looking around Paul's narrow shoulder, she glanced at Jared. With his muscular arms across his broad chest, he stood and studied them from the other side of the room.

He mouthed the words, “Are you all right?"

Katherine nodded.

Instead of returning to their table like she'd expected Jared to do, he moved to the outer edge of the dance floor, directly in the path where they would exit.