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gigantic sigh. "Billie, Billie, Billie," she admonished in her Betty Boop voice. "How many times have I warned you, Nick is
not
for you? He's hazardous to women."
    Carl took a step forward. "Should I punch him out?"
    Nick casually leaned against the doorjamb, arms crossed over his chest, his look menacing. "Maybe I'd like to see you try."
    Billie rapped a wooden spoon against the countertop to get their attention. "There will be no punching-out in my house!"
    Deedee glared at Nick. "Shame on you, taking advantage of a ... housewife." She turned to Billie. "Honey, this is not a marrying person. He's only after you-know-what. S-E-X."
    Billie clapped her hand over her mouth, but she couldn't keep a giggle from escaping. "Uh-oh, too late. I'm afraid he's already had my body."
    Carl snorted at Deedee. "I thought you said she was a nice girl. I only date nice girls."
    "I understand, Carl," Billie said, trying to sound remorseful, when it was all she could do not to break out into hearty laughter. "Better luck next time."
    "Look what you've done," Deedee said to Nick. "You've ruined everything. I'm never going to find a husband for her if you keep this up."
    Nick looked at Billie. "So, you're looking for a husband, huh?"
    "Well, I

Chapter Nine
    When Billie came around she was lying on her bed. "What happened?"
    Nick let out a whoosh of breath, took the wet cloth from Billie's forehead, and wiped his face with it. "Man, I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life. You fainted."
    "I didn't! I never faint."
    "You hyperventilated, and then you fainted."
    She blinked at the anxious group standing behind Nick. "I'm okay now. Could you guys leave me alone with Nick for a few minutes? There's something we have to talk about." Billie watched Joel and Christie and Frankie and Deedee file out of the room and close the door. "So, what are we going to do?"
    "Everybody thinks we're getting married," Nick said, brushing a stray lock of hair from Billie's forehead.
    "That's ridiculous."
    "Is it?" He didn't know
what
to think. Every instinct in his body told him to run like hell, but he couldn't imagine going even one day without seeing her.
    Billie pulled herself up to a sitting position. "For starters, you've never asked me to marry you. I certainly am not going to marry a man who's never even proposed. And even if you did propose, I don't know if I'd say yes. I hardly know you."
    Nick grinned and raised his eyebrows.
    "Well, maybe I know you pretty well in some ways. But what about my children? You can't just spring this sort of thing on a kid. And there are other things to think about ... like the fact I'm thirty-eight years old. Old enough to be, well, your older sister."
    "You must have hit your head when you fell. I certainly don't think of you as my sister, and I hardly think a couple of years' difference in our ages makes it an issue."
    "I don't have a dress. And besides, I think I have an appointment to have my teeth cleaned next Saturday. If I cancel that appointment I won't get another one until October. You know how dentists are."
    Nick put the wet cloth back on her forehead. "Maybe you should lie down for a while. You're sort of ... um, babbling."
    "I am not babbling. I'm having a nervous breakdown. There's a difference."
    Nick sighed. "Do you
want
me to ask you to marry me?"
    "I don't know what I want. Everything is happening so fast I can't catch my breath."
    He knew the feeling well, but he wouldn't risk losing her.
    "I think we would make a good team."
    "Team?"
    "You're looking for security, and I'm looking for

Chapter Ten
    Billie returned home to find the house two doors down surrounded by police cars with flashing blue lights. Joel, Christie, and Lisa Marie bounded up from their seats, craning their necks to try and get a look at what was going on.
    "Go straight inside," Billie said as soon as she parked in her driveway. The kids argued, but she was firm. They did as she ordered, but peered out the windows as Billie