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powerful.
    Perhaps any woman would feel unsettled thinking of her first lover. For a moment out there on his front veranda, he'd remembered, too. His arms had held her tightly and she'd felt his body's swift reaction.
    Gray had always had sex appeal, but she was a mature woman now, not a girl hungry for life. She'd come for help to get her son back, not to resurrect a lost love. She didn't need a lover. After all, she had Alex, who was a thousand times more suited to Dr. Emma Garrett than a boy she'd loved too wildly when she was a teenager.
    The feelings that had burned when Gray touched her were nothing but a reflex. When he touched her, she'd felt the old sweet panic for a moment, but she was too sensible to be ruled by her hormones!
    He'd always been able to throw her off balance, but this time would be different. It wasn't about love or sex this time, it was about Chris.
    The refrigerator held a dozen eggs and four bottles of salad dressing, but not much else. She yanked open the door to the freezer compartment just as the room flooded with brilliant light. She yelped and bit her lip to cut off the sound.
    This was ridiculous, yelping because the lights had come on. He must have gone outside to start an electric generator.
    She heard a thump, then the sound of a dog barking. Gray's dog.
    She rummaged in the freezer. Pizza, sirloin steak, rump roast, a loaf of bread. Behind her the kitchen door opened and she jerked away from the fridge. She felt the cool air from outside.
    "You can have pizza in twenty minutes," she told him. "Otherwise it'll take a while to thaw something."
    "If you want steak, you can defrost it in the microwave. But pizza's okay with me." His brilliant blue eyes hadn't changed. Nor had his love for pizza, it seemed.
    "I'll have pepperoni," he said.
    "Right," she agreed. "Pepperoni."
    He was still standing on the mat by the door, still wearing the leather jacket that looked as if it had been tailored for his shoulders, still watching her as if she were a dangerous animal.
    "It's a gas stove?"
    "Yes, gas."
    "It must be a gas fridge, too. Everything's frozen in the freezer, but there was no power until you—"
    "It's gas."
    They were talking to each other so warily. If she wanted him to help her, she'd have to do better.
    "Is there a pilot light on this oven? How do I light it?"
    "Hold the knob in while you turn on the oven."
    Aware of his gaze, she fumbled as she lit the oven. "Are you going to watch me all through this cooking process?"
    His gaze slipped down over the shape of her jacket and slacks, then stopped at her city shoes. "I've seen a lot more of you than you're showing at the moment."
    Heat crawled up her throat, but she met his impenetrable blue eyes steadily. "I came because I need your help. If listening to you taunt me is part of the price, I'll pay." She saw surprise in his eyes. "Are you trying to punish me for not being who you wanted me to be? Because I wouldn't come with you? Surely that doesn't matter now."
    He shrugged; his eyes remained cold. "It didn't matter then, either. You went with Paul fast enough, gave up your dreams and had his baby."
    "I married Paul because—"
    "Forget it. It's history. I'm going up to have a shower."
    She heard his footsteps on the stairs, then sounds overhead. His bedroom must be up there, and the bath. She closed her eyes when the sound of water came.
    Chris was all right. She had to believe that, just as she had no choice but to believe that the man upstairs would help find her son, even if he was still angry that she hadn't been able to do what he asked eighteen years ago.
    If you loved me, you'd come.
    He'd probably been right. She hadn't really loved him. It had been youth, infatuation, but surely enough years had gone by that he'd forgive her now, that he'd help her.
    She gripped the handle of the oven door and felt a wave of the old dizziness. He must be in the shower now, standing under the stream of water. His copper curls would be darkly