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protecting himself from relationships since he’d turned six. That was the year his father had a bout of depression. Harris had had to take care of the old man.
    Sarah called to him. Called to the man he’d always wanted to be. Maybe he should give her one more chance. He was aching for her sweet warmth, though he knew he shouldn’t reach out and take her. Yet he reached for his cell phone and called information. Three minutes later he had her number.
    The phone rang four times before she picked up. “Hello.”
    Her voice was low and husky. Breathless as if she’d run to answer the call. He shouldn’t have disturbed her. Nothing could come of this and he’d almost decided that he wasn’t going to pursue her. A cold shower and solitary release would appease his body and if his soul hungered for something more from her…too bad.
    “Is anyone there?”
    He cleared his throat. “It’s Harris.”
    “Oh, I didn’t expect to hear from you again.” He heard her moving around in the background. The soft sounds of her footfalls on hardwood floors.
    Ask her to dinner one more time, let her decline and then hang up. “I hadn’t planned on calling.”
    “Why did you?”
    “Dinner. I wanted to ask you to dinner.” Yeah he was smooth and suave. Every woman’s freaking dream come true.
    “Dinner?” she asked. The rustle of cloth against cloth was muted in the background. What was she doing? His mind supplied an image of her changing.
    He groaned silently, trying to ignore his imagination and concentrate on her words. She was going to be the death of him.
    “It would have to be after the restaurant closes.”
    “I’ll order something from room service.”
    “Why are you doing this, Harris?”
    “I’m just asking you to dinner, Sarah. Millions of people share the meal every day.”
    “I’m just like a million others?”
    No, she wasn’t. And that was precisely why it was so important to him to that she say yes. He didn’t say anything. Wouldn’t give her the words he sensed she needed to say yes.
    “I’m not sure about you.”
    “Have dinner with me?”
    “Dinner won’t change anything,” she said quietly.
    “I never thought it would.”
    “What did you think then?”
    “That you’d be my downfall.”
    “Harris.”
    “I’ll send Ray for you when the restaurant closes.”
    “Okay.”
    He hung up before she could say anything else. He knew he had one shot at making this evening one to remember. There could never be more than one night for them because she awakened in him all those feelings that his father had described to him. All those feelings that made his career pale in comparison. All those feelings that he’d vowed to never experience.

    Sarah was not having a good day. She’d been to the high school twice today. First for Burt who had been called to the office for fighting. Then for Isabella, her sister, who had ripped her skirt and needed a new one. The main oven in the kitchen wouldn’t get hotter than 250 degrees and she’d just received a rather ominous letter from her landlord informing her that the strip mall had been sold and that she’d be contacted by the new owners shortly about a new lease agreement.
    All in all she thought it didn’t bode well for her date with Harris later that evening. She’d wanted to have a pedicure and maybe buy something new to wear but there didn’t seem to be time or money. The lights of the city flashed past the windows of the limo as Ray drove her to the Dolphin hotel on Disney property. She’d been there one time to a karaoke bar with some friends.
    There was a single red rose on the seat left for her and a note in his own handwriting that said. The evening awaits.
    Her first impulse had been to order Ray to turn the car around and take her home. She had no idea what he expected from her. Well, okay she had a small inkling but she’d realized last night sleeping in the same bed she’d slept in since she was a child that she wasn’t ready for