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you.” Michael started the engine and backed out of the parking space. “And they must not pay you much if you can’t afford a new car.”
    He seemed fixated on that blasted car. “They pay me enough. The fringe benefits are worth it.”
    “You mean they let you work yourself into a stupor,” he said sarcastically. “Joshua says you work every weekend at home now.”
    Bristling, she said, “I don’t neglect Joshua. You know I always put him first. It’s just like you to—” She broke off as she realized she hadn’t been in the car five minutes and already he had put her on the defensive. “Stop it, Michael. I’m not going to let you upset me just because you feel guilty.” She gave him a weary glance. “Particularly when there’s no reason for you to feel you’ve done anything wrong. You’re free to form new relationships. For God’s sake, we’ve been divorced for two years.”
    “I don’t feel guilty. The one has nothing to do with—” A reluctant smile curved his lips. “Smart. You always did see right through me.” He paused. “I didn’t mean it to be like this. I wish it had been anyone else. I know Benny’s a friend of yours.”
    “These things happen.” She looked away from him. “Is it serious?”
    “I don’t know. Maybe. I like her and it’s been a long time for me. She makes me feel good, Kate. She makes me feel ten feet tall.”
    She forced a smile. “I’d say that’s a great start.”
    “Yeah.” His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “If I’d thought there was a chance for us, I would never—It’s really over, isn’t it, Kate?”
    “You knew that.”
    “With my mind, maybe.” He shook his head. “I did love you, Kate. I just wish you weren’t so damn smart. Did you know that you intimidated the hell out of me?”
    “What?”
    “You scared me. In college you were some kind of whiz kid and I just plodded along.”
    “You didn’t act scared.” She added dryly, “As I recall, you tried to lure me into the sack on our first date.”
    He grinned. “Well, I’m never that intimidated. You were little and cuddly and sexy, and we had great chemistry.”
    “Cuddly?” she repeated indignantly. “Teddy bears are cuddly. I am
not
cuddly.”
    “Sorry, but you are. I wanted to snatch you up and take care of you.”
    Which only showed how faulty Michael’s image of her had been, she thought sadly.
    He said, “Hell, we had some great times together.”
    “But I never made you feel ten feet tall.”
    “Only in bed.” His smile faded. “But then it was over and you went your way. I was never important enough to you.”
    “You were important. I just couldn’t make you the lodestar of my existence, and you wouldn’t accept that. I wasn’t the wife you wanted.” She turned to him. “We made a mistake. Don’t make another one because you think Benny’s my opposite. Make sure this time.”
    “We’ve not gotten that far along.” He paused. “But she’s crazy about Joshua. I wonder if you’d mind if she came along with us to his game tomorrow afternoon.”
    She felt a flare of anger. It was all very well for her to give up Michael to Benny, but she’d be darned if she’d give her Joshua. “Let’s take it slow. You take Benny to the game instead of me. We’ll sit together in the bleachers to show Joshua that her being there with you has my stamp of approval and then I’ll drive Joshua home after the game.”
    “If that’s the way you want it.” He drew up to the curb in front of her house. “I want to make it as easy as possible for you.” He turned to face her and said haltingly, “You know I want the best for you, Kate.”
    The exasperation she felt with him faded as she gazed at him. With his sandy hair rumpled and his brown eyes slightly squinted, he looked like Joshua in one of his more earnest moments. It was hard to hold on to anger when Michael didn’t even realize he had been clumsy and tactless. In many ways he was like a big kid,