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home before morning.
    Still, his father seemed to enjoy the ceremony and the hubbub surrounding matrimony. But sticking with one woman was a different story.
    The thought of a church and a tuxedo made Zack have heart palpitations.
    Although as a kid, every time his father had married, he'd hoped for the happily-ever-after family. After the fifth wife, he'd been so disappointed he'd lost hope.
    When Simone had proposed, he'd immediately pictured the honeymoon—then the fighting that would start afterwards.
    "Anyway," Plum continued. "I didn't mean to rattle on about my good fortune. I was just wondering if you could use my grandkids' faces in the sketches for the chewing gum ads. It would tickle them to death."
    Till death do us part—that was marriage—the death of a man's life.
    "Mr. West?"
    Zack shook himself mentally and forced himself to be attentive to his client. "Uh, yes. Your grandkids' faces, right." He pretended interest in the multitude of family photographs. "Sure, I can use them. They'll look great."
    "I knew you'd understand. You must be a family man at heart." Plum threw his hand up and hurried out the door.
    Zack scratched the back of his neck as he felt a tell-tale rash spread. Even though he liked children, he was not a family man at heart—he was a chicken when it came to commitment.
    Marriage was nothing more than a trap designed by the female population.
    Every night going to bed with the same woman.
    Every day waking up to that same woman.
    The same face. The same voice. The same body.
    Jenna Barrett's bewitching eyes and tantalizing figure suddenly flashed into his mind. He instantly saw her with gray hair, a horde of little children running around her while she sang to them in that sultry, sweet voice of hers.
    He swayed, suddenly dizzy, the room blurring.
    Dammit. He dropped his head between his knees and dragged in several deep breaths to alleviate the panic attack blazing a trail of terror through him.
    If this continued, he'd have to avoid Jenna Barrett—even working with her. Hell, he might even need to see a doctor.
    Surely they had some kind of treatment for his reaction.
    The noisy clock on the wall jarred him back to reality. He had a small business and bills to pay. He couldn't afford to get sidetracked.
    Remembering his vow to make a success of his ad agency, he grabbed his briefcase and headed to the door. He'd drive to Thomsons' Nursery and show them the preliminary sketches he'd drawn for their new advertising campaign.
    He rushed to his car and focused on that project as he drove. The flower garden was the focal point of his first concept. The roses...
    A bed of roses. He imagined Jenna lying in the middle of that rosebed. But roses and flowers made him think of bees. And bees made him think of the Bee-Stinger.
    Dammit. He slapped the steering wheel. He was doing it again... letting her distract him.
    Hell, the only way to get her off his mind was to face the enemy dead on.
    Maybe he'd drop by her store and take a sneak a peek at the popular men's briefs. It was probably nothing more than a pair of yellow and black cotton boxers. Nothing fancy. Nothing especially erotic. Nothing to get all excited about.
    Then he could focus on his other accounts.
    He punched in the number to her store on his cell phone. He could be there in ten minutes.
    Three rings before someone picked up the line. "Hello, Love 'N Lace. Angel speaking."
    Disappointment flitted through him.
    "Hello, is anyone there?"
    "Yes, this is Zack West. May I speak to Ms. Barrett?"
    "She's not here right now. This is her assistant Angel. May I help you?"
    "I'm working on an ad campaign for Ms. Barrett. I'd like to drop by and discuss a few ideas with her. Will she be back soon?"
    Angel tapped a pencil on the counter. "I'm afraid she won't be back today. She had to pick up some supplies, then she was going straight to her class."
    Zack sighed. "I see. Well, I'll get in touch with her later." He eased the phone down and twisted