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coffee,” he added sternly. “I am not having breakfast without coffee, even if that means bringing it in a sippy cup.”
    â€œA sippy cup?” Tippy teased.
    â€œI look sexy holding a sippy cup,” he replied, and the smile on his lips was a genuine one. It had been a long time since he’d smiled at a woman and meant it. Well, except for Christabel Gaines. But she was married to his best friend now.
    â€œWell, I’m having a sandwich before I go to bed,” Rory called. “Good night, Cash! See you tomorrow!”
    â€œThat’s a deal,” Cash called back.
    He caught Tippy’s soft hand in his and tugged her to the door with him. “I’ll check and see if there’s anything good at the opera or the ballet, if you’d like…”
    â€œI love either one,” she exclaimed.
    â€œSymphony orchestras?” he asked, testing.
    She nodded enthusiastically.
    â€œI guess it won’t kill me to wear a suit,” he sighed.
    â€œYou took Christabel Gaines to a ballet in Houston, I recall,” she said, with just a hint of jealousy that she couldn’t disguise.
    It surprised him. His dark eyes probed her light ones until she moved restlessly under the intensity of the gaze. “ChristabelDunn, these days. And, yes, I did. She’d never been to one in her life.”
    â€œI thought she was a spoiled little princess,” Tippy commented. “I was wrong all the way down the line. She’s a very special woman. Judd’s lucky.”
    â€œYes, he is,” he had to agree. Christabel was still a sore spot with him. “They dote on the twins.”
    â€œBabies are nice,” she said. “Rory was precious even at the age of four.” She smiled wistfully. “Every day’s an adventure with a child.”
    â€œI wouldn’t know.”
    She looked up, surprised by the expression on his lean, hard face.
    He averted his eyes. “I’ve got to go. I’ll see you in the morning.”
    He let go of her hand and left her standing. She divined that something in his past had wounded him deeply, something to do with children. Judd had told her that he thought Cash had been married once, but no more than that. He was a puzzle. But he appealed to her in ways no other man ever had.
    Â 
    C ASH ARRIVED AT EIGHT SHARP the next morning, carrying a silvertone coffee holder in one hand and a paper sack in the other.
    â€œI made coffee,” she said quickly.
    He lifted the holder. “Vanilla cappuccino,” he said, waving it under her nose. “My only real weakness. Well, except for these,” he waved the sack.
    â€œWhat’s in there?” Tippy asked, following him to the breakfast table she’d already set, where Rory was waiting to start eating.
    â€œCheese Danishes,” he said. “Sorry. I can’t give up sugar.I think it’s one of the four major food groups, along with chocolate and ice cream and pizza.”
    Rory burst out laughing. So did Tippy.
    â€œAmazing,” she said, giving his powerful body a lingering scrutiny. “You don’t look as if you’ve ever tasted fat or sugar in your life.”
    â€œI work out every day,” he confided. “I have to. Those uniforms are sewn on us, you know,” he added deadpan, “to emphasize what nice muscles we have.”
    Her eyes glanced off his biceps, very noticeable in the knit shirt he was wearing with dark slacks, as he swung his black leather jacket onto an easy chair on his way to the kitchen.
    â€œNo comment?” he taunted.
    She sighed. “I was just noticing the muscles,” she murmured dryly.
    Rory had excused himself to go to the bathroom. Cash caught Tippy’s long skirt and pulled her close to his chair. “If you play your cards right, I just might take my shirt off for you one day,” he purred.
    She didn’t know whether to laugh or protest. He was so unpredictable.
    â€œNot